Tips for Taking Down Christmas Decorations
Tips for Taking Down Christmas Decorations
Reposted from 2022
My Christmas decorations are not down yet, so I’ve come up with some tips for taking down your Christmas decorations for my person when they finally do get in gear and get my decorations down!
I’ve heard every excuse from: it’s too soon; it’s too cold; it’s too warm; it’s raining; it’s sunny.
Well, I’m putting my foot down, I’m ready for them to come down, no more excuses. So, I’ve jotted down a few notes to help them make the best of it.
Tubbies
Colored tubbies from Walmart are the way to go! They have plenty of red and green ones right now and they are only $6.98. They are a Sterlite 18 Gal Tote Box with Lid.
Yes, they have more expensive ones, but these are just fine! They are a good size and not so big that it takes two people to handle them once they are filled. I’ve included my affiliate link.
Using the red and/or green tubbies for your Christmas decorations helps when you start looking for them next year. And in the fall, you can sometimes catch fall-colored, or orange and black ones which are great for your fall and Halloween decor.
Or clear ones of course. That way you can at least tell if it’s Christmas decorations or not. I bought four new ones for my helper. She should be pleased.
Where to Start
Start with the area that has the most decorations first, usually the tree in my case. Start by removing the glass ornaments first, especially any that are special keepsakes. Toward the end of removing decorations, we tend to get a little giddy and start throwing things in the box, don’t we.
They make special containers for ornaments and I’ve been lucky to have had one that we have used for years. TreeKeeper is a company that makes wonderful containers for trees, ornaments, wreaths, etc.
TreeKeeper sent me a tree bag many years ago for a 10-ft tree and I loved it! A few years later, they sent me an ornament keeper that holds 72 ornaments and asked me to review and blog about it. See, blogging does have its advantages)))
Well, the review was easy because I loved it! We’ve used it ever since. It is quite heavy though, but still, it’s great.
My TreeKeeper ornament bag has three layers, so I start with the glass ornaments first. We haven’t had any breakage since we’ve been using this storage bag.
The TreeKeeper storage bags are great. Here’s my Amazon affiliate link if you would like to check them out: TreeKeeper
Sprays & Picks
My next tip for my helper would be to take off the picks and sprays. Start by collecting ones of the same style for example these white picks.
Removing picks and sprays in this manner will be helpful next year I promise. Last year my helper just pulled everything off and threw it in a box, with no sorting whatsoever. It may have been quicker to do at the time, but it was a pain decorating this year!
Bunch styles or colors together. If it is a spray that you have separated, compress it back together and straighten the stem as much as possible.
Place any sprays with long straight stems in a box that will allow them to lay flat if possible.
Garlands
The next tip for taking down Christmas decorations is to remove any garlands. My decorations were multicolored this year. Not exactly my favorite, but I knew there would be small children coming for the extended family gathering so I decorated with them in mind this year))
I love these old multicolor ball garlands that I got from RAZ several years ago. There were two strands and I layered them on the mantel and covered up the wires with some white poly fiber. The big red and green ornaments were satiny fabric and soft. They came from Hobby Lobby.
Original Packaging
This year I want my helper to reuse the original packaging of new items I added to my collection of Christmas decorations. I usually try to save the bags that pieces come in, especially any white pieces or heavily glittered ones.
Now, will she get the right piece back in the right bag…not likely and that’s okay. I’m not that OCD. But maybe the main ones like the white and glittered ones will make it.
Lights
The next tip for my helper is to take the lights off the Christmas tree and from other arrangements in the house. My tree was. not a prelit one. It has been used for several years.
Remove lights one strand at a time, and secure the strand with a twist tie or something similar. Don’t remove the lights and wind them up into one gigantic light ball! I hope she pays attention to this.
You might say, why remove the lights? Well for instance this year I added multicolor lights. Next year I may not want multicolor. So instead of getting to start with a fresh tree, the first thing I would have to do would be to remove the old lights first. I’m trying to get my helper to take down Christmas decorations to make it easier for me to decorate next year))
Soapbox Time!
I have to stop right here and hope Eveready and Duracell will read this blog. Not probable I know, but still. You will find tiny battery lights in some of my centerpieces around the house. I love using those tiny lights on wire and have some that are electric and stay on my mantel, indoors and outdoors, all the time. Electric is the best way to go when using tiny LED lights, but sometimes you have to use those with battery packs.
Some of the battery packs have openings that slide or snap into place. But some of the tiniest, tiniest little screws!
Now, I know this was done as a safety feature, but really now, there has to be a better way! The screws are so tiny, you have to have a special screwdriver to remove them and goodness know if you drop one, it’s more of a safety danger than not having one at all!
Battery Box
Speaking of batteries, do you have a special place where you keep yours? We do, it’s a sturdy Tupperware box. It stays in the same place all the time so finding batteries when you need them is easy. Here’s our battery box.
Now I realize the name on the box is Bettye, which isn’t me. But I can explain. Sometimes in years past my friend brought something to our house for a meal, probably potato salad or something like that. The box got left behind and as you can see, it’s a perfect battery box. That was probably 15-20 years ago and I say it’s legally mine now…..community property laws and everything.
The tip for my helper on the LED light strands will be to remove the batteries and place the batteries and light strand in a small zip-lock bag.
I’ll tell her not to place the batteries back in the box! I don’t want partially used batteries and new ones mixed together. Any battery should be removed from an item you are not using frequently or you’ll wind up with something that doesn’t work because of battery corrosion.
Plus, I don’t want my LED light strands boxed away in Christmas decorations. I like to use the lights all year long. Even the multicolor strand might be pretty in an Easter decoration.
Greenery
Let’s see….I think greenery should come next. I didn’t use any fresh greenery in my decorations this year, so she won’t have to worry about discarding that mess. There were pine and cedar garlands on my back porch mantel, along with some red berry picks so that will have to come down.
Tip: Place the heaviest or bulkiest garland in the bottom of the container and lighter ones on top. Any single sprays or picks can go on top of that.
Everyday Greenery
My tip for taking down Christmas greenery is to be sure to separate any greenery that can be used all year long. For instance, don’t pack away boxwood of any kind. Boxwood and eucalyptus are great all year long. Just put away the pine and cedar and leave the other because you’ll be looking for something green in a couple of months.
Clean-up
Well, that’s about it for my tips on taking down Christmas decorations. Doing it is a mess! So there is always clean up afterward. But before you close the tops on those containers do these things:
- Do a walk through the house looking for leftovers. You will always find a wayward ornament or sign or something that was right in front of your nose that you missed. Or even get another person to do the walk-through.
- Make sure any outside decorations are completely dry before storing. I didn’t list any tips for taking down those, but that will be my husband’s job and not the helper’s.
- Write “Christmas Decorations” on any plain boxes that you used. You may think you’ll remember, but you won’t.
Wrapping it Up
I’m sure there are more tips that my helper could benefit from. She will be so pleased that I have outlined her task to make her more organized this year instead of just willy-nilly removing decorations and throwing them in a box. You might want to share this list with your helper)))
Now that I have made her a list, I need to go call her. No excuses today. I want these decorations down so I can reclaim my house. Let me go find her number.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year and that this next year brings……..oops…..gotta go, my phone is ringing….who could that be….they sound impatient.
