§         Weed out decorations you don't use or don't like. If they're in good shape, donate them - schools, community theater groups, senior homes and homeless shelters are all potential recipients. Otherwise, recycle them or throw them out. If they have sentimental value but you don't use them, put them in a keepsake box rather than with the decorations you use every year. Just be sure to include a note with them that indicates their significance.

§         Organize your decorations in a meaningful way. Think about your decorating technique, and organize your decorations accordingly. If you decorate room-by-room, store the decorations for each room together. If you like to put out similar decorations at the same time (e.g., all of the candles, all of the window decorations, all of the garlands, etc.), pack your decorations according to type. If you like excitement and potential chaos, store your decorations in any old manner and make a game of figuring out where they go next year. You can cheat a bit by taking pictures of each area of your decorated home to remind you of where things go.

§         Use containers to store your decorations. Covered cardboard boxes work well as long as they're stowed where moisture and critters won't damage the contents. Covered plastic bins are another good choice. Covers are important to keep out dust and to make stacking easier. Make sure the containers are of a manageable size and will fit easily in the area you will stow them. Many general merchandise stores carry plastic bins that are color-coordinated by holiday - red and green for Christmas, black and orange for Halloween, etc.  If the containers you choose aren't color-coordinated, you may want to put colored paper or relevant wrapping paper on the outside to make it easy to locate the appropriate containers when it's time to decorate.

§         Use special containers for special decorations. Artificial Christmas trees and wreaths are two large items that may not fit easily into a typical box or bin. You can purchase special bags or boxes for these items at general merchandise and home improvement stores. You might consider putting these and other large decorations into clear plastic bags (recycling bags or dry cleaner bags work well). If you don't have shelf or floor space to store them, consider hanging them from the rafters in your attic, garage, or basement. 

§         Pack your decorations so they won't break. You can purchase special boxes with cardboard dividers or use egg cartons for small decorations like Christmas tree ornaments. You can also use divided boxes from a liquor store. Wrap breakable decorations in tissue paper or unprinted newspaper (the ink from regular newspaper could rub off onto your decorations). Wrap holiday strings of lights around cardboard, wrapping paper tubes, or tightly folded newspaper to keep them from tangling and breaking. Cut slots in the cardboard and insert the strings into the slots as you wrap to keep them from sliding off. You can also purchase special reels for strings of lights at hardware stores and general merchandise stores.

§         Label the containers. Make it easy to identify what's in each container by labeling at least 2 of the sides as well as the top - you never know which side will be facing you. You can use a general description (e.g., "Christmas - Living Room") or you can create a more specific list of the contents (e.g., "Kwanzaa- candles for mantle, tablecloth for dining room," etc.). In lieu of listing the specific contents on each container, you might also assign a number to each container and then create a separate inventory of each container's contents by number (e.g., "Box 1 - New Year's decorations," "Box 2 - Eid decorations," etc.).

§         Stow containers with retrieval in mind. Make sure one of the labels is facing forward so it can be seen easily. If you have decorations from several holidays, rotate containers so the most current holiday is always the most accessible: when putting away decorations for the most recent holiday, put them in the back or at the bottom and move containers for the next holiday to the front or top of the group.