From October through December it seems every time you blink there is another holiday celebrate - with the associated paraphernalia that you need to keep track of, from Halloween costumes to turkey platters to ornaments to candles to gift wrap to New Years’ noise makers.
Follow these tips to get your holiday trimmings organized once and for all, so that you can find the snowflake guest towels in December, not come across them in March when you are looking for the egg-coloring kit. Doing this sooner rather than later will save you from buying 10 rolls of ribbon in a holiday panic, only to find the supply you’d squirreled away as soon as you return from the store.
Related: Holiday Homestretch: Less Stress, More Joy!
Gather
Go through your house and collect all the different holiday items that you have stored in a variety of places: the jack-o-lantern cutting knives in the kitchen, the menorah in the hall closet, the ornaments in the basement. You’ll probably have to open a bunch of “mystery boxes” in the process. This is a good thing. Have a thick black marker handy so you can label the carton with your high school memorabilia when you come across it in the attic.
Prune
Now that you see your complete holiday stash, toss or give away the items that you’ll never use: the lady bug costume that your daughter wore four years ago, strings of bulbs tangled beyond any chance of liberation, impulse-purchase ornaments you have never once displayed, and wrinkled wrapping paper that you wouldn't use even for the anonymous office grab bag.
Contain and Store
Related: Why Your Home Will Never Look Like a Magazine
Now that you know how much space your decorations take up, treat yourself to some new containers to store them in. Sturdy plastic bins which stack will save space and protect your decorations from dust, water and breakage. They even make color-coded containers for this purpose - orange for Halloween, red and green for Christmas, etc. Label the containers so that you can see at a glance what’s in each one.
Designate an out-of-the way place to store your seasonal stuff since you don't need to get to it often. The basement, attic, or garage is perfect, if you have one. Apartment dwellers, use a high shelf in the closet or under-the-bed boxes.
Enjoy!
Congratulations! You’ve solved a major holiday headache. Now if there was only an easier way to deal with all those relatives who will be visiting...
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