Q: Can you post about how you store all of your Christmas decorations? Since you rotate the ornaments on your tree each year and have a large tree and a smaller tabletop one as well as exterior decor and mantel stuff I wondered how much space it all takes up. I have an attic like you, which I think is where you store yours, but I don’t really have a system so it feels chaotic. Any tips for getting mine under control? Thanks! – Meghan
A: We actually get this question a lot, so you’re not the only one wondering, Meghan! We store it all in a 6 foot by 5 foot area in our attic (our attic is much larger than that, but that’s the footprint that everything in the photo below takes up). We stack things as you see here, and we’ve labeled each bin with what’s inside thanks to photoshop, so hopefully it’s pretty self explanatory.
The concept of storing “like with like” is basically my jam. So I think that’s the theme of this picture. All of the plugs and cords and window candles go in one bin, all of the tabletop stuff goes in two matching green bins, etc. We just try to keep things that go together, together. It really helps us know where things are without feeling like we’re just shoving things in random bins and forgetting what’s what.
For a little more detail, here’s how we pack up the big tree in the dining room. We remove everything on the tree and carefully place it in one of these long, shallow plastic bins. We have another one of these in the attic with all of the out-of-rotation ornaments that we didn’t use this year (like the faux lemons and orange ornaments from this tree back in 2009) although many things get reused nearly every year (like the white/silver ornaments as well as the soft pink ones in this bin, which have been on many former trees as well as this year’s version).
Between those two shallow bins, we contain nearly all of our ornaments (all of them except for the ones on our small tabletop tree, which we’ll get to in a second). And since they’re only about 5″ deep, they’re very easy to stack without taking up much floor space. If we have a beloved breakable ornament we’ll just wrap it in newspaper before packing it away, but most of the time they just get laid in like the ones you see above.
After storing ornaments using this put-them-all-in-plastic-bins method for over five years we’ve actually never broken a single one in storage or in transport. So I’m brave enough to say that it works for us. We just very carefully put the bins away in the attic one time each year (and carefully pull it out the next year) so it’s not like it’s banging around in there and constantly being shaken/moved (in which case we’d definitely wrap them up a lot more to avoid breakage). Oh and here’s here’s how we unpack the tabletop tree:
Same basic premise. All of those special, mixed & matched ornaments go into this smaller tupperware bin. The especially delicate ones get wrapped in newspaper, but most of them just drop right in. Then we break it out each year, add new items to it if we’d like, and remove anything that we no longer love. It helps to use a bin that’s related to the size of the tree to keep us from hoarding too many ornaments that could never fit on that cute little tree of ours (we’ll either donate/pass down/yard sale older ornaments that aren’t as special as the new ones – like the ones Clara makes us – or move them to being stored in the two bigger bins for our full sized tree if we think we might use them there instead).
Here’s how we store tabletop stuff slash mantel stuff. Freestanding items like our wooden reindeer or feather trees don’t get bagged, but the ones that fit into large bins live in there, and we stash smaller items in large ziplock bags first, with a label for where they go before dropping them in. For example, these are all ornaments that we group for tabletop displays like the cake stand in our kitchen, the glass based lamp on the console, etc).
Then the bags just slip into the green bins (where all of our other tabletop/mantel stuff lives, like the wooden reindeer from our Christmas dinner centerpiece, a few smaller feather trees, our faux wrapped gifts for the mantel etc). That way they’re all grouped in a nice intuitive way.
So there you have it. How we store all of our holiday stuff. How do you guys store your ornaments? Do you use plastic bins? Original boxes? Those little cardboard dividers? I bet there are a ton of things that work. Share and share alike.
Update: You can check out all of our favorite holiday decor finds here – many of which are under $15!
Rebecca says
Off topic…you can now get Photoshop and the rest of CS2 free from Adobe. Pretty awesome of Adobe.
http://gizmodo.com/5973730/grab-photoshop-and-cs2-for-absolutely-free-right-here
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s awesome of them!
xo
s
Kelly F. says
Having an exciting collection of holiday decorations takes creative storage solutions or a huge amount of storage space (don’t I wish!). I started with those special ornament totes (with the cardboard dividers) and quickly realized they are a huge space waster. Pile up the stuff that won’t break on the bottom, then load up the breakables on the top (wrapped of course). This way I can keep a wider variety of ornaments on hand for whatever goofy thing I want to try. I also have a gigantic plastic tote to hold my faux tree. I prefer this to a bag due to the fact that I can stack additional boxes on top :)
YoungHouseLove says
Smart tip!
xo
s
Sally says
Related question…does anyone have tips on storing gift bags? We reuse them (both the Christmas ones and the non-Christmas ones) and I’m looking for a good way to store them so that I can get to them easily but they won’t get crushed or wrinkled.
