In the days following Christmas, the post-holiday blues can hit hard, especially when it comes time to take down the tree—it’s not nearly as fun as putting it up.
And even though it’s the worst, it’s important to keep everything organized so you’re not greeted with broken ornaments and tangled strings of lights next year. You can make things a whole lot easier on yourself by following these three simple hacks.
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1. Don’t Remove Ornament Hangers
Do yourself a favor and leave the wire hooks on your ornaments rather than removing them during your post-Christmas clean-up. Despite your best efforts, some are sure to fall off and go missing, so tuck an extra package of wire hooks into your storage container.
This box of 200 ornament hooks should do the trick. They’re metal plated, so they won’t rust easily and are sturdy enough to prevent ornaments from falling from the tree (or off the hooks). They come in gold, which feels appropriately festive for the December holidays. And they come with their own little plastic box for easy storage.
2. Store Your String Lights On A Cord Organizer
What a nightmare it is to untangle that ball of tangled lights. Though we’re all eager to get them down and stowed, taking the time to do it neatly will save you a ton of time in the long run.
From stringing the lights on a notched piece of cardboard to using a clothes hanger, there are so many DIY ways to make this job easier. We find that the best way to organize Christmas lights is to use a winder made strictly for this purpose.
All of your Christmas light storage needs can be met with this pack of four wind-up cord holders. Each holder will store up to 200 mini lights or 100 feet of extension cord—tangle free!
3. Throw A Fitted Sheet Over Your Tree
In the aftermath of Christmas, taking down the tree is perhaps the most dreaded task.
As sad as it may be to say goodbye to the twinkling lights, it is even worse to have to deal with dropped needles until mid-spring. One way to avoid leaving a trail of needles behind after kicking the tree to the curb involves a fitted sheet.
Put an old fitted sheet over the top of your tree, tuck it in at the bottom, and hold it securely with your hands as you take it outside (even better if you can recruit a partner). The needles will remain inside the sheet instead of all over your floor.
This is a particularly helpful hack for tenants living in apartments since it keeps common areas clean. Afterward, just shake off the sheet outside and throw it in the wash.Â
If you’d rather not sacrifice a sheet, you could purchase inexpensive disposable tree bags, which can also be used as storage bags for artificial trees (which can also get pretty messy, particularly if your tree has flocking).
We love these disposable Christmas tree bags—it accommodates trees up to nine feet tall.