Un-Decorating for the Holidays
What’s the secret of decorating for the holidays? Knowing how to un-decorate!
Decorating your home for the holidays isn’t much fun when ornaments are broken and light strands are tangled. What to do? The best way to ensure that it will go smoothly next year is to take care when “un-decorating” your home this year.
Replace Worn-Out Storage Boxes
Sturdy, well-designed containers for ornaments, lights, and other decorations are available from home improvement stores, as well as online retailers like, ultimatechristmas.com and ornamentbox.com. Store items that don’t fit easily into ornament storage boxes in a plastic bag or cardboard box. Roll lights around a storage spool or reel so you won’t have to tediously untangle them next year.
Containerstore.com carries a good assortment of wrapping-paper organizers that can hang, stand, roll, or slide under your bed. You may want to invest in two organizers-one for holiday paper and one for everything else.
Label Every Container
The label should be as specific as possible. For example, instead of several boxes labeled “decorations,” you might have one for “glass ornaments,” another for “handmade ornaments,” another for “lights,” and so on.
[Free Resource: How to Prioritize This Holiday Season]
Sort Through Decorations Before Storing Them
If something no longer suits your taste or brings you joy, discard it. Ditto for items that are broken. Hold on to anything that has sentimental value.
