How to Safely Store Your Holiday Decorations
What Christmas is complete without the twinkle of lights or the hanging of your family’s favorite ornaments? There’s a reason that the song says to “Deck the Halls.” Decorating for any winter holiday is a fun and festive way of celebrating the present season and a way of honoring years past. But we’re all familiar with the hassle of storing holiday decor. What do you do once the tinsel is off the tree? How can you store your wrapping paper once the holidays are a wrap? As we move through the end of the holiday season, consider these packing and storage tips from Grant Creek Self-Storage to help your most treasured holiday decorations last for generations to come.
Decide What You Would Like to Keep for Next Year
Before you try to pack away your holly and your mistletoe, take the time to decide which pieces you would like to hold on to and which ones you would like to remove from your annual circulation. Although decorations tend to hold sentimental value, remember that less is sometimes more when it comes to decorating. With fewer decorations, you can better turn your attention to safely storing the ones that you most treasure. If you struggle with discarding any decorations, consider donating them to a nonprofit or a charitable resale store so that they can live on within the homes of others!
Thoroughly Clean All Pieces
Generally speaking, you should thoroughly clean any items that you place in storage. A pre-storage clean helps to preserve your belongings and to eliminate any odors. Furthermore, this step prepares your decorations for future use, saving you time in the next holiday season.
Invest in the Proper Storage
If you want to extend the lives of your decorations, don’t hesitate to invest in durable storage containers that cater to the specific needs of each item. Ideally, you should stray away from storing items in flimsy cardboard boxes. Also avoid plastic bags, as these will trap moisture and can lead to mildew and water damage. To best protect your belongings, opt for air-tight plastic bins. Consider these item-specific tips and hacks:
- Ornaments: If possible, store your ornaments in their original packaging. More often than not, these containers will come equipped with styrofoam or plastic linings to prevent breaking. If you no longer have the boxes that your ornaments came in, try using paper or styrofoam egg cartons for small round ornaments. You can also repurpose seasonal linens or hand towels for the shared benefit of storing your fabrics and giving your ornaments the added cushion that they need. No linens? No problem. Just wrap ornaments in bubble wrap alongside their hooks and store in a moisture resistant tote.
- Wreaths and Garlands: Wreaths and garlands are some of the most neglected decorations when it comes to safe storage. To keep your wreaths in prime shape for the next season, hang them on wall hooks. To protect them from insects and dust, wrap your wreaths in sheets and stack them in a box or on a shelf. Want even further protection? Consider investing in specialty sealable plastic wreath boxes. Garlands, on the other hand, can easily be layered and stored safely in plastic totes.
- Gift wrap and Bags: When stored properly, gift wrapping paper and bags can last for years, although they are especially sensitive to light and water damage. Wrapping materials weather best in a cool, dry, dark storage space, like a closet. Use a small piece of tape to seal off any opened wrapping paper in order to prevent unraveling. Stand rolls upright to prevent wrinkling. Lay bags flat and stack upon one another in a sealable tote.
- Trees: Trees are certainly the most cumbersome holiday item to transport and store, but often hold the most sentimental value, so you’ll want to be especially careful of how you store your tree. Live trees lose their vitality and do not hold up between Christmas seasons, but rather than sending your live tree to the landfill, consider recycling or repurposing it. To store artificial trees, begin by removing all decorations that are not built into the tree, including lights and ornaments. A Christmas tree bag is the best way to prevent a tree from exposure to moisture and the inevitable insect invaders. If you don’t have a bag or are unable to store a fully assembled tree, disassemble section by section, if your tree allows, and collapse the branches in the direction that they naturally fall towards the tree’s base. Make sure that you do not try to forcefully fold any branches. Be cautious of damaging any attached cords or lights. If you are storing your tree in a space without climate control, think about wrapping each section in plastic wrap to guard against moisture damage.
Create an Inventory
If you need to feel a little extra secure and organized in storing your holiday decor, take a lesson from Santa. Make a list and check it twice! An inventory sheet is a great way of keeping up with your decorations and confirming what you have at your disposal for the following year. Your inventory can provide a precise list of what you have in storage and even include a map of where you can find each item!
Place Your Decorations in Storage You Can Trust
For many of us, we have more holiday decorations than we can reasonably store in our homes. Don’t sacrifice your holiday keepsakes to limited storage space! Consider investing in a self-storage unit. The right self-storage facility has the benefit of offering its renters added space and peace of mind. But choosing a quality storage facility can sometimes cause more of a headache than trying to store the items themselves. Luckily, Grant Creek is here to help. Conveniently located just off of Highway 90 at 2405 Michael Road in Missoula, Montana, Grant Creek offers secure indoor and outdoor storage to meet all of your storage needs, as well as convenient online booking and payment methods.
This year, let Grant Creek Self-Storage be a part of your holiday tradition. Place your belongings with a storage facility that you can trust. Place your belongings with Grant Creek.
Book your unit online today!