As much as I LOVE putting up our Christmas decorations… I also love taking them down again.
Yes, it takes the better part of an afternoon to gather them all into my storage bins and bring them downstairs; but after I’m finished, the house feels so open, light, and un-cluttered.
I packed our holiday decorations up this past weekend and just left some greenery and pine cones out — but those will stay up all winter long. Everything else is now stored away in the basement until next year.
Here are a Few Tips for Packing Up Christmas Decor
1. Do it all at one time.
Yes, I left some of my greenery out for the rest of the winter, but everything else gets packed up in one afternoon. I don’t like to drag things out so I just do it all at one time… make a big mess… and then clean it up.
I know people who do one room each day for a week — but then they have storage bins sitting out all week long. Also, if you do it all at one time, you can remind yourself of everything you have… which will help you with #2 and #3 below.
2. Declutter as You Pack.
Whenever I put my decorations away, I always end up purging at least a few things. The other day I shared how I declutter with clothes baskets… and I definitely put a few Christmas things in our clothes baskets this year!
3. Store Like Items Together.
I use 4 large clear tubs to store all our Christmas decorations {everything but the trees}. One bin is for all the greenery, one is for ornaments and tree decor, one is for Christmas linens/dishes, and the last one is just for everything else.
My bins are all the same size so they stack easily; and since they are labeled, I can quickly and easily find exactly what I need within minutes.
4. Clean While You Pack.
Whenever I take my decorations down, I take a few extra minutes to dust or wipe down each surface. Then, after I put the bins back downstairs, I vacuum and sweep the floors. It’s just part of the process for me and makes the house feel that much cleaner and un-cluttered when I’m finished!
5. Stock up for Next Year.
I had my eye on a few Christmas decor items in the stores this year — but I always wait until after Christmas to buy them at a ridiculously reduced price. I also stock up on Christmas napkins, paper plates, cups, etc. after Christmas and store them in the “linens/dishes” tub.
My house is now “back to normal” for another year… and I’m glad to have that project behind me!
Dee Dee says
I really dislike putting my Christmas decor away. For the very first time this year I decided to pack the decorations up by room. I marked each box with the word Christmas Decor and the designated room. This will make my redecorating next year much easier and more inviting. I also took photos of each room so that I can remember how and where I put the decorations should I decide to set everything up just the same as the year before. Like you suggested, I purged a great deal to keep life simple.
Kristen @ Joyfullythriving says
I always leave everything up through Epiphany (January 6th) so it’s almost time to take down my Christmas things. I will leave up my snowman decorations to transition us through winter. That’s only one bin…of our ten or so. It seems my ornaments and Nativities alone take up as many bins as all your decorations! 🙂 I agree that it’s good to do it all at once – even if it makes a long day.
monica says
Three bins? You only have three bins?
Linda says
Kait….I am with you. We just love the lights when we are stuck inside in the winter. So at our home there is no rush to get it down and put away. We aim for Jan 10 but guess what….we are late this year. And life will go on!!!! Don’t sweat the small stuff – stop and enjoy.
Kelly says
On occasion I will buy apples at Costco, they are packaged in plastic trays. Last year I saved a few and when putting Christmas ornaments away, many of them fit perfectly in these apple containers and stacked neatly in a rubbermaid bin. Organizing and repurposing in one shot!
Kait says
I love my Christmas decorations. They make the house feel so cozy and festive. This year (the first year we had space to put up a full-sized tree) my husband and I talked and decided that, since the decorations make both of us so happy, we wouldn’t take them down until January 15. So that’ll be the date (more or less) this year and going forward. Probably too late for some, but it’s our house so I guess we get to make our own rules. I think we’re both in denial that Christmas is over, so it’s nice to keep it going in our house for a little while longer.
Warrior MAMA Lisa says
I agree with all your steps… but I I definately fail at step one! It takes me days to put up and weeks to take down my decorations. I just put on my Organize 365 facebook page that me tree is still up!
Working 2+ jobs, with 2 kids makes it super hard to find a day or two to do it all at once.
Next year I am going to aim to get it all down in a day!
🙂
Lisa
Rachel says
This year, my husband took down and packed away ALL of the holiday decor on his own! What a nice surprise for me. 🙂
Tammy Skipper (@Tammy_Skipper) says
In years past we typically did it around Epiphany on Jan 6th, but that was partially because my husband was often gone for work during the holidays. Typically, it ends up being whatever Saturday is after New Year’s Day. I purged more this year. Something about moving things across country, then not using them, makes you much more willing to give it away! I found a cute template for 1/2 sheet labels this year and put more detailed inventory lists on the boxes instead of trying to read the little font from my label maker. Love it.
Julie says
I am usually take them down either just before New Years(depending upon our schedule) or the day after New Years. This year I took all decorations down the day after New Years. I also took all the ornaments off the tree, but this year left the tree up because I needed to find the reason some of the lights weren’t lit. I have a pre-lit tree and love it. I have had it for 10 years and this is the first year some of the lights didn’t lite. I usually, purge some every year. This year I am separating some of my ornaments this year. I have 4 kids, so I am designating a box for each of their ornaments. That way instead of waiting for me to get their ornaments out every year (they were mixed in with all of my ornaments) I can just hand them the box that contains all of their ornaments.