Inside: If you’re overwhelmed with all of your decor, use these tips for organizing and downsizing your holiday decorations.
A guest post by Rose Morrison
Whether you’re already getting started on decorating for the holidays or you haven’t yet broken out the boxes of ornaments and tinsel, getting your home ready for the holiday season can be a big project. It takes even longer when you really love to spread holiday cheer.
Decorating for the holidays should be all about fun and happiness. However, you might sometimes find that things are a little overwhelming. This is especially true if you have a lot of decor from over the years that may need to be pared down.
To make decorating easier, you’ll want to be able to find what you need and have access to the very best of your collection.
Want to downsize and purge so that you can explore your style with ease? Here are some tips for organizing and downsizing your holiday decorations this season.
Organizing and Downsizing Holiday Decorations
Use these nine tips for organizing and downsizing your holiday decorations this year to make decorating more fun!
1. Look for Duplicates
One of the easiest ways to get started on purging your holiday decor is to look for duplicates in your collection. Of course, there are some types of items you may want more than one of. But there are also plenty of things that you don’t need multiples of in your collection.
Donate any duplicate decorations you know you don’t need or don’t want to use.
Gift them in your local Buy Nothing group to someone who will love and appreciate using them in their home.
2. Toss the Old, Broken, and Worn
The next thing to look for is old, broken, and worn-out decorations you’ve been holding onto for a bit too long. Before you start hanging things or decorating, go through all of the decorations you have and finally throw out any of the broken, old decorations that you have.
Let’s face it, nobody has any use for broken Christmas lights, faulty ornaments, and other pieces that just don’t get used anymore. If something is sentimental enough, you might want to consider repairing it. But if it’s been sitting for years, you probably know it isn’t worth it.
3. Keep Them Protected
If you have holiday decorations that are sentimental or important to you — or even just high-quality pieces that you want to use year after year, it’s crucial that in order to preserve them, you take good care of where you store them. Make sure you keep your decorations protected, both in how and where you store them.
For example, wrapping fragile ornaments in bubble wrap or protective coverings can be just as important as storing them in a temperature-controlled environment. Although many people prefer to toss things into a bin and store them in the garage, it’s actually not a fantastic idea to do this unless you have a garage with proper insulation and temperature controls.
4. High and Dry
Speaking of storage, another important tip that you can hold onto is to make sure you aren’t storing anything important in places where it can get damaged.
Of course, starting with avoiding the garage if it isn’t temperature controlled is a good start. But you should also make sure not to store things outdoors, in basements, or anywhere it can accrue water damage or other signs of degradation that can ruin decorations that are important to you.
5. Label Makers Are Your Friend
When it comes to the organizing part of things, one of the best tools you have at your disposal is a label maker. Especially if you tend to keep things in separate bins or boxes, labeling bings can save you a lot of time and effort.
You don’t have to label every single thing, but it can definitely help make the decorating (and undecorating) process easier.
6. Finding Creative Pockets
If you have a few fragile items that you’re worried about breaking, it can be a great idea to find some creative storage methods to keep them protected.
Bubble wrap and boxes can do just fine, but you can also store things in egg cartons, pillboxes, and, reusable shopping bags. The best storage method will vary from item to item. Just keep in mind there are plenty of options when it comes to organizing.
7. Remembering Less Is More
Sometimes, less is more when it comes to having a relaxing holiday season. More can be just more which makes things overwhelming.
You can still have a festive home even with using fewer decor items. Try keeping it more minimal, especially if you don’t have a lot of storage space. See if that helps you to get in the holiday spirit while also creating less stress for you this year.
8. Use the One-Year Rule
Much like the rule of getting rid of clothes you haven’t worn in the past twelve months, you can use the same methodology to decide which decorations to keep and which ones to toss.
If you didn’t use them last year and don’t plan to use them this year, that tells you something. You don’t want to continue to store holiday decor that you aren’t using.
9. Go Disposable When You Need to
Although disposable items aren’t always the most sustainable, disposable doesn’t always mean landfill. If you don’t have a lot of space to store your holiday decor, natural items are a great alternative. Use organic materials that can be recycled or composted.
Getting a live Christmas tree and creating a wreath or garlands with real tree branches makes your home smell great and gives you fewer items to store. You can simply recycle them at the end of the season.
Organizing and Downsizing Your Decorations
Enjoy a more relaxed holiday season this year by organizing and downsizing your decorations. You’ll enjoy the benefits of the work you do now for the years to come.
From getting rid of the old and broken pieces to storing everything effectively, you’ll make decorating easier and take good care of what you have. Have a wonderful simplified holiday!
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