How to Organize Your Holiday Supplies and Decorations

Dec 28

The holidays can be a stressful time of year if you don’t feel very organized to begin with. It can feel even more overwhelming if you can’t find your holiday decorations, the gifts you purchased for your friends and family throughout the year, or your wrapping paper because they are scattered all over your house. Here are some tips to make your life easier this holiday season.

1. Create a Gift-Wrapping Station

You can use a latching gift wrap bin to store your wrapping paper in so it doesn’t get damaged. A gift bag organizer makes it easy to find your bags, boxes, gift tags, tape, ribbon, bows, scissors, etc. If you are short on floor space, there are hanging gift wrap organizers and even organizers that can be installed on the back of a closet door.

2. Use Clear Bins With Red or Green Lids to Easily Identify Your Holiday Items

You can store lights, decorations, or gifts that you purchased in them so they are all together and easy to find. I recommend putting similar items together so it’s easier to find what you need from year to year. For example, you can store all of your holiday kitchen décor and linens together in one bin, all of your holiday figurines in one bin, or all of your decorative holiday pillows in a bin. Make sure to label the contents of the bin to eliminate guessing what’s inside.

3. Use a Wreath Box to Store Your Artificial Wreaths

Many of my clients used to store their wreaths in plastic bags until we started working together. I recommend a wreath box vs. plastic bags for two reasons: to maintain the shape and integrity of your wreath and to keep bugs and mice out!

4. Use a String Light Organizer to Keep Your Lights From Getting Tangled Up

You simply disconnect each strand of lights, wrap them around the organizer, and place them in a bin until you use them next year. This has been a game-changer in my home because it eliminates the frustration that comes with untangling lights.

5. Use an Ornament Bin to Keep Your Ornaments From Breaking

Ornament bins have dividers in them to keep each one separate, so they don’t bang against each other and break. I particularly like clear ones with red lids, so it’s easy to identify what’s inside.

Christmas holiday light organizer bin with red lid

6. Use a String With Light up Clips to Store Your Holiday Cards and Hang Them on the Wall

First hang the lights, then add the fun cards that you receive throughout the month so you can see them AND it keeps them organized. Or, if this doesn’t work for you, but you want to keep the cards, you can simply store them in a clear storage bag and put them in your holiday storage bins. Use a Sharpie to label the bag with the year. My rule of thumb is to keep them for a year, then let them go. Or, if you don’t feel the need to keep them at all, just recycle them without any guilt!

7. Declutter Holiday Décor You No Longer Want or Use

You have two opportunities to do this every holiday season: when you get your bins out to decorate AND again when you put your decorations away. You know the decorations I’m talking about…the ones that you keep “just in case,” but never use. It’s ok to let them go! The easiest way to do this is to pull everything out of the bin so you can see what you have, declutter what you no longer want, then decorate using only the items that you enjoy. At the end of the season when you are putting your holiday décor away, do another round of decluttering as you put them away.

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