Holiday Storage Solutions

Do you still have holiday decor or gifts lingering around your space?

The holiday season is officially behind us but our homes and spaces may not be quite back to how they were after our last Spring cleaning and clearing. Here are a few simple things you can do to wrap up your holiday season and bring your home back in alignment with the start of a new year.

Gifts

Gift giving is part of our culture, but with the average American spending $800 on gifts and 60% reporting they receive unwanted gifts, many of us are left with items in our homes we don’t necessarily like, will use, or align with our lives. So what do we do with them? Here is what I do to avoid throwing it away or keep it from becoming clutter in my home:

  • Re-gift to someone that might need or enjoy it.
  • Donate to a local charity accepting items like it.
  • Create a “gifts to give” bin or basket while you find someone that can benefit from it.

Holiday Decor

I’m not sure what it is about holiday decor that somehow multiplies every year, even if you don’t recall buying anything new. Sometimes you are gifted a new ornament or a family heirloom and you now have more than you started with. 

When storing your holiday decor, here are some things to consider:

  1. Is it broken? If so, can it be fixed? How much time or financial investment do I have available to salvage it? If it can be fixed and it is important to you to restore it, then make a plan with a date to have this completed prior to storing it so it is ready for use next year.
  2. I always recommend storing your holiday decor in weather-tight bins like these to keep your items free from moisture + dust regardless of where you store them. 
  3. Designate proper and accessible storage for your rolls of wrapping paper and supplies
  4. Consider storing faux Christmas trees and wreaths in breathable bags that will keep their shape and ensure durability.
  5. Always label your bins and boxes to know exactly where everything is.

Christmas Lights

When it comes to christmas lights my advice is simple:

Make sure every string of lights you are storing works + coil each strand to avoid damage and make it easy for you to use next time. 

Pro tips that save resources

  • Consider using items like your tree skirt or stockings to wrap fragile decor.
  • Save your egg cartons to store small ornaments.
  • If you purchased a real wreath, strip the metal of all the branches and save to make your own next year. If you have a greens bin, put all your greenery in it for proper composting. 
  • Did you decorate with pinecones? These can be stored and reused for many years so no need to throw them away.
  • If you watched my DIY sustainable holiday decor you may have used kosher salt as snow. Don’t forget this salt is perfectly acceptable to be used in a bath which you will definitely deserve after putting away all your holiday decorations. 

Happy New Year!

xx,

Lili