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ORGANIZING YOUR CHRISTMAS
ORNAMENT COLLECTION
If you have invested a lot of
time, love and money in your
Christmas ornament
collection, you know how
important proper storage is. But
we all know the truth – at the
end of the holiday, the last
thing we want to do is create an
organizational system for your
ornaments, no matter how special
they are. So this year, take the
time ahead of the holiday to
plan out and implement a better
Christmas ornament storage
solution for your home. We have
a couple of ideas for you – see
which fits your needs!
Special Containers
There are a number of specially
designed Christmas ornament
storage containers available in
a variety of materials and sizes
to fit your needs and your
budget. The least expensive
versions of these are made of
corrugated cardboard and might
be a paper file sized box with
levels of dividers or sliding
drawers. These boxes are
effective at organizing your
ornaments, but not as durable as
other materials and are easily
damaged by water. There are
plastic containers designed
especially for ornament storage
and these will more effectively
protect your
holiday ornaments against
moisture and mildew. Many of
these plastic bins are red and
green which makes them easy to
spot among the ordinary plastic
bins when the time comes to put
up the tree! Similar to the
cardboard boxes in design, some
are large boxes with layers of
dividers while others feature
drawers that you can pull open.
The dividers create a space for
each individual ornament and
keep them secure. Depending on
the type of ornament, you may
wish to use tissue paper, bubble
wrap or cotton batting for added
cushioning. These plastic bins
can be safely stored on shelves
or even gently stacked one on
top of the other maximizing your
storage space. Remember, the
after holiday sales are a great
place to stock up on these
items.
Once you have a general storage
solution for you Christmas tree
ornaments you'll want to think
about how to divide and store
each individual ornament. You
can organize by color, or by
type of ornament such as
snowman ornaments,
Santa ornaments,
angel ornaments, favorites
or whatever division makes the
most sense for your collection.
You can place all of one kind of
ornament together so that you
know exactly where to find them,
or you can put a little of each
kind in each individual box to
allow them to have an equal mix
as you open them and place the
ornaments on your tree.
Now that the ornaments are in
the boxes be sure to label each
one. Labeling each ornament
storage box as you go means that
there will be an accurate
description of what is inside
(e.g., angel ornaments, red and
gold ornaments, favorites). Even
if you can see through the
plastic bins, label the sides
with a general description of
the contents. With clear
containers you can slide a piece
of paper with the list of
contents inside so that it can
be seen through the front or
side of the box. Be sure not to
label the lids if you plan to
stack the bins as you won't be
able to read the descriptions!
After the holiday season is over
you want to take special care
when you are storing each
Christmas ornament. Certainly
not every
Christmas ornament you own
is very delicate, but there are
special considerations to keep
in mind when you are packing a
delicate Christmas ornament. If
you have a certain holiday
ornament that was particular
expensive or especially fragile
you will want to take some extra
care. You might want to store
these ornaments separately from
the more inexpensive and easily
replaceable items. This box
could be stored separately or
could carry extra warnings on
the labels such as 'FRAGILE,
FAVORITES' to remind those
retrieving the boxes to take
extra care. Ideally you will
still have the original
packaging for the ornament, but
if not then be sure to use
bubble wrap, cotton batting or
shredded tissue paper to keep
the item safe. Do not use
newspaper as the ink can
transfer to your ornament, and
if possible try to find acid
free tissue paper.
Storage Areas
Whenever possible you should
assign a storage area for all of
your holiday items, not just the
ornaments, so that everything
you need will be in one place.
This saves lots of wear and tear
when next Christmas rolls
around!
Christmas ornaments of all
kinds should be stored in a
space that isn't damp and where
the temperature stays fairly
constant. Although tempting,
attics don't usually make great
storage areas because the
temperature and moisture levels
change a great deal over the
year. These changes can damage
and even ruin your treasured
Christmas items. Basements are a
bit better as long as they
aren't too damp. Ideally, if you
have the room, under the bed in
the guest room or closet are
great places to store your
ornament boxes and other
Christmas items.
Alternatives
If special ornament storage
boxes aren't convenient or
practical for your family you
can still organize and protect
your ornaments. Make sure you
wrap each Christmas ornament
delicately in tissue paper or
bubble wrap, do not use
newsprint since the ink can rub
off on your Christmas ornaments.
Choose the strongest box that
you can, maybe a copy paper or
paper file box from work. If you
have enough ornaments to fill
more than one box be sure that
you put the strongest, heaviest
box on the bottom and lightest
and most flimsy on top.
Otherwise you might have some
(or all!) broken Christmas
ornaments next year. For your
smallest ornaments you can put
them in egg cartons and then put
the egg cartons in the larger
boxes. The same can be achieved
with shoe boxes that can hold
your most breakable items. If
you still have the original
boxes you can place your
Christmas decorations back
in the original box and then
place those boxes carefully in
the larger boxes. Be sure to
always put the heaviest items on
the bottom. Another great
solution to the ornament storage
problem is a spare clothing
dresser or dining room buffet.
You can place carefully wrapped
Christmas balls and
ornaments in the drawers safe
and protected for next year's
festivities!
Moving On
After Christmas is the time to
examine your collection and see
if there are any ornaments that
you don’t use. There can be lots
of reasons that you no longer
use or want certain Christmas
ornaments, you may have
downsized your tree or house or
it might not be as easy to bring
everything out and put it away
again each Christmas season.
Whatever the reason, if the
ornaments are in good condition
consider sharing them! Even if
they aren't in perfect condition
they will be treasured by
someone and enjoyed as a part of
their holiday celebrations.
Thematic and
personalized ornaments are
the most special and most
sentimental and so make
wonderful gifts to family and
friends. Consider taking some
time after the holidays to write
a little history of the ornament
saying where and why you bought
it or if someone gave it to you
as a gift. Then you can pass
along the history and the
ornament to someone for a
birthday, Christmas or just as
an after-Christmas present!
Moisture Control Extra
If you live in a humid climate
you might want to increase your
moisture control for your
ornaments. You can use silica
packs, which will absorb
moisture, keeping your ornaments
safer. You can usually find the
silica, loose or in pre-made
packs at any local craft store
(particularly in the bridal area
as it is used to preserve flower
bouquets).
By taking just a little extra
time to organize your
decorations at the beginning or
end of this season, you will be
setting yourself up for a more
enjoyable holiday season the
next time around. Hopefully you
can eliminate most frustrations
associated with finding and
using your decorations next
Christmas and can focus on
having some fun with your
family!
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