I kind of resent the beginning of every year, not because I might fail my resolutions or because I’ve over indulged over Christmas, but because we have to take down the festive decorations. The house feels so warm and welcoming when bedecked by fairy lights, velvet bunting and a centrepiece tree.
It also doesn’t help that my beloved decorations that I have spent years collecting go into one sad cardboard box with no rhyme or reason, usually unprotected from the dust of the loft, until I need them next year. Everything just gets dumped in and I cross my fingers it won’t get bumped or moved during our renovation.
So, this year, I spoke with a couple of organisation gurus - experts in their field - to give me some tips in sorting, decluttering, protecting and how to store my Christmas decorations. Here’s what they advised…
Think about where the decorations will go
Before we begin, apparently, it’s best to sort out a clear spot for the decorations to be stored. ‘It’s worth spending some time considering where to store your Christmas decorations with the space you have available,’ says Cat, professional organiser and founder of Just like Cat.
‘Fast forward in your mind to next year and think about how easy they are going to be to get out again. Lofts are popular because decorations are only needed once a year, so a trip up the ladder doesn’t need to be a regular thing. Avoid locations where other items may be added throughout the year, as you might end up undoing all of your hard work!’
Assemble your storage containers
‘Investing in good quality storage boxes to match the size of your space can give you years of stress-free decorating,’ points out Cat. ‘A tree bag is also a good idea if you have an artificial tree; you can often fit more than one tree in a bag and even a garland if you have one.’
However, if you don’t want to buy all new plastic boxes, Chloe Wright, owner of Goddess Organising offers a cheaper and more sustainable solution: ‘Through my business, I encourage the use of things we already have rather than purchasing the expensive storage solution. You can't really beat a good old cardboard box. It's cheap, reusable for years, and you are not adding to the over-consumerism that we all participate in. Shoe boxes are a really good one as they are not too big and there’s no chance of overcrowding and items getting broken.'
My current cardboard box is looking a little worse for wear and doesn’t have a lid, so I’ve saved some boxes from my birthday at the beginning of the month to see what will fit and what won’t work. However, I’m also investing in one large box to protect non-wipeable material items.
You can't go wrong with these clear stackable storage boxes.
The White Company makes some of the best artificial Christmas trees and Christmas tree storage bags. But they sell out fast, so snap one up quickly.
Treat yourself to this clever bauble storage case that includes separators to keep all your decorations organised.
Take decorations down in order and check for damage
With my lack of organisational skills, I tend to just take everything down at once and dump it all in one box, where things often get tangled or broken.
But Danielle Le Vaillant, head of photography and film at Cox & Cox who has taken down countless Christmas trees and decorations, suggests keeping it orderly: ‘We always recommend taking your Christmas tree decorations down in the exact reverse order to ensure every bauble makes it safely back to the attic or wherever you store them. Remove the topper, glass and more delicate ornaments first to stop them from being knocked off when you unwind the garlands and lights.’
Check for damage as you’re putting each decoration away - do any need repairing or recycling?
Protect for next year
This next step is really where I fall down; I can be guilty of shoving everything in and vaguely wafting some tissue paper around them as a whole. My lack of care really doesn’t bother me until next year, and I feel all kinds of guilt. This year, I’m going to take our professional organisers’ tips and wrap/wind/box depending on the type of ornament.
Pack away baubles
‘Bauble bags with separate compartments are a good way to keep glass baubles safe,’ advises Cat. ‘Keeping the original boxes for fragile display items or Christmas village scenes is a good idea to keep them safe and are easier to store / stack/ locate next year.’
‘Wrap baubles individually in bubble wrap or tissue paper in a single layer,’ Chloe of Goddess Organising advises.
This bauble organiser is under £10 and will store 64 ornaments safely between the padded dividers.
Use softer garlands or bunting as cushioning
Danielle also suggests using softer decorations to protect more fragile baubles. ‘A layer or two of tissue paper, or even a covering of bubble wrap, will definitely help protect fancier baubles from getting damaged, especially if you no longer have the original packaging. Or you could nestle more fragile items in between soft felt or fabric decorations to cushion them - just make sure they are then stored in sturdy boxes to avoid accidental crushing.’
Wrap up lights
Normally, I just wind lights around my arm to create a loop and use ribbon to tie them together, but that inevitably leads to me detangling them again the next year. ‘I wrap my lights around a plastic clothes hanger,’ says Chloe. ‘A bit of cardboard would work in the same way.’
‘You can also get a ‘light storage holder’ (from Amazon) which tree lights can be wound around to stop them becoming tangled’ adds Cat.
'Alternatively, you can wind them around a roll of spare wrapping paper instead. Don’t forget to remove any batteries before putting your decorations away - you don’t want them leaking and ruining your favourite item. You can always keep them in a separate bag or cardboard box if you want to use them again next year (or purchase a battery case for ultimate storage goals).’
Separate based on room and order of use
When it comes to how to group decorations when storing them, there are two approaches you can take, according to the experts. You can organise by room, or by order of use, or do a middle ground approach with a '1st of December box' filled with advent calendars, which I'll be adopting. Here's how the two approaches work.
By Room
‘If you decorate more than one room, it’s a good idea to have one box per room and label it, so that next year, you can simply deliver each box to the correct room for decorating, knowing all the items needed for that particular room are in the right place,’ says Cat.
By Order of Use
‘Think about the order that you’ll need to get things out next year. For example, if you have reusable advent calendars or elves that you need to get out on the first, don’t bury them in the middle of the decorations that you won’t need until later in December; instead, put them at the top of a box, label it and store it at the front. Or, if you have the space, you could have a separate ‘early December’ box,' says Chloe.
‘This is also the case for spare Christmas wrapping paper, keep it with your Christmas decorations, but somewhere easy to access/see so you know how much you do/don’t need to buy next year.’
My storage boxes are ready to go, and I have the spot for my decorations identified in the loft. Here's to a less stressful Christmas next year when I pull them out of storage neat and organised.