what I do

what I do

Monday, November 29, 2010

Getting down the Christmas boxes

Photo: David Zellaby via Flickr
Well, today was the day. The day to take down the Christmas boxes from the 'attic' (well, it is not really an attic but it is a space above our garage where all our storage goes) and start thinking about decorating for Christmas.

Boxes after I rummaged through them to get started on decorating!
Each year after Christmas I box up the decorations in clear plastic boxes. I know that a lot of people prefer not to see inside the boxes - it is neater looking I suppose but I like to see inside the boxes for easy identification. I label each box and although I don't list every item inside the box, I do list some of the more important items.


I also number the boxes so that I know how many to take down the following Christmas. If I have 6 boxes total, I will label my boxes, 1 of 6, 2 of 6, 3 of 6 and so on. That way when I go to get the boxes I know how many I am looking for. I also put the following year on the label rather than the year I am boxing up and putting away. I have found that it is confusing to have the previous year's date on the boxes when I am looking for them.

I had to laugh at this label - 7 of 5? At least it had the right date on it!
I also label the ornament boxes that I did not use. Some years I will use certain ornaments and other years I won't. For example, last year I only used white and silver with a few turquoise ornaments. All the browns and golds and oranges and reds were labeled - "Did not use in 2009." That way I know that if I want to replicate what I did the previous year I will not need that box.


I was planning showing you exactly how I packed my ornaments away but when I was taking everything down I was looking at my system with new 'blogger' eyes and realized that I could do it much better! So here are a few tips for you as you plan for packing away for next year ... and I will share my more blog worthy storage with you when Christmas is over!


1. Store like things together. I try to keep my colors together and the type of ornament as much as possible. 


2. Keep the original boxes to re-pack them in later. 


3. Keep the tissue paper from your gifts to wrap your fragile ornaments in. 

Tip of the day: When you are unpacking your Christmas decorations and come upon things that you have not used for a while, take them to a donation center or share with someone else right away. Someone can enjoy them now and you will have less to store next year!

5 comments:

HAMPTON HOSTESS said...

wow you are super organized! It will take me the better part of the day to fetch our boxes out of the basement--so glad to find a fellow interior designer/blogger. Darling blog--glad to be a follower!

Robbie said...

13 years ago, you got all my Christmas stuff down (20 boxes) and decorated my house while I was out of town for Thanksgiving.! I was battling cancer and didn't have the energy for Christmas. The way my house looked brought tears to my eyes. You kept it simple & elegant. I was forever changed. Last year I gave away all those boxes which said not used in 1997,98,99, etc. Your decorating my house at Christmas was a gift you gave me. I am so thankful that you now do this professionally, as my house has never looked better and the meaning of Christmas isn't lost in all the "stuff".

pamela said...

Hello Sherri
Thanks so much for popping by to leave your good wishes it'll be a couple of weeks before I'm up and out but doing ok, thanks again.
I still check your posts and always get some good, nay, great ideas. So organised, thoughtful and doable. Go share those unwanted decs folks!
and 7 of 5, priceless!
pamela xxx

Anonymous said...

I always thought my decorations were semi-organized (not that I actually have many really), but you've definitely got me beat! This is all great advice, too.

What a sweet comment by Robbie, and a great testament to not only your skills, but your compassion. Awesome!

annie@mostlovelythings said...

wow! you take organization to a whole new level...and I love it!