It happens every year. Weeks spent shopping, preparing, decorating and cooking and, all of a sudden, Christmas is over. The last of the dressing and pecan pie has been eaten, wrapping paper has made it to the trash and the company has returned home, leaving behind wonderful memories and stuff to store.
Ornaments may be the hardest to store away. They may be heirlooms, delicately made, or breakable glass, and you want to take care to see that they are protected until it's time to enjoy them again. One easy way is to buy clear plastic bins and repurpose them specifically to cradle fragile ornaments and keep them free from damage.
You can do this by first cutting a piece of cardboard to place on the bottom of the bin. Then use a glue gun to attach paper cups to the cardboard. You can then wrap an ornament in tissue paper and place one in each of the cups. Once the cups have been filled, close the lid on the bin and label it with sticker labels and a permanent marker so it’s easy to find later.
You can make several layers with additional pieces of cardboard, provided your ornaments aren't too tall. Keep ornament styles grouped together for better organization. You can also purchase commercially available ornament storage boxes that are specifically designed to contain fragile ornaments. For really tiny ornaments, fill the compartments of an egg container and then store it inside a more sturdy plastic container.
It's very important to store lighting so that cords are not in a bind. Keep holiday light strands untangled by wrapping them around pieces of cardboard cut to fit inside plastic storage bins. Use scissors or a utility knife to make a small notch on opposite corners of the piece of cardboard. You can use these notches for the plugs on each end of the cord. Label the bin with the type of light inside. You can also purchase cord reels designed for long strands of outdoor lighting to keep them untangled and easy to deploy. If your lights came on a reel, don’t discard the reel; instead, use it to wind up the lights and store them away.
Holiday lights aren't designed to stay up for extended periods, so fight the temptation to leave them up until next year. Wind, weather, and ultraviolet sunlight will deteriorate the coating on the cords and break lights, possibly causing an electrical short when the lights are used again.
You know it won't be long before we are dragging them out again as time marches on quickly. Remember, help is just around the corner at your local hardware store. HAPPY NEW YEAR !!
