Best Storage Ideas to Organize Holiday Decorations

Whether it’s flags and bunting for the 4th of July or Santa and snowmen for Christmas, nothing gets you in the holiday spirit more than putting up your decorations. That is, unless you are unable to find your favorite decorations when it’s time to flaunt them; or worse, discovering they’re damaged or broken.

Using the garage is one of the best places to store holiday items. This keeps them within reach all year round while not taking up valuable closet and cabinet space inside. Plus the garage offers a number of options for adding tall and deep cabinets to house large bins, boxes and shelves to store them in. Many homes already have some type of built-in shelving or cabinetry solutions already.

Here are the best tips to keep your holiday decorations organized, protected from breakage, and easy to find. These 5 steps ensure your holiday investment will be preserved for years to come.

1. Ditch the Cardboard

Many people keep their decorations in cardboard boxes. Although this is a popular practice it’s not ideal. Cardboard boxes do nothing to protect your decorations from pests, rodents and the elements. They’re also susceptible to collapsing or ripping and will not stand the test of time. Plastic containers are a better choice for organizing and storing your decorations in the garage.

2. Color Coded Plastic Bins or Stickers

Plastic containers also make it possible for you to color code your decorations by holiday. You can use a different color and size box for each holiday.

Valentine’s Day – Red

St. Patrick’s Day – Light Green

Easter / Spring – Purple

4th of July Decorations – Dark Blue

Halloween / Fall Decorations – Orange

Christmas – Dark Green or Black

Hanukkah – Light Blue

New Years – Gray

3. Protect and Secure

When placing your items into larger plastic boxes, be sure to take precautions to keep delicate items safe.

• Small round glass ornaments can be placed in egg cartons for safekeeping before placing in a larger bin. Specialized divided ornament keepers are also available at craft stores.

• Larger delicate decorations can be wrapped in several layers of tissue paper, followed by a layer of bubble wrap. Newspaper should be placed carefully between them to keep them from shifting inside the larger box.

• Christmas lights can be neatly wrapped and placed inside shoeboxes for storing.

• Wooden ornaments and figurines should be returned to the boxes they came in. If you no longer have the box, you can wrap them in several layers of bubble wrap.

• Hatboxes make great containers for wreaths and other circular decorations.

• Candles should be wrapped in cellophane to keep them from melting together or bleeding color if they get too warm.

4. Label

Once everything is protected and placed in the appropriate color box, make a list of each box’s contents. You’ll want to stick the list on at least 2 sides of the box as well as the lid. After affixing the list to the box, cover the list with a layer of clear movers tape for protection.

5. Arrange

After all your boxes are packed and labeled, determine the best place for them in the garage. It’s important to designate a specific area in your garage for all of your decorations. Arrange the color-coded boxes by the order in which the holidays occur.