10 Easy Creative Tips for Christmas Ornament Storage

Well Christmas is over and it’s time to think about Christmas ornament storage again!

It’s been fun, but it’s time to pack up all the decorating supplies for another year.

If you decorate for the holidays, you might – like so many of us – now be facing the age old question: How do you store all that stuff? 

I got a little surprise this year when I started decorating.

Back in early December I went to get my bins down from the attic. And there – stuck on the side of one bin – was this little note from my last year’s self:

Obviously I’d been in such a hurry (or something) last year that I just threw everything in the bin willy nilly!  No Christmas ornament storage system at all! No wrapping, no sorting, no nothing!

The lights were all tangled, the tinsel was all squished – what a mess!

It was practically impossible to wrest the bin out of the attic without banging all the ornaments around! (I’m still not sure how I got it all up there in the first place!) And then I had to sort through all the different colors of decorations to find the ones I wanted!

But this year at Un-Decorating time, I’m going back to being more organized! I thought I’d share a few tips to make tidying up so much easier! Maybe even fun!

~ Tip #1 – Use Clear Plastic Bins

One year a long time ago I unpacked our Christmas stockings and got a huge and very unpleasant shock! A mouse had gotten in and chewed up my favorite childhood stocking! I was devastated!

Ever since then I’ve used plastic bins with tight fitting lids! I originally used them just for the things a mouse could chew, but now I use them for almost all my Christmas ornament storage.

I love them not only because they mouse-proof things, but because you can see what’s in the bin! They also stack easily, keep your things dry, and make the most of your storage space.

~ Tip #2 – Use Dividers in Your Bins

I used to individually wrap every single ornament and put it in a box. That took a long time. And it was a pain the next year when I wanted to hang them up again! That’s one reason I love to use dividers in my bins. If the ornament isn’t too fragile, you can pack it in its own little cubby.

If there’s room, you can put two or more in each spot. They’ll be secure enough not to roll around and break, and so easy to get out next time!

Target has a ton of great plastic storage bin options! Some have dividers, some not. That’s where I got a lot of my bins. See the bottom of this post for links!

~ Tip #2 1/2 – 2022 Divider Update

After several years of using these dividers, I realized that one thing was still bothering me about them, and it was this.

I don’t always use everything from the top layer before I want to use something from a lower layer. And when my dividers don’t have sides, it’s very tricky to lift the top layer off without things falling out!

If this bothers you too, I’m now recommending that you buy something with sides on the dividers, such as items 1 & 2 in the shopping section below. It’s not quite as easy to see inside, but I think the ease of use makes up for the slight lack of visibility! Plus they have places for labels on the outsides.

Or you could DIY the edges of the dividers with clear packing tape or by cutting a plastic report cover-type material (see the last shopping item) into sides. So many options! But, onward!

~ Tip #3 – Pack Very Fragile Items Separately

However, after just having told you not to wrap your ornaments, I’m going to suggest you wrap SOME of them!

I have many glass or very fragile ornaments that I’ve been collecting over the years. Besides being really breakable, they’re very special to me! I would cry if anything ever happened to them!

I also have some really long ornaments that don’t fit easily into the divided bins. If you have some like that, here’s what you can do.

Use a really sturdy old wine box! My husband works at a wine distributor, so we actually have a ton of these boxes! All over the basement. In piles. Maybe you don’t have that problem – oops I mean resource! If not, ask at your local wine store. They’re usually happy to give you a couple extra boxes.

The cardboard is really thick and the cubbies are deep.

I put a little tissue paper in the bottom of each section. Then stack in the wrapped ornaments. I put the very most precious or fragile ones in the middle. The tall ones slip securely in next to them. I don’t worry about a mouse eating through the box. Because while they might eat stockings, I’ve never known one to eat glass!

~ Tip #4 – Store by Color

I usually mix it up and decorate with a different color theme each year. So on the years I don’t want blue, for instance, I’d rather not have to deal with the extra ornaments! If your Christmas ornament storage system uses separate bins for each color family, you never have that problem!

~ Tip #4 – Store by Use

This bin catches all my extra stuff. Like the ribbons I hang on the wall to staple Christmas cards to. Also the silver bells for the door, and etc. that don’t necessarily go on the tree. If you have lots of things you use in one place, it’s nice to have them stored in one place! I know that sounds like a no-brainer, but it took me quite a few years to figure it out!

