5 Tips for Storing Christmas Decor
Let’s be honest. Organizing Christmas -and holiday decorations in general- is a pain! I love organizing and making things neat, but storing Christmas decor is not my favorite thing to do. But taking the time to store your Christmas tree and all the decor in smart ways, pays off.
Here are my 5 tips to make taking down and organizing your Christmas decor easier, and how I store our 9 ft. Christmas tree. In 10 months from now – when we have to get it all out again- it will be much easier to set up!
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. For more information, please read my Affiliates Disclosure.
1. Shop for Storage Containers
January is the perfect month to go shopping for organization bins and baskets. You will find the most sales on all kinds of latching clear containers. I love visiting my local Target. I think they have the best prices on storage containers for holiday decorations.
Oh, hi! It’s me again reminding you that plastic storage containers are the best way to store your Christmas and holiday decor. Just for fun, watch my IG reel walking Target aisles.
Favorite Containers to Store Christmas Decor
There’s no doubt that I love storage containers. Below are some tips on holiday and Christmas decorations storage
- 6 Qt. Small Latching Clear Storage Box —> In these small latching boxes I like to organize small Christmas and ornaments with odd shapes like metal stars, jingle bells, monogram letters, or those tiny Santa boots. These are all ornaments that that are delicate but not fragile.
- 32 Qt. Medium Latching Clear Storage Box –> This medium sized storage box is perfect to store long but not large or bulky items. For example, I store Christmas pillowcases, table runner, and a other decor like a couple of boxes of glittered eucalyptus stems.
- 24″ Latching Wreath Storage–> I love this wreath keeper. This year I purchased a new Christmas wreath, so I had to add a new wreath storage container to my stash. The old wreath is still intact thanks to this amazing storage system.
- Hefty 18gal Hi-Rise Storage Tote –> And of course large tote containers for everything in between. I like to store inside these, all bulky and fragile items. The raised top lid is great, for oversized objects.
2. Store Round Ornaments Separately
When it comes to storing round (or fragile) ornaments, I suggest investing in a storage system designed especially for them.
How to Store Christmas Ornaments
While most ornaments nowadays are shatterproof, some may have an intricate design that you may want to preserve intact. So here are two ways I store them.
- 2-Tray Ornament Storage Bag [48 Ornaments]—> I’ve had this ornament organizer for over 10 years! In here I store fragile ornaments, vintage ornaments, heirlooms, and some ornaments that are heavily glittered.
- Original packaging. —> No need to reinvent the wheel. Some ornaments are better off kept inside their original package. If they made it from the warehouse to the store, to your home, it means it’s good! I did this with this (similar) set from Martha Stewart.
3. Invest in a Tree Keeper Bag
For the last 4 years, we have stored our artificial Christmas tree in its original box. But as expected – with time- the cardboard box started to break and lose its shape.
Tree Keeper Bag sent me their GreensKeeper Extra Large Tree Storage Bag and I was impressed with the size, and the sturdiness. My husband called it the ‘trailer’, because it is on wheels and clearly, really big!
It comes flat, folded in a medium-size box. I honestly didn’t know what to expect.
Tree Keeper Bag Assembly
This Tree Keeper Bag needs minimal assembly. The only two things you have to do to get it ready for use are, attach two wheels, and straighten the sidebars. Watch this time-lapse video of me assembling the tree keeper!
Here’s an aerial view (from my loft) to give you an idea of the size! It’s as big as my coffee table! But, it is perfect for storing our 9 ft tall Christmas tree, staircase garlands, and more decor that I stored in one of the small plastic latched containers.
And here’s another view. My tree keeper is ready to go! I really love that finally, I was able to store my Christmas tree without having to smush it back inside an undersized cardboard box.
You can find all different types of storage for Christmas trees and Christmas decor at treekeeperbag.com
4. Tie Ribbons to Identify Connections
If you have a pre-lit artificial Christmas tree, you probably know how hard it is to find the lights’ connections. For every level the tree has, there are two connectors you have to plug together, a male and a female.
And you know how prickly those artificial branches can be, right? Trying to squeeze your head through the tree to find the connectors is not fun!
For the last 4 years -while trying to find the connectors- I always thought about marking them with red ribbon so I can find them easily the following year. But, always forgot.
Not this year. You are welcome!
5. Label Your Christmas Storage Containers
Lastly, a good organization system must include a good labeling system. There are many ways to label things:
- Print my template.
- Use a Cricut Joy.
- With a P-Touch Cube.
- Using a Dymo LabelWriter
For this project, I always prefer to use the Dymo LabelWriter. The labels are big enough for the storage containers and are very easy to make—just type and print. But you can even handwrite your labels on copy paper, cut them to size, and tape them over your bins. No need to get fancy as long as you label the bins.
I hope you find these tips helpful and you put them into practice next time you organize your Christmas decor.
happy organizing, Flavia
I received a free Greenskeeper Tree Keeper Bag in exchange for my honest review.