A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World
Stop heaving all your Christmas stuff into that corner in the attic. Storing Christmas decorations is easy with these indispensable, pro-approved storage solutions.
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In a word: carefully! Ornaments can be fragile, especially those sentimental DIY ornaments. The best way to store Christmas ornaments, even the sturdy ones, is in a Christmas ornament storage bag, and this one from Tiny Tim Totes is our favorite. It has a two-tray setup with space for 48 ornaments, practical handles for easy lifting and acid-free fabric so your ornaments don’t get damaged and discolored. You’ll also love the see-through window so you can easily identify what’s inside.
For extra-delicate ornaments, Delap suggests reusing clean tissue paper from gift bags to add extra padding. Need a spot for smaller pieces, or want to DIY your own setup? Repurpose empty egg cartons. Each egg well is a perfect spot for a miniature ornament; just make sure to secure the carton with a rubber band before storing.
As you know all too well, not everything will fit neatly into those handy little ornament boxes. Nutcrackers, your kid’s odd-shaped crafts and Christmas-tree toppers end up poking out in weird ways, making it impossible to store them safely or even close the box. While you could use cardboard wine cases for taller pieces, Vines likes storage boxes with adjustable dividers, which allow you to customize the number of compartments to store uniquely shaped pieces exactly how they need to be stored.
“Sturdy material and a lot of storage for tall Christmas figurines,” raves one Amazon reviewer. “I needed something to store my nutcracker soldiers in, and this storage box works great,” says another. “With the ability to move the interior dividers, I was able to successfully store a soldier that was too tall to stand.” Sounds like a win to us!
Good news: If you purchase a Christmas tree storage bag, you’ll never have to wrestle your artificial tree back into the box again. (Nope, that doesn’t have to be one of your family’s Christmas traditions!) Delap prefers a wheeled version, like this one from Covermates, which fits up to a 9-foot tree to make your life much easier.
And this trick from Vines will take all the confusion out of setting it up next year: Use painter’s tape and a Sharpie to number or letter the pieces. But most important, she says, “to make it easier to assemble next year, the top goes in first, and the bottom goes in last, because then that will be the first [thing] out next year.”
Treat fabric items such as Christmas stockings and tree skirts with care, placing them in vacuum storage bags to prevent bugs, mildew and dust from ruining them. You’ll also want to place your oversized holiday pillows in these bags. Not only will this protect them, the compression bags solve a major storage issue, since the pillows will now take up much less space.
Organizing experts love storage-compression bags, like these from Amazon, because of their fabric- and space-saving properties. Once compressed, stack the bags in a plastic storage tub for safekeeping. Pro tip: Make sure to label the bags before sucking out the air, says Delap, or you’ll probably have a hard time figuring out what’s inside.
Inflatable angels and snowmen can be tricky to store off-season. Forget trying to stuff them back into their original boxes. Instead, use oversized, all-purpose storage bags with tops that unzip on three sides for easy access. These heavy-duty storage totes from Amazon are roomy and super affordable, ringing in at just $17.99 for a two-pack. For an at-home option, you can also repurpose the clear zipper bag your bedding set came in.
Either way, you’ll want to follow Vines’s signature rolling system for these blow-up decorations. After unplugging and deflating the character, hang it to dry for a few days. Then give it a good shake and lay it flat on the floor. Fold in to make a rectangle, then roll from the top down, squeezing out any remaining air as you go. You’ll get a tight roll, and next season, all you’ll have to do is unroll and inflate. Keep the stakes and tie-downs in their own small bag inside the bigger bag so they won’t get lost or puncture the fabric.
And here’s the easiest (and best) labeling idea ever: Store the instruction booklet facing out, says Vines, so you know which character is which.
Don’t misplace the small stuff, or you’ll be kicking yourself next year! Spare holiday light bulbs, adhesive wall hangers and extra ornament hooks are easily lost at the bottom of a big storage bin. Delap recommends using a small plastic container with multiple compartments, like a tackle box, to hold these.
This inexpensive waterproof option will keep out moisture, and it has a clear, latching top so you can identify what’s inside. Trust us—it’s an essential part of Christmas ornament storage, and one of the simple organizing tips you’ll wish you knew all along.
Raise your hand if you can’t even add up the amount of time you’ve spent untangling light strands every year. It is seriously the worst part of decorating a Christmas tree. Well, we’re about to change that. This red-trimmed zipper bag, which has five notched dividers, is the best way to store Christmas lights. Simply wrap light strands around the dividers, then secure the plug to keep them in place.
No one wants to be that house—the one with Christmas lights up until spring. Delap says reeling in your outdoor lights is the easiest way to get them put away before May. Yep, a magical tool exists for this! This year, wind your outdoor Christmas lights on a durable plastic reel, then stash them in a zippered storage container, completely tangle-free. Next year, simply unroll the reels and wonder what to do with all your newfound spare time. We love this watertight bag and reel set because it stores three strings of lights in one bag.
If you’re tired of gluing broken pine cones back onto squashed wreaths every year, you’ll be happy to learn that there’s a storage option made just for these delicate decorations. Heavy-duty red canvas storage bags with handles are the best choice.
Handles are key, says Delap, because they let you hang your wreath even while storing it, which ensures it doesn’t accidentally get smushed under something else. Hanging wreaths also helps them keep their shape, so use sturdy hooks to hang them on the wall in a closet or your garage.
Before removing garland and seasonal swags from door frames, fireplace mantels and staircase banisters, Delap suggests labeling them and noting where they hang. That way, next year it will be easy to put them back in the right spots. These 10-gallon zippered plastic bags work great for storing smaller swags, while the 20-gallon size can handle longer staircase garlands. To prevent snarls, wrap the garland around a square of cardboard, says Delap.
Like storing Christmas ornaments, packing up trains, mini villages, oversized Santas and sleighs is easier than you think if you use matching 45-gallon wheeled Sterilite bins. Secure latches keep these bins closed, and we love the wheels. No more lifting—just stow and go! This one in Christmas red features an indented lid, which allows you to maximize space by stacking multiple totes securely.
To keep items in tip-top shape, place train cars, figurines and village pieces in their original boxes (if you still have them), then stack them in the larger container. If the original boxes are MIA, use bubble wrap and packing tape to protect the pieces. Pack the items close together—empty space in storage bins means items can shift, resulting in damage. One more essential tip: Always remove batteries from items before you pack them away, since they can leak in storage.
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