YoungHouseLove says
I fold them all and use hangers in a spare closet (you can hang a bunch on each hanger).
xo
s
Mira says
Hi Sherry,
Unrelated to Christmas, but related to organization…do you have any tips on creating a rotating display for kids artwork? We recently moved and I’m trying to decide between a corkboard, clothesline, etc. I’m not sure if you ever had a post on this?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh both of those would be fun! Also a magnetic wall (just use magnetic paint) works too! Or you could hang clipboards on the wall and clip up new are all the time. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Bethany says
This year I tried something new. I put up one real christmas tree and 5 artificial trees. This year, instead of taking each tree apart and packing it in boxes, we lifted each entire tree into the attic. Kinda tricky cause they come apart in sections. It was definitely a two person job. Once in the attic, we simply set them upright on their stands and covered with old sheets. Will make set up next year a bit less of an ordeal, I think.
tracy d. says
Do you keep your wrapping paper/bags/ribbon separate from the decorations?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, they hang on hangers in a closet in the spare room (well, bags on the hangers and tissue paper folded on a shelf with a box of ribbon and wrapping paper in a planter on the floor).
xo
s
mp says
Storing my Christmas decorations means taking the wreath off the door and putting it in the closet.
Amy says
How do you store your lights inside the rubber container? Mine always get so tangled! Do you use those plastic handles that you wind the lights onto? They seem kind of bulky. And do you keep all the lights (both outside ones and lights for the big tree) in that one container? Thanks! I love your blog!
YoungHouseLove says
We do that thing where we wrap them around our elbow to make a big wound loop of them and then tuck the cord to sort of tie them in place. So they’re all bundled when we drop them in. All of the lights for outside and the tree and each of the window lights (those little candles) all fit in that one container!
xo
s
Alex - Old Town Home says
As soon as I saw the title of your post in my reader I went right into “Let me begin. I came to win. Battle me that’s a sin…” There’s nothing like a little House of Pain to brighten the day.
We’ve finally gotten to a point where our storage bins seem organized, but there are too many. I like the way you pack everything into bins without dividers, but I fear our blown glass ornaments are so fragile that we have to use those individual ornament separators. They end up taking up a lot more room in our attic, but oh well. The main thing that complicates things for us is my Wendy Grinch. She can’t stand when Christmas hangs around too long.
If you’re interested, you see our storage and read my best attempt at channelling Dr. Seuss with “How Wendy Grinch Stole Christmas” http://www.oldtownhome.com/2013/1/9/How-the-Wendy-Grinch-Stole-Christmas/index.aspx
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for sharing the link Alex!
xo
s
Sarah T says
I have a certain nameless relative who insists on giving me tacky Christmas decorations every single year. Do you have a policy for when you get something you know you’ll never use from someone whose feelings you don’t want to hurt?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! If they’ll be over again and might look for it we try to save it for a year or so just to pop it out for the day they’re coming over and then tuck it away again, but if they won’t know or even notice we donate it right away – after a totally genuine thank you since the thought is definitely there!
xo
s
Debbie says
We bought 1 of these for each of our 4 kids to store their ornaments which made it easy to give to them when they moved out. They’re quite nice and you can add on as needed.
http://www.amazon.com/Snapware-Christmas-Ornament-Storage-Box/dp/B000630F7E
Skooks says
I wish I could let go and just get rid of the individual boxes for each ornament I have (would make life so much easier), but I just can’t. My mom is a hardcore ornament collector and she has kept all her boxes too. When you do even a teeny bit of research on it, it’s crazy how valuable those ornaments become (especially in their original boxes). I have no idea what her collection is worth in entirety, but I know she has a bunch of ornaments that are worth $100 or more each. :O
Kelly says
Yep, I have all of my Christmas decor in storage bins and the boxes that my mom shipped things to me. Each ornament is carefully wrapped. I have enough ornaments to last a life time. Growing up, my mom would tie an ornament to our packages as keepsakes. That way, when we grew up and got married, we would have enough ornaments to start our own family tree.
Side Note: A friend of mine knows I frequent thrift stores and love a bargain, so she sent me a link to this youtube video. Please tell me you guys have seen this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes It’s called Thrift Shop featuring Wanz. Hysterical!
Kelly says
Oh, don’t play it around Clara, there are swear words in it.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes I LOVE that song! They have a clean version that I play ;)
xo
s
Audrey says
<3 organizing. We live in a rental, so we've agreed to keep our decorations contained in a wreath box (with our wreath). So far so good! I made handmade stuff every year to do a little more for the Yule-time impact without feeling through need to store it (like a snowflake banner).
Ann Marie says
Crazy! I just spent the entire day reorganizing my entire Christmas storage system. It was so weird to finally finish and sit down to enjoy my nightly blog reading and find this post! I basically did exactly as you described and put like with like. Everything is so neat now and it takes up a smaller footprint in the crawlspace. Til next year, that is…
Elizabeth says
I’m lucky in that all of my Christmas stuff currently fits neatly in an awesomely-appropriate red and green tupperware bin right now, but this year I accumulated a few more items and it was a bit of a 3-D tetris game to get everything to fit. That said, there is nothing more satisfying that getting it all in and realizing the top of the stuff inside is perfectly flush with the sides of the bin! I believe there’s a word for that… WINNING!
