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!

The post 5 HACKS TO STORE YOUR DÉCOR AFTER THE HOLIDAYS appeared first on ProTek Professional Painting Services.

PLAN YOUR CALENDAR

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You don’t have to set aside a whole day to make a difference. Try working in 15-minute spurts to make progress without getting overwhelmed. “You don’t need to organize entire rooms, you can organize one drawer and it can still make a huge difference. Try a junk drawer, your makeup, or one category of clothing and move on from there,” suggests Carrie Higgins, author of Organization Hacks. On the other hand, if you’re working on a whole closet or room, you’ll want to be sure you have time to finish or you’ll be left with a bigger mess than you started with.

START WHERE YOU NEED IT MOST

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Ashley Murphy, co-founder of Neat Method, finds it’s best to choose a place that you use a lot in your house. In an article for Woman’s Day, she explains, “This will make a huge impact on your day-to-day life and give you the confidence needed to move on to other areas on your list.” Makes sense, right? Why waste time worrying about the state of the attic you see once a year, when you wake up to a hot mess in your bedroom every morning?

TAKE EVERYTHING OUT

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“Everything” equals all the clothes out of the closet or all the food out of the pantry or all the whatever out of your wherever. Seriously, take out everything all at once until you have an empty space to refill. Why?  1) You don’t know what’s hiding in the back until you get it all out.  2) Getting everything out will help you put like things together, spot any duplicates, and determine if you should…

KEEP, DONATE OR TOSS

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Don’t think about this too hard, just do it. Otherwise you’ll agonize over every decision, wear yourself out, and be left with a pile of stuff still scattered all over the room. That said, here are a few thoughts to help you choose.

Is it broken, stained, ugly, worn out? Toss it. The stuff police will not cite you for getting rid of something you should have trashed long ago.

Is it still in good condition but you don’t need/want/use/like it anymore? Donate it. It’s okay to give away something you don’t need, want or like—even if it was expensive or a gift or an inheritance. Just because someone you love loved it doesn’t mean you have to. Set it free to be loved by someone else.

Is it something you use or love? Keep it. If, as declutter guru Marie Kondo says, it “brings you joy,” then by all means, hang on to it. Ditto for things you may not love—like a vacuum cleaner—but do use.

STASH AND LABEL

Image: Container Store

This is the fun part, when you can sort your things into pretty containers. You don’t have to spend a fortune on fancy storage pieces, though. Do what Abby Lawson from  Abby Organizes does: “I’ve used shoe boxes and diaper boxes wrapped in pretty paper to store things in some spaces. I’ve added pretty tape to otherwise boring bins. Getting organized (in a pretty way!) definitely does not have to be expensive!” Don’t forget the labels; they help you see at a glance where everything is and keep you from digging through umpteen containers to find what you need.

Happy organizing!

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