Store holiday decorations safely and easily

If your household celebrates holidays with lots of decorative flair, carefully organizing your Christmas ornaments, decorative Easter eggs and other holiday items can save time, as well as wear and tear on treasured heirlooms. You'll spend fewer hours looking for the decorations and more time enjoying the holidays.

• Pack and store ornaments and other holiday decorative paraphernalia in a way that will allow you to find them easily every year.
• Use clear containers so you can see what's inside and quickly find what you need. (This is particularly useful for Christmas lights and other decorations that go up first.)
• If you use cardboard boxes, take time to label them, being as specific as possible.
• Don't use large boxes, or you'll have to sift through too many things next year to find that festive holiday centrepiece just before a party, or to locate your tree stand the day you bring the tree home.
• Cover any unboxed items lightly with an old sheet to keep out dust and colour-fading light.

Keep strings of lights tidy and tangle-free in storage by wrapping them up on an H-shaped or reel-type holder. These handy holders are designed to protect extension cords and Christmas lights and are available in most hardware centres. Holders make wrapping lights a breeze and clips keep plugs safely in place. After winding them around the holder, wrap in paper and store in a cardboard box to protect bulbs from breakage.

Pack fragile decorations with extra padding so they will last for years to come. Here's how.

• Save the boxes that come with purchased holiday decorations so you'll have a safe place for them.
• If you don't have the original boxes, buy decoration storage boxes designed with compartments to protect individual items. Wrap each piece carefully before storing.
• Empty egg cartons also offer safe compartments to store smaller breakables. Empty wine or liquor boxes also are compartmentalized, perfect for storing larger ornaments or holiday pieces. Be sure to wrap each piece in plenty of newspaper or tissue paper.
• You can also pack breakables in regular cartons, wrapping each piece in several layers of white tissue paper. Place crumpled paper on the bottom of each box or container, and put large items in first. Use plenty of crumpled paper between layers and items.
• Use small boxes for fragile decorations. Wrap ornaments individually and place in small boxes. Put the small boxes inside larger ones, padding them thoroughly with crumpled paper.
• Use bubble wrap for extra protection in storing delicate, antique or one-of-a-kind decorations.

Following these pointers will save you time every holidays by organizing and storing your decorations safely.