Another thing that goes in this bin is my grandma’s old ornaments! They’re mostly sentimental – I almost never use them. But I love to take them out and look at them while I’m decorating to remind me of her and my mom and the Christmas fun I had as a kid!

If you want, you can read more about my mom’s influence on my decorating obsession (I mean style!) HERE.

~ Tip #5 – Store Ornaments in the Box They Came In!

Here’s another one that seems totally obvious! But really you don’t want to have a ton of differently shaped boxes to deal with. I’ve also found that ornament boxes are notoriously flimsy. So it would be better all around to take them out of the boxes and add them to your Christmas ornament storage bins!

On the other hand, some – like this one above – are perfect for keeping delicate ornaments safe. The ones I like are strong cardboard and usually have fitted compartments.

For instance, I have a crystal garland that came in a really strong box. It has a plastic tray and slips into a serious cardboard cover.

Besides keeping my garland safe, it’s really fun to play the game of fitting it back into its perfectly shaped path!

~ Tip #6 – Keep Important Little Things in Baggies

I don’t know about you, but I’m forever losing the hangers for my ornaments! I think it falls into the same category as disappearing Tupperware lids, and socks in the dryer!

Also, I need cup hooks, thumbtacks, and twist ties when I decorate my mantel. It’s so nice to always have those things in my plastic bin. Then I don’t have to interrupt my decorating to go track some down. Handy!

~ Tip #7 – Snuggle Extra-Big Ornaments in with the Stockings

Our family isn’t huge, but we seem to accumulate stockings at a reasonably rapid rate! (Remember – put anything fabric in a plastic bin so nobody eats it!) Our stockings take up almost an entire bin.

But there’s still space for my really large ornaments. I usually use these as mantel decorations. They’re way too big for either the divided plastic bins or the wine box. So, I just snug them in with the stockings!

Then I just put the folded up tree skirt on top of that. It’s as secure and cozy a box as a huge ornament could ever want!

If I had more of these, they might have their own bin – see Tip #4 above!

~ Tip #8 – Put Ribbon in with Your Same Color Ornaments

Do you use a lot of ribbon in your decorating? I do, and I used to store it all together in one bin. On the one hand, it was nice to know which bin to go to whenever I wanted ribbon. But on the other hand, that meant I had to sort through all the colors to get to the one I wanted. (Silver for instance, which was invariably on the bottom!)

So, Tip #8 is to store your ribbon by color in the bin with the same color ornaments.

~ Tip #9 – Store Things You Use the Rest of the Year in Convenient Places

There are a couple things I use every Christmas that I also use throughout the rest of the year. However, I don’t want them with the rest of my Christmas ornament storage. I’d rather not have to go up to the attic in July, for instance, and hunt for them. It’ll be hot up there! So store those things in more convenient places in your home.

But if you’re like me and you think you might forget, you could write yourself a little note! Tell yourself where you did store your sparkle branches.

Then put the note in the bin where you might expect the branches to be. That way you won’t have to search all over your house for them come Christmas time!

~ Tip #10 – Wrap Your Lights

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the lights. However I don’t have a picture, so I’ll make it short and sweet. If you have a lot of lights like we do, designate a bin especially for them.

I just carefully wrap each string like a wreath and put a twist tie or ribbon around it at the top and bottom. Lay them carefully in the bin – maybe a piece of cardboard in between – and close them up.

Voila! When you’re done, you’ll have an organized, easy to deal with stack of bins and boxes! Your Christmas ornament storage, and organization of all your decor supplies, will be beautiful. And you can put them all nicely away in your storage area until next year!

After that, you can go grab a cup of tea or glass of something bubbly, and relax! And know that next Christmas, decorating will be way easier, less fraught, and more fun because you organized today!

Leave me a Comment below – I’d love to hear how you organize and store your Christmas things! Happy New Year!

———- Shop The Christmas Ornament Storage Post ———-

Click on the pictures for links to pieces I used for this Christmas Ornament Storage post.  If the exact item isn’t available any more, I chose a similar option. And I threw in some other cool items as well!

(This post includes affiliate links for your convenience.  Read my full disclosure policy here.)

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