Right now the stockings may be hung by the chimney with care, but soon it will be time for them—and all their holly jolly friends—to be put away until next year. A little prep now will go a long way toward making next year’s decorating experience easier.

1. HAVE A PLAN

Image:  TheVSpotBlog

If you tend to use the same things in the same places every year, storing them by location (front porch, living room tree, etc.) will make it a breeze to completely decorate one space, then move on to the next. If you’re more of a “this year I think I’ll…” kind of decorator, you might prefer storing decorations by color or type (wreaths, ornaments, lights, and so on). The point is, having a plan will help keep you from digging through every single tub, box and attic nook looking for that one thing you must have.

2. PROTECT YOUR BREAKABLES

Image: A Cultivated Nest

There are a multitude of ornament storage boxes out there to help keep your delicate decorations safe, but DIY options are also an option. Egg cartons are already designed to protect breakable round(ish) items, so they’re a natural choice for smaller ornaments. For larger glass bulbs, check out this hack from Dollar Store Crafts that uses plastic punch cups, glue and cardboard to make a stackable storage system.

3. SEAL IT UP

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Those vacuum storage bags aren’t just for travel or out-of-season clothes. Holiday table linens, seasonal pillow covers, and fabric ornaments will stay clean and protected from spills and insects while taking up less space. Gallon-sized zip storage bags are also a good way to keep sets of things together.

4. IT’S A WRAP

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No wonder gift bags are popular: they’re less fiddly than all the cutting, folding and taping required with ‘regular’ giftwrap, and they’re reusable. Storing them can be tricky, though…unless you fold and stash them in magazine holders. If you’re a wrapping purist who loves those big rolls of brightly colored paper—and who can blame you?—consider using up a clear garment bag to hold your rolls. It will keep them together, keep them clean, and (bonus) take up minimal room hanging in a closet. While you’re at it, toss some tape, gift tags, and a pair of scissors in that hanging bag so that next year your wrapping supplies will all be together when you need them.

5. LABEL EVERYTHING (WHERE YOU’LL ACTUALLY SEE IT)

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If you have unlimited time and enjoy a treasure hunt, go ahead and stuff everything in unmarked tubs and boxes. It’ll be fun to open every single container thing and dig through all of it, right? On the other hand, if you’d rather find what you’re looking for in less time with considerably less time and effort, put a label on it. Or two, even—one on each side or one side and one end. After all, your careful labeling will come to naught if you can’t see them once your containers are stacked on top of each other.

After the holidays it may be tempting to shove everything in a closet or box and call it a day, but a little simple preparation now will make a big difference when it’s time to decorate next year. Try it and see!