7 Creative Storage Ideas for Christmas Decorations
This post may contain affiliate links which won't change your price but will share some commission. Read more here.Running out of room in your closets? These 7 simple and inexpensive storage ideas for Christmas decorations will get you organized quickly!
After all the celebrating and family activities are over, do you immediately take down your Christmas decorations or do you savor every last day you can?
I’m somewhat of a mixture of both. Some years I am so ready to reorganize my home that I attack the tree and Christmas village enthusiastically in hopes for a return to normalcy.
Other years I want to spend my evenings with a cup of Instant Russian Tea just gazing at the lights and relaxing.
Reality is probably somewhere in between this year. Since my hubby will be home recovering from surgery 24/7 for a few months I’m not rushing to do a bunch of DIY home projects. (I still have enough from this year that I haven’t shared!)
I guess it’s a good thing I totally reorganized my Christmas decor last year! I was able to test my storage ideas for Christmas decorations when I decorated my home this year. I’m happy to report my ideas were successful so I’d like to share them with you!
Creative Storage Ideas for Christmas Decorations
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1. Pull out all your decorations and give away those things you no longer use or want.
Depending on the amount of crap stuff you have this may seem overwhelming. It will serve two purposes, however. One is to see just how many collectibles and doodads you have and the other is to allow you to decide what you really want to keep and what you should purge.
Take the extra time now to sort through your decor, and I promise it will be worth it next year!
Donate all the extras to a charity and you can even get a tax deduction before year’s end.
2. Set aside a designated area for decorations.
We used to store all of our decorations in our attic, which is only partially floored and doesn’t have room to stand. It was a pain both for the person in the attic (me) and the person on the stairs (hubby) who got to haul the tubs down.
When my husband set up our storage building I claimed it for my Christmas storage and couldn’t be happier!
If you don’t have a separate building think about designating a closet, under a bed or on shelves in the garage.
3. Add shelving if possible.
After we added the storage building Tim built shelves for me to store as many tubs as possible. (These basic ones work well.) He measured and built according to the tubs I am currently using. He also added a few hooks for me to hang up wreaths and any other more delicate items.
***Use flat top storage lids to save space.
4. Organize according to function.
Knowing that we take out our Christmas village and set it up exactly the same way each year I pack all the houses and accessories in plastic tubs marked and numbered. When we’re ready to set up the village we don’t have to unpack our entire storage building. We simply take out the tubs labeled “Christmas Village” and haul those into the house.
Since the outside is my husband’s domain we have an enormous oversized tub for lights and garland. Bigger wreaths are hung behind his workshop where they are protected from the weather but don’t take up extra space. Tim wraps up the lights in balls to keep them from getting tangled.
5. Label tubs, boxes and bags.
I love to add labels (as evidenced by my craft room and bathroom storage) so that I can group like items together. For Christmas I might organize by room or type of decor (such as ornaments or crafts).
These tubs and labels certainly aren’t pretty but they are functional and that’s their purpose!
6. Use plastic bags to store small items.
Even though I change up some of my decor every year I still love my idea of storing groupings in extra large plastic storage bags. I’ll store accessories for a vignette together or maybe similar ornaments. That way I can find what I want as I’m decorating next year.
For ornaments you can also use custom storage specifically designed to protect your breakable ones.
7. Leave some room in your storage for end of year clearance and yard sale/thrift store purchases.
I know I will always pick up a few things on clearance after Christmas and during yard sale season. If I don’t save room in my tubs or on the shelves for new supplies then I need to purge some more!
What is your biggest challenge with Christmas storage?
Marty, great ideas. I have been searching for a good way to store the individual swags that are decorated like holly with glitter and pine cones; you know, the more fragile ones that are about 4-5′ feet long. I want them to be protected but not tangled. Any ideas or suggestions?
Hi, Chris. Have you thought about hanging your swag? Do you store yours in a building or attic? That would be what I recommended for something that long, if you could get them out of the way. You could just use nails or hooks depending on where you decide to hang them. Hope that helps!
These are great, Marty. I’ve been using tubs to store my decorations in for years. The tip about going through them and weeding out what you don’t want or use is great. Thanks so much.
Hi, Bonnie. I’m glad I’m not the only one that uses tubs! I actually weeded out my decorations AGAIN this year. I think it’s necessary if you keep adding to your collection!
Excellent suggestions here. Thank you. Might I suggest something that I do when I label large tubs? I use white duct tape and a black marker for labels. It is easy to read the labels and they are easily removed if I need to change the wording if I use the tub for something else. Or, it is easy to add another piece of tape if you simply add an item to a bin that was not there last time. (Example: Label reads: TREE ORNAMENTS But this year, you also put the stockings in the bin too. You can easily add a piece of tape that says: STOCKINGS. Next year, if you decide to put the stockings in another bin, you can pull the white tape off and re-use it on another bin. Merry Christmas!!
Hi, Donna. Love your suggestion! I do usually use white duct tape when we have it on hand but I love your suggestions for adding other items to the tub. They definitely change from year to year! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave me a comment!
Thank you for the good advise. We will have to chunk out or storage locker and donate 90% of our Christmas decorations as we are now fulltime RVers living in a 40′ 5th wheel. I have have decided one large tote is all I can have plus my 3′ tree. Quite the downsize from 3,000 sq ft house.
That’s so fascinating, Ellie! I have a friend who is an RVer and I just think it’s amazing. It’s definitely a definite world. I think I like the idea of it but am not sure I’d like the reality. Have a great day!
Excellent job Marty, I am going to try an emulate this……Smile! If I manage to do half I’ll be thrilled.