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The Top Five Organizers for Christmas Ornament Storage

by The Organizer Lady dot com on December 12, 2009

A great deal of time and money is usually spent decorating our homes for the holidays. After investing these resources, we do not want to risk losing our decorations to water damage, breakage, or by misplacing them. The best way to prevent this from happening is to purchase storage containers which are made specifically to store holiday items. It is important to buy enough of these containers to avoid overcrowding your decorations. After carefully packing away your holiday items, placing the storage containers in a safe place.

With the variety of storage containers available, it can be difficult to decide which container you should purchase. Here are some of the containers that you can choose from, as well as some reasons why they are a good choice.

Ornament Storage Boxes - Ornament storage boxes are used to store Christmas tree ornaments. They not only prevent your ornaments from being broken, but they also make it much easier to take down your tree. When you use an ornament storage box, you do not need to wrap your ornaments in tissue or newspaper. Ornament storage boxes are plastic boxes that are divided into smaller partitions. These partitions keep your ornaments from hitting against one another, which can scratch or break your ornaments. The plastic box is extremely sturdy, which allows you to stack your boxes of Christmas decorations on top of each other without the risk of crushing the ornaments.

Christmas Light Storage Box - Christmas lights are a storage nightmare. Christmas lights can easily become tangled and they can be difficult to store. If you manage to remove them from your tree or the outside of your house without tangling them in a hopeless ball, odds are that by next year, they may have found a way to tangle themselves. A Christmas light storage box is a plastic box that contains inserts for your lights. Each insert sits upright in the box, and in slots that run down each side. You remove one of the inserts and wrap a string of lights around it. You then slide it back into the box. By the time you have removed all of the lights from around your home, the storage box may be full, but each set of lights should be tangle free.

Wreath Storage Containers - Boxes made specifically for wreath storage are an excellent addition to Christmas storage. They provide a sturdy home for your wreath so that it is not crushed, and take up little room. A wreath is fragile and they can become damaged very easily. These boxes are an excellent way to prevent them from becoming damaged and they can last much longer.

Regular Plastic Containers- Many of the items that are used for holiday decorations do not have their own storage container. Train sets, stockings, candles and ceramic figurines are all part of the holiday scene, and need to be carefully stored. For these items, you may have to use a regular plastic storage container. These containers are not specifically made for what you are storing in them, so packing is more important. Use as small of a box as possible, and fill any empty space in the box with crumpled newspapers so that your decorations do not slide around.

Plastic Storage Bags - Plastic storage bags are an excellent storage solution for many holiday items. While they should not be used for breakable items, they are a great choice for oddly shaped or sized decorations. Plastic storage bags should not provide any real reinforcement, but can keep the item clean and shielded from sunlight and moisture while it is in storage.

With the combination of these five organizers, you should be able to safely store all of your holiday decorations. They all provide protection for your items from breakage as well as dust and UV damage. Once you purchase these organizational tools, take the time to carefully pack your ornaments, removing hooks before putting them in the ornament box. Make sure that all of your decorations are clean before packing them away. For ornaments that you can wipe clean, use a damp cloth. Soft or cloth items can be cleaned with a gently pass of your hairdryer.

A few extra minutes spent packing away your holiday ornaments can help ease the organizational headache that happens each year during the holiday season. Clean, well-packed ornaments, organized in containers made for the items you are storing, is the best way to ensure that your sentimental favorites make it safely from year to year. Next holiday season you should consider these storage solutions as they can greatly reduce the stress of locating your decorations. Many benefits are provided by properly storing your holiday items and the most important reason is that you can prevent your memorable Christmas ornaments from becoming damaged.

