Christmas UnDecorating Tips
Taking down Christmas decorations is just as much fun as putting them up … said no one ever! If you love decorating for Christmas but dread the thought of Christmas undecorating, you’re not alone. Warning: you won’t find perfectly packed and labeled bins or expensive storage solutions here. Instead, I’m sharing my tried and true, quick and easy ways to take down and store Christmas decorations.
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If you saw my Christmas Home Tour, you know I have a lot of Christmas stuff and that is just the tip of the ice burg!
Leave the Tree for Last
Taking down all the decorations isn’t as overwhelming when it’s done in stages plus I love being able to enjoy the glow of the tree through the new year. Who said you have to keep the box your tree comes in?
I like these heavy duty Christmas tree storage bags. I always use divided ornament containers to store my precious Shiny Brite ornaments.
I also love these inexpensive clear bins because they are not too big and are clear so you can see what’s inside at a glance.
Pile it On
I gathered all of my decorations on my kitchen table where I could see everything at a glance. This made it much easier to store similar items together.
I Hate Big Bins
I’ve been transitioning to these 56 quart clear bins and they are a game changer! The smaller size means I can find what I need without having to rummage through huge amounts of stuff and they are easier to carry up and down my basement stairs.
Repurpose egg cartons which make perfect storage containers for smaller ornaments and plastic cups lined with tissue paper do too!
Label Bins
You don’t need a label maker or special stickers to label your bins. Repurpose Christmas cards, or any other paper you have on hand, by writing down what’s inside each bin and sticking it on top (you’ll never search have to search through bins for that Christmas tree topper again)!
I do have some large bins for bigger, bulkier items if I If you’re an over achiever, you could even label your bins so you don’t even have to open them to know what’s inside.
I Love these Perfectly Sized Clear Bins with Lids
Use Decorations to Store Breakables
Soft things make great “wrap” for breakables. I stored Santa mugs in our stockings and use Christmas dish towels to wrap around my cookie jar collection.
Smart Storage
Clear bins are the way to go! I love these smaller clear bins with locking lids.
I store anything that isn’t too precious or breakable in plastic gallon bags, keeping like things together. The clear bags make it easy to see what you have at a glance.
Weed Out
Your future self will thank you if you take this time to gather up decorations that you no longer love or use and add them to the donation pile.
If you haven’t used it in two years, chances are you never will.
Lights
Lots of people tell you to wrap string lights around pieces of cardboard but I just wrap each strand into a circle (wrap around your thumb and elbow), then place each strand into a bin (I can fit four strands per layer), adding a paper bag between each layer.
Don’t Store Everything
Candles, faux evergreens, little trees, garlands, string lights, and mercury glass will help warm up your house during those dark winter months.
Pack away anything that screams Christmas and keep things around that are winter friendly.
My little ceramic house village will be sticking around for awhile.
See How I Made These Doodle Houses Here
The house seems very empty without the abundance of Christmas decorations but I’m happy to have a fresh slate.
Here’s to making Christmas undecorating less of a chore.
See more of my Christmas home and decorating ideas here
Love the idea of using dishcloths to wrap my Santa mugs and using stockings too. Thanks for all the tips.
Happy New Year
Gotta protect those Santa mugs Audrey!
Bins are a lifesaver and I need to invest in a couple more and the few cardboard boxes I use are about to fall apart. Don’t know why, they are only about 40 years old!
I think you should throw those boxes a retirement party Lesley!
This post came at the perfect time. I’m about to start taking down all my decorations and this was very helpful. Thank you for the helpful advice!
The undecorating struggle is so real!
I have five stockings that would be perfect to store things in, i hang them up every year and put them away but, this year i will use them to store stuff in, you are so smart, just the little ideas you give us really help. Thanks and have a Happy New Year!!!
I always leave all my decorations up until a few days after New Years Day. I love the lights and festive feel over the New Year. I store everything by each room and all my ornaments by color.
I wish I could store by room but I am always moving my decorations to new spots every year!
I use color coded bins. One color for outside, one color for kitchen, one for downstairs, and one color for upstairs. It started because my husband wanted “his” outside lights first and was frustrated looking for them. If you don’t want to color the whole bin just put a colored piece of tape on them, it is much faster than labels.
Great idea! I move my stuff around every year so they never stay in the same room!
The tree storage bag have you ever put it in an attic or somewhere that gets hot and how did it do?
Thank you
I put my trees in my unfinished basement and it gets cold down there. I have never stored in the attic so don’t know how they would hold up Patty.
I use the tree storage bags and they are stored in our unfinished section of our attic. They do just fine. We have had these bags for at the least ten years and all is well. FYI, we live in Kentucky so it is both hot and cold in our attic.
Great to know!
Great info. What is the source for the cute ceramic houses?
Thanks Mary! I wrote a post all about little Christmas houses and link to my favorites: https://www.kellyelko.com/little-christmas-houses-decorating-ideas/
Thanks Kelly I like the idea of smaller containers especially for tree ornaments and small stuff. I loaded my dishwasher unloaded, sat down to eat, and can’t get up,lol!! Maybe tomorrow I will be more productive, you have a wonderful weekend with your family.
I am on a mission to get rid of all the huge bins Marlene! Some day!!
Thank you for all the great ideas! I think I need an ornament box like you have. This year I made a list of what came out of my bins so putting everything back went super smooth this year. 😊
Great idea Lisa! I bought two more ornament boxes this year because my collection must keeps on growing!
Great tips! Thanks, Kelly! I use clear bins and use card stock to make my label and just slip it in the bin on the side of the bin that will face out. Then I can read what is in there before taking it down. I do keep things that are not Christmas-specific out until spring and put them in a bin that is labeled winter decorations. It is the first bin I get out in the fall.
It’s so nice to have everything organized so we’re not hunting for things Vicki!
These are great tips Kelly and I’m happy to say I do them too! I was proud of myself because this year I donated some items to make room for items I got as gifts. Happy New Year to you and your family and Sushi too!
Glad you’re letting go Lisa!