What goes up must come down - including all your fabulous Christmas decorations.
Last month you decked the house with boughs of holly and soon enough you will have the dreaded task of taking all of those Christmas decorations down again.
Ornaments, dancing reindeer, wreaths and Christmas trees are all beautiful to look at but an absolute pain to keep organised when packing up for another year.
Sure you could just toss them all into a large box and forget about them until next year and hope your beautiful hanging ornaments make it through undamaged.
However, if you're anything like me you will have handmade and sentimental ornaments that you would be devastated to lose or break.
But worry not, here are some simple and clever solutions and decoration storage hacks we think everyone should know:
Storing delicate ornaments.
Place ornaments into wine boxes so they don't break, the dividers will keep separated meaning there is less chance of them breaking and the holder will make it easier to transport.
Alternatively, you could place small delicate tree ornaments and/or baubles in cardboard egg cartons or make your own cardboard dividers.
For larger ornaments, wrap them in tissue paper and place in an empty chocolate tin for added protection.
Store beads in bottles.
There is nothing more frustrating trying to twist your arm around a string of garland beads after a long year of storage. Prevent tangles of torture by storing them in large bottles or upcycle a Pringles container with a lid.
Storing wreaths.
Treat wreaths as you would your favourite dress. Using a hanger slip the hook through the festive centrepiece and cover with a clear dry-cleaning bag to try to prevent any moisture or dust building up while in storage.
Storing Christmas lights.
Festive lights can get tangled easily and in some cases can be almost impossible to sort out if you haven't stored them carefully. Keep them easy to unwind by wrapping the lights around a thick piece of card or empty kitchen roll holders. For bonus points, mark each card with the colours to make them easier to find next year.
Remove batteries.
Before packing up your Christmas decorations remove any batteries from electronics before long term storage to prevent corrosion.
Wooden Christmas decorations.
Keep wooden decorations like hanging plaques stored in a climate-controlled environment. Over time high or low temperatures can damage them so it's best to keep them in the top of a wardrobe until you need them next.
Other things to consider.
Invest in some sturdy storage boxes preferably see-through to make it easy to identify exactly what's inside and if that is not an option to label everything. This way you won't be wasting time rooting through mountains of boxes looking for your beloved nutcrackers or tree topper.