About the author:

Rachel Jackson is a freelance writer and blogger who writes about topics concerning home maintenance and organization. Rachel Jackson writes about seasonal organization issues, such as Christmas ornament storage

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rachel_Jack_Son

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The Organize Lady Recommends:

Ultimate Ornament Box - 44 Compartments

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Organize Christmas Items to Preserve Them for Years to Come

by The Organizer Lady dot com on December 12, 2009

Organizing your Christmas items is the most effective way to preserve them for the years to come. While some of your Christmas decorations may simply be items used to fill an empty spot, for many of us, each item carries special memories. Whether it is a paper wreath made by a child, or an ornament purchased on your honeymoon, these items deserve special treatment. While any item can be broken or damaged while on display, items that are damaged while in storage are heartbreaking. To prevent this from happening, it is important to carefully plan how you are going to store your holiday treasures and take the time to store them properly.

So what is the best way to protect your precious memories? The first step is to know which dangers are present that can damage your decorations. While you know that the main concern for your Christmas decorations is breakage, but it is not the only threat present that can damage your ornaments. Others important dangers to your decorations are moisture and sunlight. Understanding each of these dangers can help you store your decorations properly to prevent any serious damage.

Protect from Breakage

Protecting your Christmas ornaments from breakage is the main concern of many. There are several ways to do this. The first is to invest in storage containers that are specifically made for Christmas storage. Ornament boxes are made of a sturdy plastic and have spaces for each ornament individually. This prevents the ornaments from hitting against each other and prevents the box from being smashed if it is stacked in the garage or basement. If your storage containers have empty room in them after careful packing, fill the space with crumpled newspaper or tissue paper. This prevents the items from banging against each other, which can lead to breakage.

Protect from Moisture

While breakage is an obvious problem, moisture is a more insidious one. You may not realize that moisture is damaging your ornaments until it is too late. Moisture is particularly damaging to soft items but can damage anything. If you must store your Christmas items in a damp area, there are several things that you can do to minimize the damage. Store your decorations in plastic containers; raise them a few inches off the ground and add silica gel to packing containers that contain wreathes and soft decorations. This can help prevent moisture from damaging your decorations. .

Protect from UV Damage

Prevent damage from ultraviolet rays by storing your decorations in colored, non-clear containers. UV rays not only bleach out fabric but can weaken it as well. Many plastic containers that are used for storage are clear or opaque. While these are acceptable for storage in a basement, if the storage area receives light through windows, you should invest in colored plastic containers.

Once you know what the threats are to your Christmas decorations, you can protect them much more effectively. Proper organization of your holiday items allows you to find them easily and know that they are protected. While the initial investment in specially designed storage containers may cost more than storing the items in cardboard boxes or trying to fit them back into their original containers it is in an investment that will pay off. You will increase the life of your holiday ornaments, and make the decorating process one you enjoy rather than dread each year. Purchasing the proper storage containers for items such as wrapping paper, ceramic collectibles and candles is a treat that you deserve. The person that does the majority of the decorating should have the option of choosing which storage solutions would work best for the family. They are familiar with not only the decorations, but also the areas where the decorations are stored. This provides them with the most insight into what problems the area of the house may have such as moisture, rodent problems, or intense sunlight.

When you have invested in these storage containers, they should last as long as your keepsakes. Avoid over packing to prevent the boxes from stretching out. This can cause problems with the seals in your lids, and handle with common sense for the longest life. While there is no reason to be overly gently with these storage containers, do not stack heavy boxes more than three high, and do not throw them around. Just because your items are tucked securely into, their storage container does not mean you can throw the boxes around as if you would other, unbreakable, loads. Ornament storage is important because each decoration has many memories that go with it and learning the proper way to store these decorations can be very beneficial. Consider these tips during the next holiday season and you can safely store your decorations for many years to come.

About the author:

Looking for home organization products? Karen Porter offers organization store reviews and editor’s picks at http://www.organization-stores.com

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The Organize Lady Recommends:

Ultimate Ornament Box - 44 Compartments

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Getting the Whole Family to Help You Get Organized

by The Organizer Lady dot com on November 5, 2009

When you’re the woman of the house, it’s often expected that you’re going to be the one primarily in charge of keeping the home clean and running smoothly. You may not be able to do everything, however, and really need to get the whole family to help you get organized.

