CLEVELAND — The holidays have come and gone, and you may have already forgotten the stress of unpacking, organizing and putting up all those decorations.
There are several ways to save time packing those decorations away for next year.
Maria Arman is a busy mom and wife. However, she said every year she finds the time to decorate her house for Christmas.
“I do it for my kids,” she said. “I also do it for other people to come over and enjoy and sit. But more importantly, I do it for my husband.”
When it’s time to take everything down and pack it away, it’s just as much work.
“I have three boys under the age of 7,” said Arman. “Every day is chaos. I have a dog, two cats, two snakes, two geckos, and they keep asking for more animals. So, I try to stay organized, but in reality, I don’t always have the time.”
Arman said, with her lifestyle, it’s not always easy being organized. Kris Renee is a pro-organizer who shares tips and tricks with her tens of thousands of social media followers. She said Arman isn’t alone when it comes to trying to get organized, especially after the holidays.
“Putting away your decorations at the holidays can be really chaotic, especially when you’re talking about bigger, bulkier items like your wreaths,” said Renee. “If you don’t have the original boxes, you can use household items to store them. Small changes can make a big difference when it comes to organization.”
According to a survey by YouGov, 91% of those said it’s at least somewhat important to them that their home is organized. Compare that to the 54% who think their home is somewhat organized and the 46% who said they organize when things get out of hand.
“Being organized was going to be essential to making our house run smoothly,” said Renee.
Renee is a mom of 8 she said getting organized begins with being realistic with what you have, where it’s going and using stuff around your house to help with packing.
“When you have busy households like Maria and I both do, we’re often hosting and so we have red solo cups, which are actually a great solution for keeping your breakable ornaments safe when you’re packaging them away for the season,” said Renee.
When it comes to taking down decorations after the holidays, there is not right or wrong time. Renee said she starts taking things down right after the holiday is over while Arman puts a little bit away at a time.
“Putting all of your decorations on a table or on the floor really helps you get an idea of what it is that you have, what it is that you want to keep and get rid of, as well as what size storage bins you will need to put these items in,” said Renee.
Some other ways to organize holiday decorations after the holidays include:
- Create a Plan: Make a list of each room that has decorations.
- Declutter: Before putting away those decorations, declutter your storage space. Get rid of decorations or items that are broken, or you no longer need or use. Donate or discard those items.
- Organize Decorations: Get labels and storage containers to put away holiday decorations in an organized way. Get bins, dividers, and labels to keep everything organized and easily accessible for the next year.
- Sort and Store like items: Organize items by room, decoration type, color or whichever sorting method works for your items.
- Use unused spaces: Use spaces like under your bed with specialty storage boxes for those tight spaces.
As a working mom and wife, Arman said she loves decorating for all of the holidays and the smiles it puts on her family’s faces. She knows organizing can be difficult but whenever she does organize, big or small, she feels a sense of relief.
“Every holiday, I try to stay as organized as possible for Christmas,” Arman said. “I’m trying to work on it more, but with the chaos coming in the new year, the more organized every little bit helps.”
Rose Todd
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