Guest post by Sharon of HowtoGetOrganizedAtHome.com

Are you dreading putting away your Christmas decorations? Do you need to purge your Christmas decorations but don’t know where to start or what to do with them?

I know this is difficult, but sometimes it’s important to purge as we put things away and to make the hard decisions now, rather than when you get the decorations out.

It’s harder to make those decisions when the holiday season is approaching, you don’t have the mental space to think about something else, but now the holiday season is almost over, it’s time to purge those decorations.

Start Purging Decorations

You must pick a place to start, bring out all the boxes that you store your decorations in and see what you didn’t put up this year.

This highlights some decorations that you could get rid of without much thought, you didn’t want them up this year so maybe it’s time for these items to go first. 

Purging Sentimental Decorations

Sometimes it’s the sentimental items, those made by our children or grandchildren. If they are broken or no longer any good take a picture of them so you can remember them in the future and let them go.

If you have a lot, maybe you can make a memory photo album that you store with your decorations so you can remember those that needed to go, so when you get the decorations down next holiday season, you can remember those that you once had along with a note who made it and when.

Organizing Your Decorations

Create piles for the different categories for the Christmas decorations, it will help as you go through your collection.

  • Donate pile
  • Trash pile
  • Keep pile

Check For Recyclable Items

Look through your trash pile of ornaments that just need throwing away and check to see if there are any batteries or other recyclable bits and recycle these.

It’s important that we don’t send somethings to landfill sites and recycle as much as possible. But please be aware that this does not mean that you can keep the items, it just means that you need to think about where you are putting these items when you need to dispose of them.

Donate Christmas Decorations

Before piling your car up with donations of Christmas decorations you probably want to check that the place you were thinking of taking the decorations to will actually take them.

Sometimes, with the New Year, some charity shops don’t want holiday decorations, they are moving away from this type of stock. So, it’s always better to check first.

You might have some luck selling some items, but people won’t pay much for decorations in January so be aware that you will need to sell items at rock bottom prices. 

One option you do have is to sort your donation pile, but to store it away until October when people are on the lookout for decorations and you might be able to either donate them or sell them at a better price.

But be careful storing items to get rid of at a later date, don’t forget to sell them or to give them away, you don’t want them still in your home this time next year.

Marie Kondo Your Decorations

You have to think about each holiday item and decide if you like it, this process is very Marie Kondo style, but in this case, I think it works great for holiday decorations, going through each item and making a decision based on how you feel about the holiday decoration.

You have to pick up each item and think about if you want it in your home next season. If the answer is no then you need to decide if it’s good to donate or if it’s only fit for the bin.

When you have gone through every item, including the ornaments that hang on your tree you need to start putting the items that you want to keep away.

 

Before Putting Away Decorations

Cleaning before putting away. I always like to clean things as I put them away, this makes sure that any dust or dirt doesn’t get packed away with the item and makes the process of unpacking a lot easier.

This also includes taking any batteries out, you don’t want them to leak inside the object causing damage. 

I store all these batteries together with the items they come out of to make it easier next season, there is little point throwing the batteries away if they are still working.

If the battery is dead, take the battery to be disposed of properly, don’t just throw in the trash. 

How To Store Seasonal Decorations

The trick is to store the items in a way that protects them and makes it easy to store.

How to store Christmas decorations will depend on what space you have and where the space is located. 

I wrap all breakable items up, if they came originally in a box, they go back into that box. If they are small, they then go together with other small ornaments into a plastic box that’s labelled with what is inside.

With lights, using a piece of cardboard to wrap the lights around will save hours of frustration next holiday season.

I always put items inside a big plastic box, this ensures that not only is it protected from dust and pests it protects my attic too.

I‘ve had a snow globe leak before and ruin a load of decorations but because they were inside a plastic box nothing else got damaged.

Why You Need To Label

Labelling is your best friend, the more you label boxes and storage spots the more likely you will return items to their proper home. 

Label boxes when you pack away the decorations to help you identify what’s inside.

So, not only label what’s in the box but label the space your box needs to go, this will keep you organized and able to find your holiday decorations with ease. 

Let’s Recap…

  • Purging your holiday decorations is good, start with the ones that you didn’t put out. There must have been a reason you didn’t put them up this year. 
  • Go through every single decoration and only keep the items that you love, and you will display.
  • Check decorations that you are putting in the trash for items that need to be recycled like batteries.
  • If there are items from children or grandchildren that have seen better days, photograph them and get a photo album that is stored with your decorations so you can look through it when you decorate your home each holiday season.
  • Store things so they are easy to get out, ensure the boxes are labelled and have a home. 
  • Remember to go through your holiday decorations every year.

About the Author

Sharon Rowe, the owner of How To Get Organized is a mother to three grown up children who have all left home. Sharon lives with her husband of 28 years and their 6 year old black Labrador. She loves to help her readers to organize and clean their homes and lives.