Organizing holiday decorations for next year

Even before the stockings are stuffed in many households, there’s already a mountain of Christmas and holiday decorations that need to be discarded or stored. This season, before you pop the cork on that bottle of New Year’s champagne, why not start fulfilling your favorite resolution to get organized. Think about how to be better prepared for next year’s holiday season.

Get a head start

Next winter, you won’t remember that you need three new strings of replacement lights, or that you’ve come up with a new holiday lighting scheme for the front porch. While prices are low for the post-Christmas sales season, take advantage and stock up on a few extra sets of lights.

Invest in some more efficient storage containers. If you have lots of room under the bed, go for long, rectangular storage containers. If you have closet or garage space, buy larger tubs. And while you’re at it, think about adding storage hangers above the garage door; they add loads of valuable storage space in a place that’s usually wasted.

Finally, stock up on organizers that will keep your ornaments from sloshing around together in a box, as well as storage to hold all your wrapping paper neatly.

Declutter

Rather than tell yourself you’ll get to it next year, throw away ornaments that are tired, faded or broken. It’s OK to pitch the wreath that’s seen better days. Clean and clear out so you can start fresh next year. And rather than wait until next December to make cute name tags from this year’s holiday cards, make those tags now.

Helpful reminders

Can’t remember how you decorated the mantel from year to year? Take a picture now and download it to a computer with how-to instructions for reassembly. Do the same for your tree. Create a decorating journal to remind yourself of what you want to do next year, such as fill in bare spots in the Christmas tree with some garlands.

To make things easy, use gift tags to label garlands for “stairs,” or “fireplace,” or “mirror.” Attach the tags with pipe cleaners. Make storing wreaths simple by placing them in large plastic garbage bags with draw strings. Hang the bags from nails in the garage or attic. Do the same with swags and front door decorations.

Get extras

Whether it’s light bulbs or fuses, it’s wise to have extras on hand. Buy more now and store them for next year. For lights, make things simple and buy some storage wheels. Next year, you can just unwind your lights from the reel. Buy extra sets of ornament hangers, too, so next year you won’t need to improvise with paper clips.

This story was originally published December 24, 2014 at 2:33 PM.