I am most definitely one of those mamas that decorates for all the holidays/seasons… Valentine's Day; St. Patrick's Day; Easter; Spring; Memorial Day; Summer; Fourth of July; Fall; Halloween; Thanksgiving and Christmas... {Ok, maybe it started even before I became a Mama but still...} The problem is there are all sorts of decorations: hanging; table top; fillers; holiday lights; etc. Oh and let's not forget the couch pillows for each season to change things up. My favorite may be the holiday string lights they have for each holiday/season now {we've got quite the collection: hearts; shamrocks; eggs; shells; lanterns; pumpkins; spiders; ghosts; etc.}.
The problem then becomes where & how to store all the things. Sighhhh…. And how do you do it so that when you go to decorate it doesn't take you longer to dig everything out than it actually takes to decorate?! We don't have an attic in our current home & quite honestly I HATE the smell of basements so that leads to the clever little storage spaces in our bonus room. Regardless of where you decide to store your decorations, the key is to keep them organized.
{CONFESSION}… Let's just say that despite my efforts to do this previously I have failed miserably. Spring decorations with the Fall, St. Patrick's Day with the Summer... It was all becoming a large cluster. I would go out and buy new things forgetting what we already had as things weren't all grouped together by holiday/season. I would waste time digging through the storage cupboard trying to decipher what was stored where only to become frustrated with not being able to find decorations/items that I knew existed somewhere.
So as I'm yapping it up over here telling you all how to be organized and how to manage all the things, I thought it was time to tackle our holiday décor items once & for all. {because I was wasting TOO much time decorating for holidays and thought that I couldn't possibly be the only one.}
Are you ready to do the same?! Here are some simple steps to get all your holiday décor in order to make decorating a breeze!
STEP 1: Buy Storage Bins {I know many Professional Organizers advise not to buy bins until you know exactly what it is you are going to be storing, tossing, etc. in an effort not to over purchase. However, in this insistence it is a total time saver as you most certainly won't be tossing everything you have. You can be conservative in your purchase.}
STEP 2: Pull out all the things & go through them {Do you still use them? Are any broken or missing pieces? If you are no longer using them or they are missing pieces/broken = toss them}
STEP 3: Begin separating by Holiday/Season
Valentine's Day Summer/4th of July
St. Patrick's Day Fall/Halloween
Easter/Spring Thanksgiving
Memorial Day Christmas
STEP 4: Start organizing the items you are keeping and place them back into the bins.
STEP 5: Once the organization is complete, prepare labels for each bin so you can easily see what's inside without having to open each & everyone. {I purchased & used Avery Full Page Shipping Labels so I could customize them according to the holiday/season and make them larger than standard labels.}
STEP 6: Neatly place the organized bins back in their respective storage area.
The end result... all your holiday décor organized according to holiday/season and now easily accessible when the holiday/season rolls around. No more searching... No more overspending on more holiday décor because what you have is lost/missing... No more damaged or missing pieces. Just ease & satisfaction knowing you can grab a bin & decorate in no time! What busy mama doesn't want that?!
Wondering what products I used to get organized - check them out below {purchased at our local Walmart store}:
Don't have time to organize your holiday décor? Orderly by Danica can help - contact us at orderlybydanica@gmail.com or 585.749.3493. We can discuss your current situation, create a plan & follow through to get your holiday décor organized.
Perhaps you don't live locally? We can set up a virtual session to get you on your way to everything organization.