Page 24 - Real Estate Now - November/December 2021

The “Real” Boxing Day: Tips for Painlessly

Packing Up Your Holiday Decorations

Lara Ceroni courtesy REALTOR.ca
fter all the fun and merriment of the holiday season, the last thing any of us feel like doing is taking down our
decorations. (That’s probably why you still see your neighbour’s lights strung up until spring!) We get it. It’s
Aa lot of work, but we’re here to make it easier with some inventive storage solutions making those tangled
lights and broken ornaments a ghost of Christmas past. Here’s our pain-free guide to packing up.

Snap a pic
We promise this will make next year’s decorating 10 times easier. Before taking down all of your decorations, take a
photo of all of your favourite setups. That way you can easily replicate the same look you love next year.
Ornament storage

Don’t splurge on expensive ornament storage boxes (you don’t need them).
Instead, keep your egg cartons and old take-out boxes–they’re perfect for tiny,
round ornaments and will protect them from getting smashed. Drink containers
also work wonders.

Rack your wreaths
If you use a lot of artificial wreaths as part of your holiday décor, don’t shove them
in your plastic storage bins. Cover them in plastic bags and hang them (with
hangers) on a coat rack in the garage instead. It will keep them looking fresh,
untangled and good to go next season.

Garment bags for paper wrapping

We always have a surplus of wrapping paper at the end of the holidays, so to make
sure they’re in good condition for next year’s gifts, store all your papers in a see-
through garment bag. It’s such a simple solution, we’re surprised we didn’t think of
this before!

Paper towel holders to wrangle cords
Is there anything more frustrating than tangled extension cords? Keep them tangle-
free for next year by stuffing them into paper towel holders. A bonus: Add the
dimensions of each cord (so you know which is planned to go where) with extra gift
tags. Watch the YouTube video for more inforation.

Cardboard for Christmas lights
Back to those tangles: Wrap your string lights around a piece of cardboard and label each piece (again, with gift tags)
to remind you which lights go where. Watch the YouTube video for more information.

Re-use your water bottles
Bead garland is ideal for water bottles (yes, they’ll fit) and you can usually fit two sets into one plastic water bottle. All
you need to do is shake them out when you need them. g

24 | REAL ESTATE NOW | denise@BCislandhomes.ca