Yes, this Friday, some households will start taking down the Christmas decorations. The halls will be de-decked, certainly not as ceremoniously as they were adorned.
Bah-humbug, indeed.
No real rule exists today about when all those red and green glittery objets d’art noel and myriad crèches need to be tucked away in the manger. Two and a half centuries ago, early colonial settlers adhered to the “12th Night” tradition, meaning that all decorations came down on the 12th day after Christmas Day - Epiphany in the Christian custom, also known as Jan. 6 in the secular calendar.
In some parts of the country today, especially those areas where Catholic-European traditions thrive, Jan. 6 marks the beginning of the carnival season and the weeks leading up to that moveable feast of insanity called Mardi Gras. Still other households may get around to taking down Christmas decorations around Valentine’s Day.
No matter when they come down, the grander the display, the better organized it needs to be. Danabeth Suber of Belton, owner of Busy Solutions, has been in the professional cleaning and organizing business for more than 11 years.
She has a knack for organization - whether in a home or a business. And she believes that with simple accessories, even the most cluttered of Christmas can be cleared.
“The misconception of organizing in general is that you have to spend a lot of money on products,” Suber said. “That’s not true. Simple tools and packaging works best.” She advocates packing tape, shoe boxes, white tissue paper, packing tape, bubble wrap and labels as the first line of defense against the dreaded Christmas clutter.
“I want people to be able to set up their environment where, if something were to happen to you, someone else could go in and find what they needed,” she said.
Holiday decorations are no exception. In fact, putting them away in orderly fashion this year can put you well on the way to a sane Yuletide in 2009. This will also save you time and money next year because you’ll know exactly what you have and what you will need.
Suber offers these handy tips:
n Save the original boxes, especially for fragile items. Some of these items come in their own boxes, with protective foam and wrappings. “Ideally whatever items came in are probably the best protection because they will have their own foam or protection that fits around it. Keep them that way,” she said.
n Take inventory of what you have. Determine ahead of time what needs to be stored for next year, thrown away or recycled for other uses. Organization and planning can save you money. “Some of those expensive containers just for Christmas ornaments are not necessarily the best things because they won’t work for what you have,“ Suber said. Figure out what you need first, then buy containers if you think you need them.
n Make sure your items are suitable for packing away. Take the wire hangers off tree ornaments. Suber puts hangers in small sandwich bags and tapes those to the ornament boxes so that they’re together for next year. Ornaments made of edibles, candies and cereals will not survive the next 12 months and could possibly attract pests. Also good for only one season are scented candles. It’s best to either use them entirely or throw them away.
n Enlist bubble wrap and tissue paper as allies. “You don’t have to spend lot of money to organize your decorations,” Suber added. Bubble wrap and white tissue paper are the best and cheapest items for wrapping and storing glass balls and other decorations. “If you go to a Christmas store, you’ll see hundreds of items for storage,” Suber said. “But actually bubble wrap works just as well as is much cheaper that these fancy storage boxes.” Once encased in bubble wrap and tissue, the fragile and unusually shaped ornaments can be safely stacked on top of each other. Forget the old newspapers because the print can rub off and cause streaks on ornaments.
n Make sure the boxes are closed tight. If boxes have snapping lids, make sure they are secure. If you’re using boxes, seal them with tape to prevent pesky critters from invading your space. “If the boxes are closed well, they won’t get bugs or silverfish,” Suber said.
n Invest in special storage containers for bulky, expensive items. Wreath boxes, for example, prevent them from being crushed. Be sure to measure the wreath width, depth and length before buying the box. Another good buy: gift wrapping storage containers.
n Forego compartmentalized ornament boxes unless your ornaments are uniform shapes and sizes. Sure, those nifty Yule storage boxes look great on the store shelves, but “pretty isn’t always practical,” she said. “In reality, people have ornaments of all different sizes and shapes,” she added. For flat or small ornaments, Suber recommends wrapping them in tissue and storing them in shoe boxes.
n Label, label, label. Set aside an area to store your Christmas stuff. Then, prominently label each box with red bows, stickers or labels. “If you have kids, let the kids help you with putting on stickers and labels. Kids can also help track ornaments. This helps teach them how to take care of ornaments,” Suber said.
n Designate an area of the house for storage, but not in the attic. Texas summers can make yuletide yuck of artificial arrangements and plastic items.
n Invest in cheap cord reels for lights. Separate exterior and interior lights and label accordingly. Store them in separate containers. Lights can also be stored efficiently by wrapping them around nearly empty paper towel rolls. The paper towels provide cushioning and keep the light strands from sliding down the roll.