also, thank’s for getting Jump Around stuck in my head :)
Melissa says
I do pretty much the same as y’all when it comes to organizing like things in bins. Although I have a lot of breakable ornaments they get stored in their own individual labeled boxes (within the bins). It takes a lot of work when putting them on and taking them off the tree. But, they have lived 5 years with my daughter without getting broke the least I can do is store them properly. haha! Organization keeps me sane. ;)
xoxo,
Melissa
Janice says
I am a little OCD when I pack our seasonal/ holiday stuff. Like you guys, I organize by color, location and purpose. I use those big lovely bins from Costco (the ones with the integrated lids) and label them. I’ve been doing it for years. It makes the task of decorating for the next holiday season stress-free. Really motivating. :-)
Erica says
I’m glad I’m not the only one who has managed to melt taper candles! Actually, mine only warped, but they definitely melted at some point! I store my Christmas stuff in the garage because my attic is a pain to get into and it’s not really great for storing stuff since I have insulation everywhere. :-) I’d rather have the insulation!
I am up to 5 plastic bins, plus 2 for lights, and I bought one this year for ornaments because I bought a new tree this year. I also have something for my wreath. And 2 trees that I store in their original boxes. I am afraid to store anything just freestanding because it’s in the garage, which is detached from my house. So some of my bins don’t have much in them, but that’s ok! I just hope everything fits when I pack it all away this weekend!
Erica says
Oh, and I also put things in ziploc bags! :-) It’s such a great way to remember what goes where!
Kate says
Thanks for the inspiration to streamline my decorations! I still have to take the tree down, so I’m definitely going to cull the items I don’t love and try to organize them in categories like you do. One idea my husband came up with for fragile ornaments: use plastic clamshell packages from warehouse stores that apples or other individual fruits come in for separating and protecting special ornaments – you can see what’s in them without having to unwrap a ball of newspaper. They also stack well, too!
Ashley says
We have a very very very low slope roof, resulting in not a lot of attic space. I took a few hours recently to “reorganize” up there (we’ve been in the house 6 months and I’m still constantly reorganizing, trying to figure out how to best cram everything into 1000 sq ft home). Part of my system for the attic is to divide holidays into truss sections, as in- between each truss (they’re 2′ apart) is reserved for only one holiday- I decorate for everything. So as the collection grows there is still space in the reserved “section.” Of course Christmas gets about 5 truss sections!
Jodi McKelvin says
So proud my system looks like your system. I finally remembered this year to also photograph what I wanted to duplicate next year. I always forget how things end up after all the moving, combining, etc of decor all over the house.
Peg says
Would you please come organize my Christmas decorations? On second thought, never mind. Would you please come organize my life?? Love your blog!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, be right over!
xo,
s
laurie says
honestly…I don’t know how many of your readers “get” your hilarious musical references…but they are my most FAVORITE part of your blog…except maybe now that Jump Around is stuck in my head…keep up the good work…we love you here in Traverse City, Michigan
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Laurie! Love you right back!
xo
s
Brandy says
Where did you fin dyour 2 big red deer? I would love to have them but havent been able to find your source.
YoungHouseLove says
Those were from Ben Franklin (a craft store) but they were brown so I spray painted them red.
xo
s
Jen says
This year was the first year that I organized all my ordaments. We have 5 trees in the house (each kid has one (2), one in the hall upstairs, dining room and our big one in the living room.) I organized all my bins (labelled he contents of each one) So now I have bins for each tree. Then I have the bins for each room (living, dining, bathroom, hallway) so now next year there will be no thinking just grab a bin and get at it! :)
Love your blog, y’all are too cute!!
-Jen
jill says
This post made me think of Epbot’s Christmas organization tip: shrink-wrap your christmas tree! I don’t own a fake tree, but if I even got one, I would try this:
http://www.epbot.com/2013/01/how-to-shrink-wrap-your-christmas-tree.html
I love your blog!
YoungHouseLove says
Hah!
xo
s
Vel says
I finished mine last, last weekend! I have a ton of stuff and I’m so proud to get them organized at last for next year! You and I have the same idea with the ziplock bags. Please check it out if you have the time… THANK YOU!
http://buhayatbahay.blogspot.com/2013/01/christmas-decor-organizing.html
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so organized! Amazing.
xo
s
Shannon says
Your level of organization here is seriously inspiring! I find that by the time the holidays are over I am mostly worn out and that leads me to just start shoving things in boxes, even though I theoretically have a system that could work much like you have outlined (bins of varying colors and sizes). I’ve seen this too late to implement for this year, but you have me plotting a reorganization next year!
Abraham says
I have two trees (living room and foyer) and my tubs are packed by color. The last several years I’ve used variations of light green, copper, brown, gold, and a touch of teal on my main tree – and white and gold or old world shaped ornaments and gold and red on the other.
E says
I love this post :)
We just moved into our house last summer and up until Christmas we have always had season-themed decorations. Now that it’s January with no holiday in the near future, I am having difficulties with decor. Hubs and I took all the Christmas stuff down and now we have bare walls and an empty mantle! What are your suggestions on decorating during the nonfestive days?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, maybe put out some seasonal but not Christmas stuff (a warm throw on the sofa, a sweater vase or some mercury glass candle holders on the mantel, etc). Hope it helps!
xo
s