How To Pack Your Holiday Decorations for Storage

How To Pack Your Holiday Decorations for Storage

Decorating your home for the holidays is a fun a joyous experience, but no one wants the stress of untangling light strands or opening boxes only to find a pile of broken glass and glitter. All of that stress can be avoided with a little forethought and preparation. Check out the following tips for storing your holiday decorations in your portable storage building so you can enjoy them for years to come.

Lights

Untangling lights is such an iconic holiday task that it’s almost tradition. However neatly you attempt to roll them up when you take them down, they always end up a jumbled mess. There are several products out there that are made for light storage, but a really budget friendly DIY method is to wrap them around a piece of cardboard. Here’s what to do:

1. Take a rectangular piece of cardboard
2. Cut slits along each long end that are about an inch deep and two inches apart
3. Wrap your lights around the cardboard, tucking the cord into the slits

Even if you need to make a few wrapped layers, the board will keep your wrapped lights from tangling with each other once you place it in its container. Another great use for the cardboard you’ve wrapped the lights around is a label. You can write where you used each strand on it’s cardboard holder, which will help you stay organized next year.

Ornaments

Ornaments can be very delicate, and the paint can easily get chipped. If yours are pretty small, a leftover Styrofoam egg container will keep them nice and cozy all year long. Larger or irregularly shaped ornaments require a bit more care. You can buy a storage container specifically designed to keep ornaments, or you can make your own! Get creative and grab some apple boxes from the grocery store. Inside, there are some great packing materials used to keep the fruit from bruising that are perfect to use for storing ornaments. One thing you’ll want to keep in mind is the size of your container. Too large and they’ll roll around and break. Too small, and there will be too much pressure, which will cause them to break as well.

Wreaths

If you use artificial wreaths and garlands in your holiday décor, you’ll want to be extra aware of how you treat them when it’s time to put them away. To keep them from getting smashed, you’ll want a container that will hug the sides without pushing down on the front. Wreath storage bags and boxes are the perfect solution, and most come with a handle – a great way to utilize vertical space in your My Storage portable unit. You can simply hang the container in the unit from a hook when it’s time to pack it away.

As suggested in our article, Get it Stored [link], use plastic bins to store your holiday décor to keep water, pests and dirt out. Clear bins are great for easy identification, but if you choose an opaque bin, be sure to clearly label the top and all sides so you can pick it out when the next holiday season rolls around.