Organizing After Christmas

Christmas is over. It was a lot of fun but man is it a lot of work. It’s time now to put away all our decorations, pack up all the outdoor lights and prep for next year. I prefer not to buy things at full price so I checked out the clearance aisles at HomeGoods, Target and Joann’s. I had hoped to find some deals but was disappointed because the pickings were slim. I'll look elsewhere because it is clearance or bust for me.

If you don’t have containers for your Christmas decorations now is the time to get them. I have large containers that I labeled according to use. My bulb collections seems to be growing so I bought a few extra containers and sorted my bulbs by color which should make it so much easier when I decorate next year. For instance, I used aqua and teal bulbs this year but next year I might go all red. I won't have to sort through all of my bulb containers and can just pull out the one labeled red. 

I also have some special bulbs that I have collected over the years that have more sentimental value. I want to take care not to scratch or break them so I invested in a good two layer Christmas bulb holder. I got this one from Walmart. What I liked about it was that you can customize sections to fit the size of your bulbs, also, you can add additional layers because they just snap together. 

I also dedicated one box for just lights and garland, and a separate one for knick knacks, the tree skirt and tree stand.  

I replenished my stash of Christmas cards and money holders and labeled a small box which included some forever stamps and an address book. 

Next it’s time to take down the tree. Let’s have a moment of silence shall we. 

Now for the tough part. The purge. Let’s face it, you can’t keep it all otherwise someone is going to call you a Christmas hoarder. I bought these teal bulbs and honestly I didn’t like them. My home is not well lit and at times they blended in too much with the tree because they were dark. I liked the aqua blue much better. I kept only the glittery teal bulbs and gave away the plainer bulbs.

Also, I had way too much garland and lights. I prefer lights that have green wires because they disappear on the tree and in the bushes and gave away the lights with white wires. If there are any bulbs you have that you don’t like anymore give them to the Salvation Army. Someone will love them again. If there are any that are damaged toss them.

Now my boxes are all labeled, organized and neat. When Christmas comes around next year I will be ready to decorate and have a lot less stress.

It's too bad I couldn't find any new discounted decorations that I liked. I'll have to keep trying and dig a little deeper. Now that my closet is nicely organized, I have a little more space to fill up. 

B.