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Tips for Undecking the Halls and Preparing Your Christmas Decorations for Storage

When preparing your home for Christmas, you may deck the halls with everything from Christmas lights, to trees, wreaths, and ornaments. But when Christmas comes to a close, it is time to take these decorations down and find a place to store them.

If storage space is at a premium inside your home or garage, then you may want to place your decorations in a self-storage unit. Before you do so, you must properly prepare the items for storage to ensure they look just as festive next year. Here are a few of the tips you will want to follow as you undeck the halls and prepare your Christmas decorations for storage.

Launder Your Linens

During the holiday season, you may use different types of linens to spread holiday cheer throughout your home. This may include tablecloths, placemats, throw blankets, and even your tree skirt. While it may be tempting to fold these items up and store them if they look clean, you should always launder your linens and thoroughly dry them before you put them away in storage.

Laundering the linens helps to remove particles that may lead to stains or spores that cause mold or mildew. Properly drying your linens minimizes the chances of mildew or mold forming.

Wrap Your Lights

Nothing is worse than pulling your decorations out only to discover that your lights are a tangled mess. While there are tools you can buy to wrap up your lights and prevent this from happening, one of the easiest and cheapest ways to wrap your lights is to use a rectangular piece of cardboard.

Hold the cardboard up so it is longer than it is wide, and then cut small slits or notches in the left and right sides. Wrap your lights around the cardboard, using the slits to hold the wires in place.

Pack Your Ornaments

After you take your ornaments off your tree, use a lint-free cloth to wipe the ornament down. This helps to remove dust and spores from the ornament. If the ornament is fragile, then wrap it in packing material or tissue paper. Then, place it in a secure storage space where it is sectioned off from other ornaments.

You do not want to place your ornaments in a box together without compartmentalizing them. They can bang together — breaking, chipping or scraping against each other. If you do not have the boxes the ornaments originally came in, then consider buying ornament storage boxes.

Egg cartons can also be used to hold small ornaments and plastic fruit containers can be saved up to hold larger ornaments. Use tissue paper between the ornaments and the walls of the compartment to keep them from shifting.

Once your ornaments are packed up, place the individual boxes or containers in a plastic tote or metal box. Do not use a cardboard box because your ornaments can smash if the box becomes dented or dinged.

Prepare Your Greenery

The last step to preparing your Christmas decorations for storage is to prepare your fake greenery, including wreaths and trees. Always use the upholstery attachment on a vacuum to remove dirt and dust before storing the item away.

After the greenery has been cleaned, place it in a water-tight, airtight storage bag. Most fake greenery has wires in it, and these wires can rust if the item is exposed to water or moisture in the air. You can buy specially designed storage bags — like wreath or tree storage bags. If you don't have one, consider using the plastic bags that mattress pads come in or a plastic garbage bag.

If you have gone a little overboard with holiday decorating and do not have the space to store the decorations in your home, a self-storage unit may be the perfect solution. You can store many items in the unit, including your holiday decorations.

When you need a place to store your items, B & R Self Storage is the safe and secure place to store your stuff. Call us today to inquire about availability and pricing.

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