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“Label” Christmas decoration storage boxes with old gift wrap

in: Holidays & Special Occasions, Organizing Time & Space

I'm hearing reports of holiday decorations (and trees!) still hanging around, so I figure it's not too late to share Veronica's Christmas decoration storage tip:

I use recycled boxes to store our Christmas decorations. Until last year, I labeled them by writing on top of the box with a Sharpie, but a year later, when I have forgotten which boxes are what and they get mixed up in the storage room, I have a hard time reading my labels. When it's time to decorate for the holidays, I sometimes miss a box, until later when I realize I haven't found the stockings and need to run back to the storage room. It can be frustrating!

This year, as I was packing everything away, I realized I had tons of recycled Christmas wrapping paper, so I cut long strips about 5 inches wide and taped them around the boxes horizontally. Now, no matter which way I place the box, I will be able to identify it. Next year we'll open our boxes from the top as usual and the boxes will already be nicely marked.

I put enough clear tape on top of the wrapping paper in the corners of the box and on any spots that i considered sensitive to the rough handling in the storage room. I am sure that no matter what happens in that storage room during the year, next Christmas I will find my boxes much more easily than I did this year!

Related: Beer case inserts as Christmas ornament dividers
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Holiday hacks

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About Asha Dornfest

Asha Dornfest is a writer, parent, and insistent optimist living in Portland, Oregon. She is the author of PARENT HACKS, co-author of MINIMALIST PARENTING, and co-host of the Edit Your Life podcast.

Comments

  1. Candy says

    January 26, 2010 at 10:00 am

    Also – after Christmas, big box stores typically will mark down the “red and green plastic tubs” quite drastically. I picked up some fall colored ones for Halloween/Thanksgiving decor last year on the cheap, and bought some red and green ones for Christmas. Nothing get missed, and it’s all easily stackable.

  2. the milliner says

    January 26, 2010 at 12:16 pm

    One thing I do to avoid forgetting any of the boxes of our xmas decorations, I label them ‘Christmas Decorations 1 of 5’, ‘2 of 5’ etc., so I always know how many boxes I’m looking for.

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About the Author

Asha Dornfest is an author, optimist, and mom of two. She started the Parent Hacks blog in 2005, and turned it into a book in 2016. More about Asha »

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