Yahoo News A decluttering expert shares her top tips for packing away after Christmas
Christmas is a special time of year filled with love, joy and sparkle and, unfortunately, plenty of clutter. Yes, of course, we're talking about the faff of having to pack everything back away for next year after the festivities are over.
As many of us know, forcing Christmas trees back into their boxes and wrestling with tangles of fairy lights is less than ideal. It's especially not ideal when all you want to do is lay on the sofa and decompress after a busy December of fun and food.
This year, it is worth planning ahead so you can save time when packing away your Christmas decorations and keep everything neat, organised and (hopefully!) in one piece. Luckily, we've got some top tips from decluttering experts, including Vicky Silverthorn of You Need a Vicky.
"If you dread hours of detangling and sorting, now is the time to rethink your system and maybe even invest in a few clever solutions," says Vicky.
She makes the point that putting in the work to make sure your decorations are packed away neatly now, will ensure everything is easier when it comes to unpacking them again next year.
"Preparation for next year may seem unnecessarily premature, but trust me you will be relieved when next Christmas comes around" she adds.
Plus, ensuring the packing away is done properly should help to keep delicate ornaments safer when they're stored away, so they'll be pristine the next time you want to display them.
Top decluttering tip from Nicola Lewis, organising expert and author of Mind Over Clutter: “I always say start off with small steps. Always plan what you’re going to do before,” Nicola said. Have your to-do list to hand, and make sure it’s not too ambitious."
Below, Vicky Silverthorn offers more tips to help you on your way to making sure your Christmas decorations bring you nothing but joy. Before we move on to them, let's start by reminding ourselves of the basics of storing away Christmas decorations...
A step-by-step guide to packing away after Christmas
Identify the items you won't use again. For example, items that have become broken or faulty, items that are past their best, or items that simply don't suit your taste anymore. Remove these and either recycle, donate or throw them away.
Organise your items. There are various ways to do this - you could sort decorations by room, by theme or by colour. Whatever you choose, a system will help you to find exactly what you need in the future.
Ensure everything is neat and tidy. Detangle those fairy lights, colour co-ordinate those baubles, wrap ornaments in tissue paper. Packing everything away in this manner will help enormously when you come to get stuff out again.
Store things away properly. Don't just throw things into a carrier back and stuff it into the back of a cupboard. Make sure everything is neatly placed into boxes that are stacked carefully in a way that's easily accessible for the next festive season.
The items you'll need...
Boxes (a mix of sturdy plastic and more disposable cardboard is handy)
Tape
Scissors
Labels
Tissue paper
Dividers for boxes
Now, for Vicky's tips...
Make a plan
"You don’t need to take this task on all in one go. It’s a good plan to make a start in the weeks leading up to Christmas day. Always start small so that your decluttering can fit in with your daily life," she says.
How to keep lights tangle-free
"Wrapping your lights up free hand will not keep them neat and untangled," Vicky advises.
"There are a few ways of storing these neatly so you don’t have to fight with them or even throw them away. You can get specific reels you can wrap them round, think like fishing wire.
"I personally get the tube of an old kitchen role, I make a little cut in each end, put the wire through one end and I wrap…all the way round and over."
Invest in boxes for the long-term
"Make this the year you pack your Christmas decorations away properly, once and for all," says Vicky.
"I highly recommend sturdy and stackable boxes, there is no point in buying cheap, flimsy boxes that when you stack them, they’re going to crack. I’ve seen it over and over again. It’s worth investing in something strong."
Stop battling the tree box
"Buy one of the purpose bags for [fake] Christmas tree storage. It’s going to last you years and years, you don’t have to battle with them going back in the boxes and I think it’s the perfect solution," says Vicky.
Label containers clearly
"Always label your boxes. If you have a load of blank boxes stored in your shed or your garage you’re going to be fighting with them each year to find out what’s in them," says Vicky.
"Always make sure you do a neat, crisp label," she advised, so everything is easy to locate in storage.
The simpler way to pack away baubles
"You don’t have to wrap every individual Christmas decoration in bubble wrap to keep them safe," advises Vicky.
"You can get specifically designed bauble cases, they’re a cube shape and they have dividers throughout. They hold one bauble per section and this prevents the baubles breaking."
There you have it, a clutter-free way to pack away your Christmas decorations.
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