Organizing Christmas stuff/things...

[Mrs-M]

Every year (this time) I promise to organize, segregate, and make every effort possible to "better" the previous year in the way of organized fashion in my home as to my holiday trove of decorative goodies, and as my own way of telling myself "job well done", yet every year passes with me embarking upon the new year still living under the reflection of previous holiday chaos, disorganization, and things gone MIA.

For those in the same boat as me, did anyone manage to make any leeway as to incorporating new organizational success into the storing of all things holiday this year? If so, what did you come up with differently than past years?

[Kestrel]

In mid-December I gave our daughter-in-law about 3/4 of our ornaments, which was a great feeling! Most of them were display-type items, not tree ornaments. Just about all of our tree ornaments are "natural" -- wood and fiber-type things, not at all DIL's style, and a very small tree is all we decorate now, so don't need much. So just getting-rid-of is the best organizing trick I can think of.

[CreekyAttic]

I always take the decorations down New Years Day. It's usually a day we have all to our selves, I like to clear up the old year and make room for the new.

Christmas decorations remained the last reminder of my less simple life. I did shake things up a bit this year by not putting out "all" the family ornaments on the tree (gave each child their collection), boxed up some of the "oldie goldies", the little cheap treasures from our early married life. I made a box of "can part with", the stuff you gather at staff parties, garage sales and who knows where. It seems like every year these decorations pull me back for a month to a life I really am not a part of any more.

Today as I clean up, pack up and purge these items I will be thankful for all the memories but I will be even more thankful for the abilitiy to let them go and for the new simpler life
their absence will give me.

[Bootsie]

I don't have a huge amount of decorations, but last year I made a real effort at organzing them. I was very grateful this year when I pulled out the boxes and everything was in order - including the tree stand and tree skirt which were on top. (Usually my DH is standing in the front hallway holding the Christmas tree while I rush around saying, "I know that stand is around here somewhere!") This year I knew where my wrapping paper was and didn't buy more because I knew I would find last year's rolls, etc. Everything was pared down and simply organized - so much so that my daughter took down all the ornaments and decorations yesterday and packed them away herself using the same system. (She thought it was fun....shhh...don't tell her I dislike that task very much!)

I really encourage you to organize your things as you put them away this year. You'll love yourself next year.

[Simpler at Fifty]

Mrs-M: I would start with a page about what worked for you. You can make a holiday planner of sorts in a notebook. I keep an inventory of what I have on hand and what is needed for the next year. Once the inventory is made, add a column for the next year. As you are putting things away, check things off. Keep a short list of items needed for 2011 on a recipe card in your purse. You can label bins and keep an inventory in the notebook so you know what is in each bin. It takes some time initially but once it is done, it is just a quick tweak each year after that.

[early morning]

The best thing I ever did was break down and buy some stacking divided boxes for ornament storage - these, actually: http://www.amazon.com/Snapware-Corp-Christmas-Ornament-Storage/dp/B000630F7E/ref=pd_sim_k_2 I always have a tote bag for donations and one for selling (at a yard sale, etc) hanging on a door knob, so it's easy to purge decorations when either putting things out for display or putting them away for the year. After struggling for years with fragile ornaments in tissue paper in cardboard boxes, this is sooo much easier. Of course I also have boxes that hold my sheep collection and our misc. Christmas things that sit around, but the box size and shapes may change from year to year to fit the storage space available, and they too are purged as we go. Since things are moved around, I like to put a list of the decorations included in each box in or on the top of it. You could write it on the box, if you used the same boxes and packed the same way (but I don't). All the Christmas stuff goes in one of two places, and wrap, of which I use very little ( I prefer to use old maps, charts, and comics), goes into the cupboard with all other wrapping paper. When I do use commercial wrap, I like to use solid colors - red, green, blue, gold, silver - which can be used to wrap other gifts throughout the year. I also like, and save, gift bags. My system isn't perfect, but it's a lot better than what I used to do, which was cram things helter-skelter into whatever space was available..:|(

[Float On]

I was just taking down my decorations today. A few weeks ago when I was setting them up I was a bit sad because last year I'd gotten rid of one storage box ( approx 2ftx4ftx3ft) worth of decorations, I missed the greenery/lights draped across the railings on the front porch, I missed the greenery/lights draped over every window (inside). Taking things down today - I'm considering purging a few more items and really glad I'm not putting away dusty greenery. The goal is to have one storage box instead of 3....but that's a work in progress and may take a few years (as the lights burn out). This year, more by default, I'm going to have to get rid of the dormer wreaths simply because they are old and brittle. So it looks like they'll have to go to the landfill because they aren't in good enough condition for the thrift shop. I think I'll thrift or sell two sets of wooden trees.

[Mrs-M]

Great ideas and great reading. It's times like this where I long for a single spare unoccupied additional room in the home where all decorations, wrapping paper, and everything else that falls under the category of "festive holiday season goodies" could be stored year round. Out of sight, out of mind, out of the way.

Nonetheless, I'm going to adopt much of the helpful and nifty ideas you all put forth as a concrete way of improving upon what I've been practicing and with any luck, I'll be able to further polish and hone my storage abilities and strategies to reflect a more organized and streamlined me.

New ideas I plan on incorporating after reading everyone's input.

- Labeling boxes/storage bins.
- Not adding anymore "stuff" to my collection...
- Packing away as I go.
- And last but not least, keeping all things soft, breakable, and damageable away from all other things. i.e. Wrapping paper, bows, ribbon, tags/labels, glass ornaments, etc.

Going to invest in one or two new Rubbermaid tote bins for that! Love Rubbermaid tote bins!!!

[JaneV2.0]

Last year I boxed up all my Christmas wrap, ornaments, tags, cards, and miscellany and stowed them in one of my impossible closets (useful only to elves and contortionists). I culled and donated two big boxes of additional Christmas gear. This holiday season, I went to look for Christmas cards and managed to dig up one box. Who knows where the rest are buried...Guess I'll have to re-organize and label. One step forward, one back.

[Gina]

I didn't decorate too much this year, but used to in the past. There are boxes of decorations in a closet that I intend to go through soon. I don't really even know how much of it there is. I want to put the keepers in the garage in storage bins of some sort. I mainly want to keep the nicer tree decorations I've collected over the years, some sentimental things we used when I was a kid, and who knows what. It's going to be hard going through it, but I can't keep it all just because it tugs at my heart strings.

[happystuff]

I was impacted this year at how successfully I had reduced our holiday decorations, etc. in previous years! Over the course of the last 5 or so years, I have gone from 5 huge bins down to 2! And I still didn't put everything out this year! But I did put out what we like and it really was "just enough". I like decorations, but am trying to move towards handmade-but-disposable ones. This year the kids and I did coffee filter snowflakes! (no longer have a coffee pot that uses the filters, but didn't want to just trash them) We had such fun just sitting together and cutting them out. One of the kids put them all over the downstairs windows. They look great! And when they finally come down, they will go right into the recycle. Will do the same next year and maybe add some colorful paper chain garlands, etc.

[Mrs-M]

A lovely entry Happystuff! :) Lots of inspiring ideas. One thing I'm learning albeit slowly, is paring down and keeping it down. Easy for me to say but oh so very hard for me to practice. :|(