Division of labor in the home is one topic that causes stress among families. The man of the house often feels that the house is the woman’s domain and therefore he shouldn’t have to help. And we know what happens when we ask the children to help with chores. You’d think we asked them to walk over broken glass or something equally sinister.

The problem with organizing the home and delegation of chores is that you may work away from the home as well. Even if you’re a stay-at-home mom, that doesn’t mean you’re the only one who does the work. If everyone made the clutter or the mess, it only makes sense that everyone in the family should help to organize and clean.

First, getting the whole family to help you get organized will take some effort. Be sure not to nag and coerce them into helping just to get to you stop nagging. They’ll only resent you for it. Ask them to help, giving them tasks they may find enjoyable, or at least not completely boring.

If you can get everyone to take care of their own messes, it will make your job easier. Have them put their own clothes in the hamper instead of leaving them on the floor, take their dishes to the sink when they’re done, and clean up anything they spill. Help them remember that you’re not a slave and that everyone in the family is expected to chip in with the chores.

When your children are younger, you may have to spend extra time teaching them how to clean and organize their own things. The effort, if they are receptive to learning, will be well worth it in the future. You won’t have to worry about their being able to take care of their own things, they will be less likely to lose them, and they’ll be better prepared to live on their own when the time comes.

Staying organized, at least as far as being where you’re supposed to be on time, will be easier if everyone knows how to read a calendar. Whenever the children bring home a paper with an important date to remember, transfer it to a family calendar. Color-code the calendar so everyone has their own color. You’ll all be able to look at the calendar and quickly see if you have something to do that day.

To help keep the home organized and running smoothly, you may have to get creative. Your goal is to help everyone learn personal responsibility even if that means being tough when someone doesn’t pitch in. Encourage each family member in a way that will appeal and you’re closer to getting the whole family to help you get organized and clean up the house.

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The Organize Lady Recommends:

Ultimate Ornament Box - 44 Compartments

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My Whole House is Disorganized… Where do I Start?

by The Organizer Lady dot com on November 5, 2009

It is so easy to let disorganization and clutter take control of a house. It can be overwhelming. It didn’t get chaotic in one day; it won’t get cleaned up in one day. It has to be taken step-by-step. It is important to make a plan on how to get your house organized. Walk through the house and make notes of what needs to be done in each room. Once you have a list, make a goal to complete at least one thing off the list each day. Keep the list where you can see it.

Start with small projects, things you can see improvement in quickly. Try organizing a closet. Sort through it and get rid of things you don’t need anymore. You can donate them, get them ready for a yard sale or just throw them away. As you make more room in your closet, think about ways to maximize your storage space. You can add shelves and other closet organizers.

As you move through the list, some projects may take more than a day. That is ok. You just have to make sure you keep working on it till it is done. Take about thirty minutes in the morning and thirty minutes in the afternoon working on your list. Before you know it, you’ve gone through the entire house and organized it. The trick now is to keep it organized.

Each day, keep up on maintaining your newly organized home. The key is to not get into the “I’ll do it later” mindset. If you have something that is in the wrong place, take the time to either put it away right away, or have a designated area on each floor, like a box, to put things that need to go to another floor. Then at the end of the day, everything in the box gets put away.

Another idea to help keep the house organized is to establish a schedule where each room of the house gets a thorough cleaning one day each week. It may take awhile to get in the new routine, but if the family works together, it will be easier. If people remember to put their own things away, that will also help. Try not to be too impatient when people forget at first. Be sure to remind them gently, without nagging.

If you set up a checklist, similar to your original goal list, you can keep on top of the things that need to be done around the house. Why not assign each family a specific area of the house to help keep organized. They simply have to go through the room and make sure that everything is in its place. While it takes time and a bit of effort, it will be worth it once the house is clean, neat and organized.

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