Christmas is over and I’ll be the first to admit that I dread taking down my holiday decor to be stored for another season. My house feels so festive and with the holiday entertaining and client load I’ve had, I simply don’t have the energy to take it down! I’m starting to relate to my estate clients that have their trees wrapped with plastic wrap in the attic, it just makes things so much easier!
I hit this same wall every year, the week between Christmas and New Years and I always overcome it. There is something about the challenge of organizing the holidays (post holiday decor included) that gets me in gear so I can disassemble and store things the right way. As I’m getting in the mindset to tackle the big project of “un-holidaying” my house I thought I would share my favorite tips with you just in case you are experiencing the same struggle!
One of my top tips for organizing holiday decor is to have designated containers, color coded is a good idea (you can snag some green and red bins on the cheap right now). Now is the time to make the swap! I have our holiday ornaments and small treasures in these tiered bins that I found at my local hardware store on a total clearance sale 3 years ago. They make it really easy to separate breakables throughout the year there is no confusion as to what is inside.
I love that they can fit inside of a large bin or fit on a shelf on their own. We’ve used them when we rented a small condo, and then when we owned a condo with a large storage room so either option is a plus. Our current house has a 4 car garage so we have plenty of room to stack them on shelves. For larger bins I have clear green bins and large green bins with red lids on wheels.
I also use these storage trays to store my feather trees and nutcrackers, you can find them at The Container Store and they are nice if you don’t have a ton of space but you want to store larger items like dishes or decor.
My next tip is to leave up a few festive items through winter. I slowly dismantle my decor and keep my “snow” related decor up through January. With our California sunshine and warm temps it reminds me that most of my midwest friends are still freezing! I keep my snowmen and mercury trees out along with my lite trees from Restoration Hardware and I love coming home to the festive glow which is typically centralized into my dining room.
Another great tip is to clear out the items from your storage bins that didn’t make the decorating cut this year. I know you have a few lingering items in at the bottom of those bins like I do! Whether you have tried a new theme or have just gotten sick of something, it’s good to purge while you are getting your holiday decor ready for storage. I’ve personally been trying to get my decor into a white and silver theme so I’m purging out some of the brighter items that have lost their luster over the years. It’s fun to get new items so purging is a must!
With that being said, now is great time to stock up on items for next year! I am personally on the hunt for a new tree skirt so I’m going to shop now while everything is on sale! I know, not the tip you thought you would hear from a professional organizer but purging make room for new beginnings which are always a good thing!
I put some of my everyday dishes away before Thanksgiving so I would be encouraged to use my holiday dishes. During the off season I store them in these convenient dish packs with my Thanksgiving decor so that I can pull them out when Thanksgiving decor gets put away.
My tip is to not let seasonal decor like this hog up valuable kitchen cabinet space, get it out of sight for the 11 months it isn’t in use! I also don’t have a huge set which makes it easier, just snack plates and coffee mugs that I can mix in with my nicer dishes when I entertain.
Now that I’ve put these tips in writing I feel more motivated to tackle my decor and get my house put back together and I hope you feel the same! Enjoy the last week of 2015, rest and relax before the reality of 2016 hits!
Great tips, Amanda! I’m even more motivated to take down my decor after reading this too!
Can’t wait to see you again in 2016!
xo,
Sam
I’m so glad I took my decorations down last weekend because this week was packed with storage sessions. It’s all about purging before it gets tucked away! I’m proud that I was able to eliminate an entire bin this year!