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Sort It Out This Christmas
18 December 2007
With Christmas just around the corner have you thought about that post-festive feeling you get every year when it’s time to clear space for the Christmas decorations again, not to mention the new presents that need storing?
No sooner as the day arrives to open our gifts and admire them with the family, it comes time to find a place to store them. You thought buying the presents and deciding where to decorate with the tinsel was a hard task. We all know that the tidying up can be just as arduous. Until now!
Here are some useful tips on how to store everything for the year ahead.
Take the time to store items properly so that they can be used again next year
The easiest way to store items well is to put them back in their original packaging. For items that are more difficult to get back in the box neatly it is easy to find alternatives. For example, your string of fairy lights can be wrapped around a leftover wrapping paper roll with the plug stuck inside the tube then stored in a padded box. This makes it easy next time you have to check the lights and prevents the string from tangling when the time comes to put them on the tree again.
Keep the same items together
Ideally you want to be able to pull out all of the Christmas tree decorations together, all of the house decorations together and have all the garden items in another collection. It just makes it more convenient when it comes time to put them up again. So when packing away this year, make sure you store the same items together. You could segment one box into divisions or have a different box for each collection.
Store in order
You could store your decorations in the order in which you’re going to use them next year. For example, if you write your Christmas cards, wrap presents and put up your door wreath much earlier than you decorate your tree, then why not have a box with all the items you’re going to need first and have a separate one for the next lot? The same can be said for where you store your boxes. As applies to general home storage, you should be storing items you use regularly so that they are easily to hand, whereas those Christmas decorations and holiday items that are only needed once a year can be put away for their special occasion.
Label boxes
If you manage to keep your decorations year upon year, everything must have its own special place by now. So why not mark your boxes and items accordingly? The tinsel that drapes around the lounge window would have been cut to size years ago so there’s no need to measure a new piece every year. You could put a tag on this to mark its place then fill a labelled box of similar items.
Choose the right storage container
It is worth bearing in mind that extreme changes in temperature can cause damage to your Christmas decorations. In the loft or shed for example, your prized Christmas paper can get ruined by damp in winter, and a candle can melt and make a mess on a hot summer’s day. Just as when you are storing anything you treasure, you should take special precautions on how you are storing your items. Cardboard boxes will need to be replaced after a few years and can be easy for mice to get into, but a good plastic storage box will last. You can pack your boxes with silica packs to control humidity levels and pad out excess space with balls of paper. A clear plastic box allows you to see what’s inside easily and is easy to clean.
A revolutionary concept: Make room out of an organized garage!
The garage is a great place for storing expensive items you need to get at, like the bike and the lawn mower, but it can also be the ideal place to store those items (like the Christmas decorations that) you need to put away for the year. Most people’s garages are a dumping ground for clutter, but with the right storage system you can have enough space to make the garage work like any other room in your house. You can buy garage storage solutions that allow you create a fully fitted garage- from lockable cabinets for expensive items and a hiding place for presents, and adjustable shelving to pack your Christmas decorations away, to hooks, racks and baskets so that absolutely everything has its easily-locatable place.
There are some practical space saving solutions out there that could mean that your garage doubles up as a gym, workshop or even a playroom- meaning that you even have the perfect escape quarters on Christmas Day!
Remember to recycle your Christmas cards
Some people store their Christmas cards for display next year. Others store them temporarily to note down the names of people they need to remember to send a Christmas card to next year. Most people just put them in the bin however. So my suggestion to you is to store them for recycling from 2 – 31 January 2008. Between these dates, used Christmas cards can be taken to any WHSmith, Tesco, TK Maxx or M&S as they are all part of the Woodland’s Trust Christmas Card Recycling Scheme. The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading charity dedicated solely to the protection of our native woodland heritage. To find out more about them and what they do see their website at www.woodland-trust.org.uk/cards/.
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