After Christmas the big task of organizing and putting away the holiday decorations comes about. With a little thought and planning, the take-down can be simple and easy. Sterling Pear, a new brand in holiday décor and ornament storage boxes, recommends a few simple tips for ensuring your seasonal décor will be organized and protected from breakage until needed next year.
1. Protect your floor from falling pine needles and sap
Cut several large plastic garbage bags down the seam and open them up under the tree to catch falling pine needles and to protect carpet and floors. When you’re done you can then simply lie the tree down, roll up and throw away the trash bags, leaving little mess in your home. This also makes the put away process much more fluid and easy. Without an additional mess you can focus on placing your holiday ornaments in their ornament storage boxes when that time comes.
2. Gently remove delicate ornaments first
Ornament hooks can easily get stuck on tree branches. Carefully remove fragile ornaments first to avoid disturbing others on the branch. By doing so you can keep ornaments safe for years to come and ready them for their ornament storage container.
3. Organize while putting things away
Organize ornaments in ornament boxes by color and size. This will make decorating next year much easier, and will help you know how many of each type you have at quick glance when you re-open your ornament storage box next year.
4. Consider needs for next year
Make note of any ornaments that have broken or need replacement. After the holidays take a good look at what you have in your ornament storage chest and assess what you have. The time after the holidays is the best time to go shopping for new ornaments, when stores sell their leftover holiday decorating products often at 50-75% off. Additionally, collector’s edition ornaments sold on EBay often go down in price immediately after the holidays when demand is lower and the market gets flooded with unwanted gifts.
5. Wrap items in acid-free tissue
Wrap sensitive items snugly in acid-free tissue paper or unbleached non-dyed cotton fabric to keep colors from fading and yellowing over time. Fill extra spaces in your storage containers for ornaments with additional acid-free tissue to keep items from shifting. Expert archivists recommend changing the tissue in your ornament storage bins paper every five years.
6. Beware of plastic storage boxes
Though plastic ornament storage binscan often be an economical choice, it’s best not to keep ornaments in plastic air-tight ornament storage containers. Any moisture trapped in the ornament storage box could cause mold to grow and black spots to appear over time.
7. Store things in the proper place and environment
While garages, attics and basements might be the places you’re used to placing your ornament boxes, they’re actually the worst places they can go. These locations are prone to water leaks that could damage your stored items. Even more important, fluctuations in heat and humidity can cause glass ornaments to crack. Ornaments that you care about, as well as keepsakes of any kind, should always be stored in the main area of your home and in a top notch ornament storage container, where temperatures and humidity are kept at relatively stable levels.
8. Consider storage as home décor
When closet space is limited consider buying ornament storage boxes that complement your home décor such as the Keepsake Ornament Storage Chest by Sterling Pear. These contemporary ornament storage boxes are so attractive they can be lined up on a nice-looking shelf and left out all year-round.
9. Use desiccant packets for humidity control
Keep the packets that come in the trays of your ornament storage box and pack them away with the ornaments. Desiccant packets keep the humidity level down – a dry climate and a solid ornament container is best for preserving anything you care about over time.
10. Dispose of your tree properly
If you have a backyard and a fireplace, set the tree outside in an out-of-the-way place. You can then use the needles as mulch, the branches as kindling and the truck as firewood (after it’s dried out). If you don’t have a backyard or fireplace, most localities participate in a Christmas tree recycling program, often picking up the trees curbside, and sometimes providing a drop-off site. Check your local government website for more information.
These tips are provided by Sterling Pear, the premier holiday source for both sophisticated design and ease of use, which is encompassed in Sterling Pear’s slogan, “Holiday elegance made simple.” The entire line of Sterling Pear products is available for purchase by consumers at www.sterlingpear.com.
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