Your Guide to Storing Holiday Decorations

As the year nears its end, the holiday season begins. For many homes and business, this means it’s time to break out the decorations. While fun to set up and enjoy during the holiday season, decorations can be a hassle to pack up and store for the rest of the year if proper storing practices aren’t followed. In this guide, our storage experts here at Stor-It show you how to properly pack-up and store your holiday decorations. Take the headache out of the holidays — read on to learn how you can efficiently and effectively store your decorations and stay organized year-round.

Properly Packing Holiday Decorations

The first step to properly storing holiday decorations is packing them up. Use the following tips to simplify the packing process and prep your holiday decorations for storage.

Untangle and Wrap String Lights

String lights are, without doubt, the most frustrating holiday decorations to pack. Both fragile and prone to tangling, these ubiquitous adornments epitomize holiday hassle for many families and businesses. However, there is a simple two-step process you can follow to simplify your string light packing process. 1. Untangle. 2. Wrap. The first step can be made easy by carefully pulling lights off your building, thus minimizing the chance of knots. For the second step, grab a piece of cardboard and wrap your lights around it. This will help keep them from getting tangled as you put them into storage.

Use Bags as Barriers

Ziploc bags, plastic grocery bags, and large garbage bags all serve as excellent storage receptacles and barriers for guarding items during the packing and storage process. Got paper decorations you want to pack? Pack them into bags to prevent wrinkling and water damage. Taking a down an artificial tree? Place it in a garbage bag or tree storage bag to keep it sealed against moisture.

Box Accordingly

Placing all holiday decorations in boxes for storage will help keep them in great condition year-round. We recommend filling each box with decorations from a single holiday and clearly labeling all boxes before storing them. That way, you’ll be able to quickly identify each box and efficiently unpack for the next holiday season. Packing fragile items such as ornaments? Use egg cartons or specialized ornament boxes to keep these fragile items from breaking during the packing and storing process.

Invest in Cushioning

Improperly packing holiday decorations can result in damage. No matter what you’re packing, it’s a good idea to invest in cushioning supplies to prevent any breakage while packing and storing your holiday items. Essential cushioning materials including bubble wrap and packing peanuts, though you can also use old clothing and blankets as DIY cushioning solutions for your holiday decorations.

Need Help? Hire a Professional

Many homeowners and business owners like to go all out for the holidays, decorating their properties from top to bottom with festive lights, ornaments, statues, and more. If you count yourself among your town’s most zealous holiday decorators, you may have hired professional help to set up your holiday décor. To save yourself time and energy at the end of the season, we recommend hiring professionals to help you reverse the process. Many moving companies offer dedicated holiday tear-down services for both homeowners and business owners alike.

As you can see from the above steps, packing holiday decorations is equal parts process and proper packing supplies. To help you with the second part, our team here at Stor-It proudly offers a wide range of specialized packing supplies for sale. Browse our inventory to find packing supplies for holiday decorations and year-round use. Visit one of our many Treasure Valley locations to pick up your supplies in person.

Properly Storing Your Holiday Decorations

Once the packing process is complete, it’s time to store your holiday decorations. When it comes to holiday decoration storage, you have two options: onsite storage and offsite storage.

Onsite storage is often a reasonable solution for homeowners and businesses owners with limited holiday decorations. If you’re opting for the onsite route, we recommend finding a place on your property where your items will be out of the way yet sheltered from potential damage. Indoor closets are a great choice, as are garage shelves and cabinets for decorations that aren’t as sensitive to temperature.

Offsite storage is the best choice for homeowners and business owners who don’t have enough space on their properties to store holiday decorations. If you opt for offsite storage, you’ll want to look for a trusted self-storage business in your area that gives you the space and accommodations you need to effectively store your items. Use our Size Guide and Space Estimator to find the perfect-sized storage unit based on your storage needs. Have holiday decorations that are sensitive to temperature? Consider investing in a climate-controlled unit. Visit our Packing and Storage Tips page for more information on storing your holiday decorations.

Pack and Store Your Holiday Decorations the Right Way with Stor-It

We are dedicated to helping property owners across the great state of Idaho pack and store their possessions. If you have a surplus of seasonal items or holiday decorations you need to pack and store, we’ve got you covered. For all of your packing needs, head over to our Packing Supplies page, where you’ll find packing items for sale, each carried at several of our storage locations across the Treasure Valley. Ready to invest in self-storage for your holiday decorations and other belongings? Visit our Locations page to learn more about the industry-leading storage amenities and wide range of self-storage options at our many Idaho self-storage locations.