Show #6 - Christmas Take Down
Maja shares her ideas and hints for putting away and storing Christmas decor. She also helps you to organize her holiday decorations so that it’s much easier to find what you need next year!
Step #1: Get Bins to store your precious ornaments and holiday things in (sterilite containers at Walmart etc.)
Step #2: Get your Labels ready, mark down contents of every single bin (Maja uses 3×5″ inch cards and a black marker)
Step #3: Use the Mantra (top to bottom, left to right, focus, focus, focus)
Step #4: Tape gun at the ready
Optional Step #5: Create a Binder or Master list with the contents of each bin for easy reference, don’t forget to number the bins if you choose this method.
Listener Poll: “When do you think is the best time to take down your Christmas decorations?”. Please leave your comments in our shownotes.
December 20th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Maja, you make me laugh SOOO hard!!! Party ON!!!! Soooo funny!!! I LOVE the idea of the bins and as soon as we get back from all our Christmas travels I will be running to good ol’ Walmart to pick up some!!! Party on girl, Party on. Oh and I hope you guys have a WONDERFUL Christmas!!!!
December 20th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
I actually put my Christmas decorations away about a few days if not the day after Christmas. I am not really sure why, I guess once its over it bothers me to leave them up….BTW you make me laugh, I love that you are an organzing genius, it makes me feel less geeky that I like things well organized too. You also give me such wonderful ideas, ones I hadn’t thought of myself. Thanks.
December 21st, 2007 at 3:59 am
For myself, I usually start taking things down the weekend after Christmas, I just think its so sad to see the tree there all empty underneath, that and of course by this time, it’s starting to droop something fierce, so the tree itself is looking kinda sad.
If schedule can’t be arranged for take down during this time, at least by the first week of the New Year.
December 21st, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Love this Blog and love the podcasts!!!
I have been known to take my Christmas decorations down a few days after Christmas *since I do tend to put them up the day after Thanksgiving*, but the latest is on New Years day. I like doing it that day since it is a lazy, quite day already. I can just take my time and enjoy packing everything up and starting a NEW year!
December 23rd, 2007 at 6:01 am
We take down the Christmas decorations the weekend following Christmas but no later than New Year’s Day. Yep, sometimes the decorations stay up that late, but it is fun to have friends and family help take it all down (sort of like a reverse tree trimming party!!).
Thanks!
Merry Christmas!
Alyson
LID 01/27/06
December 26th, 2007 at 9:52 am
In our home, having the decorations up past Jan. 1st feels like laziness, but I leave everything up as long as possible until then! I think that taking Christmas down immediately is as wrong as having them up before Thanksgiving! It says, “I couldn’t wait for it to be over!” Scroogey.
We have always used bins for holiday storage, even the artificial tree has it’s own bin (XL) where I also store the tree skirt, star and lights that are for the tree only. This way, putting up the tree doesn’t involve opening several different bins. I have rare luck with my bin labels though. Usually I print a festive label from my computer (basic red and green lettering with maybe a Christmas image) and then tape that to the bin. But, evidently I move bins around too much and by next Christmas half of the labels are torn or missing. I think I will try card stock this year and some heavier tape, PLUS I like your idea of listing the bin contents on an index card. I will actually put the index card in the top of the bin so it can’t get torn or lost, but I won’t have to dig through the complete bin to know that my stocking holders are in the very bottom either!
Loving your shows! It’s so nice to hear a voice that carries the humor in trying to make our lives “simplified by being organized” which can be a daunting task. A kind tone goes a long way as many of our inner voices (that demand we be better homemakers) have a harsh or judgmental ring to it! I hope you will be able to continue this wonderful site! It’s certainly the best organized webpage I’ve ever been to! I love to “open” the little drawers.
December 26th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I just started listening to your podcasts today while at work. I can not wait to get home and get things organized. I’ve been working on this slowly throughout my house. It seems once I get it one room/closet organized, a few months later, it starts looking messy again. I have 3 girls (8, 6 and almost 5), a husband and a large lab, all of which don’t seem to pick up and put their things away. Any ideas to get them motivated would be appreciated.
As far as Christmas decor, I like to leave up through New Years Day. Since we spend so much time getting decorated, it nice to enjoy it a little bit more. Plus if I find any good deals on the holiday decor after Christmas, I can still store it away with everything else.
Thanks for all the great tips!
December 26th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
I usually take down my decorations on New Years day. I like Alyson’s idea of having a reverse tree trimming party.
January 5th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Well, I FINALLY have all my Christmas decorations down and they are all in plastic bins and man, I FEEL GREAT!!! It is so nice having them in containers that I am not going to have to worry about getting wet or bugs in them. They are all neat and tidy and it is such a great feeling. Plus, I purged a bunch of old, ugly ornaments that were handed down to me but haven’t been used in years… oh the freedom!!
Thanks for all the advice Maja!!!
January 13th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Okay, well today is…….January (glug) 13, 2008 and I’m on a roll putting away Christmas ornaments. I have a few new bins to store more things in so I’m having fun getting away from some of the cardboard boxes that I’ve had for about 12 years!! We wait for the feast of the three kings, or the Epiphany before taking our tree down. It’s an old family tradition. Of course that was last Sunday but we were busy so I decided to start taking down last night. I’m doing it leisurely and my daughter is enjoying helping. I love having just the tree lights on and really try to stretch how long the lights are on the tree. We use an artificial tree as we find it convenient these last few years.
October 11th, 2010 at 5:18 am
I know that I am MANY years behind on your podcasts (I have only just joined the Itunes revolution) but i have found that packing the glass orniments to be a breeze! Go to your Local and pick up some old wine cases with the dividers in them. I get WHITE tissue paper, wrap it around the ornament, then cushion further with newspaper. this separates your orniments into six compartments. sticky tape the top closed with packing tape and CLEALRY LABEL (so they dont get broken).
what i love about this is that is easy to recycle last years wine box when it get ratty. Also, because the box is a wine box, people tend to handle with care anyway! No glass ornaments have been broken here as yet with this method, although we do store them in the top of a spare cupboard and not in plastic boxes in the garage - the boys sometimes get too enthusatic in there and accidents DO happen!
hope this method save one ornament!