Step-by-Step Guide: Taking Down Holiday Decor

All the gifts have been opened, new memories have been made, and the time has come to take down your holiday decor! But rather than having a stressful experience trying to store all of your ornaments and lights, why not take a more focused approach to putting everything away?

By sticking with our step-by-step guide, you’ll be doing your future self a favor when it comes time to decorate for the next holiday season.

6 Steps for Taking Down Holiday Decor

Decorating for the holidays is a wonderful tradition enjoyed by countless households year after year. Unfortunately, taking down Christmas decorations is not quite as fun as it is to hang them up. Still, once your family’s celebrations have ceased, taking down those beautiful decorations is the inevitable next step.

The good news is, there are ways to store your holiday fixtures and accents that’ll make it much easier to put them back up when the holidays roll around again. Read on to discover some simple, cost-effective methods that’ll help you store and organize those handmade snowflakes, heirloom Santas, and every decoration in between.

1. Come up with a plan

Planning for how you’ll store all of your precious items will be a big help in both the short and long-term. Depending on your home’s layout and the closet space you have available, it might make the most sense to break up your holiday collection into multiple storage areas.

For example, if you decorate a basement, main floor, and second story of your residence, try to store everything on the level where it appears during those festive few weeks. This way, you won’t need to lug large trees, wreaths, or figurines from floor-to-floor, saving you precious time and preventing any potential breaks or damages to your decor.

2. Create a dedicated storage area

If your home’s design doesn’t lend itself to storing items on different floors, another great option is to create a dedicated space where your decorations can live throughout the year. Maybe there’s an open corner in your attic or garage, a spare hallway closet to claim, or a storage unit at your disposal? By keeping your decor together, there’s a better chance you won’t lose or misplace any sentimental pieces that are scattered throughout the house.

Keep in mind the safest areas for holiday decoration storage are ones that stay dry and away from direct sunlight, as this will protect your items from gradually fading or deteriorating.

3. Consider alternative storage solutions

When your closets are at capacity and renting an extra space just isn’t an option, you can also use smaller solutions for your storage woes. CORT Furniture Outlet has a variety of cost-effective storage options that’ll really come in handy, whether you’d like to organize everything on a single shelving unit or you’d prefer to hide your seasonal wares in a sleek, modern wardrobe. CORT’s furniture is sure to add character and flair to any room while also discreetly preserving all of your holiday keepsakes until it’s time for them to twinkle once again.

4. Invest in quality bags and boxes

It can be super tempting to pile ornaments into an empty shoebox or reuse an old gift box to store our favorite nativity sets. But if you no longer have the original packaging, the next best way to protect your tree, wreaths, lights, and other accessories is to invest in sturdy bags and boxes made for this purpose. Like a two-tray ornament box or a heavy-duty tree bag, most of these storage containers can be found online or at any big box store.

Just like you’d do with a paper grocery bag, be sure to place heavier pieces on the bottom and more delicate items (covered with bubble wrap or newspaper) on the top.

5. Source household products

If it’s not in your post-holiday budget to purchase new containers for your decor, you can still source common household products to meet all of your storage needs. The following are great ways for you and your partner to work together in the undecorating process by repurposing many items you may already have on hand:

• Fill the compartments of empty egg cartons with small, round ornaments.
• Sort ornaments by color using clear gallon bags from your kitchen, and then place all the bags in a plastic bin where they’ll be easy to access the following year.
• Check with a convenience store for spare wine boxes with cardboard dividers. These are also great for storing ornaments since you can fold and cut the dividers as needed — layer two or three tissue-wrapped ornaments into each slot, with heavier bulbs on the bottom.
• Shrinkwrap your artificial tree with plastic, so it stays clean while it’s waiting in storage. When you’re ready to decorate it next December, simply cut the side of the wrap with some scissors and fluff the branches into shape.
• To prevent your lights from becoming tangled, wrap them around pieces of cardboard before they’re stored. Then, when you bring them out again, the cardboard will act like a spool as you unwind the lights around your tree.
• Empty water bottles can be used to hold long strings of garland (so they stop getting twisted around your other decorations).

6. Label everything you box up

Even though labeling is the last step on our list, it’s not one you’ll want to skip. But no need to worry if you don’t have a label maker — a thick, permanent black marker will work, as well. When you take the time to label each container, you’ll significantly reduce the stress of searching through miscellaneous decoration boxes during future holiday seasons.

And not only will labeling save you a lot of time, but it’s also aesthetically pleasing to see everything so neatly organized and individually named!

Shop Inexpensive Decor Storage Solutions Near You

To take decorations down in the most seamless fashion, you’ll need storage solutions that easily organize your holiday decor. CORT Furniture Outlet has a wide selection of beautiful furnishings with functional storage capabilities from shelving units to credenzas and cabinets. Visit your local CORT Outlet for the latest and greatest deals on previously-rented home essentials.