How to organize like a pro during the holidays:
As an organizing specialist, I have a lot of experience helping my clients get their holiday decorations sorted out and organized. After years of practice, I have come up with six holiday storage pro tips that I always recommend.
1) Centralize your holiday storage.
Designate a centralized location for ALL decorations; Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve, Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, Halloween, ALL the holidays. Scattering decorations all around your home makes them harder to find and adds clutter to the rest of your home.
2) Don’t combine holidays.
For example, do not put Valentine decorations inside the Halloween bin. That is so inefficient. You’ll probably forget where you stashed things and end up not being able to find what you’re looking for. If you notice that you have a lot of room inside one bin and are tempted to throw other things into the bin to “save space” I recommend using smaller bins.
3) Purge holiday decorations twice.
First, purge as you take decorations out of storage and one more time before you pack them away for next year. If you did not use something this year, you probably won’t use it next year. Either donate it or throw it away.
4) Pack away ALL holiday-themed items at the end of the holiday.
That means, don’t keep your Christmas hand towels in the kitchen all year (unless you use them year-round). Pack them away with the other Christmas items. Why? Holiday decorations take up space, so free up that valuable real estate. Also, you’d be surprised at how we stop seeing what is right in front of us every day. When Christmas rolls around, you may forget to pull those cute Christmas towels out of the drawer because you have stopped seeing them…they are just a part of your every day background “noise” and have lost their specialness.
5) Label all storage bins.
Clearly label every single storage bin, and put labels on BOTH sides of the bin. That way, no matter how they get put away you’ll see the label.
6) Color code all storage bins.
Clear bins are best so you can see what’s inside (but still label them), but color code your bins by choosing different colored lids or labels for each holiday. Coloring coding just streamlines your sorting process and helps you quickly identify holidays.
Did you know getting all those holiday decorations organized will save you time, money and frustration so you can actually enjoy the holidays?