Christmas is Closed

It seems like this year, people are packing up the holiday spirit early.  Much like the Whos' in Who'sville with their umbrella Christmas trees; neighbors are bustling about, storage boxes and ladders teetering in the pacific nw mist.  A hint of "pragmatic determination" can be felt in the air. 

No more Christmas lights makes for very dreary January driving. That said; it's packing party time! 

Last year, the best gift to myself were organized "decorations in a box" totes. For this project, regular boxes also work fine.  Either way, rest assured there will be excessive use of packing tape and plastic wrap. 

[My name is Paranoid of Spider Infestation and Mouse Wee].    

Seriously, of all my Housewife Hair-brained ideas, the Christmas Packing Project succeeded   where many have failed.  Many.  Thank you, Phil Hartman, for the....inspiration?

The reality is: after years of purging and replenishing, there are approximately 7 or 8 pretty big totes of holiday cheer stored in the garage.

Well...if we're only talking about the inside stuff :)

 It can be a time-sucking, dusty chore!

Unpacking the Christmas Spirit should be joyful, not painful!   For moms, joyful is even more joyful when its all done in a day!  

[Or by itself.  Rarely does that happen. The process typically involves swearing.]

By taking a few extra steps in the January-ish tear-down, redecorating in November can be....Joyful!     

No dusty, musty smells and specifically, no critters. Everything looked like it was packed yesterday.  

Boxes are organized by categories, like signs, plates and plaques, ceramics and breakables, ornaments and bells.
   
Only materials required are cellophane-wrappy stuff, packing tape and a box.  A sharpie is always kind of fun, too :)

The totes were packed by category (stockings with stockings, lights with lights, etc.).  In November, unpacking is easier when you can quickly grab specific items.  This year, the tree came in after decorating the house.  Why bring out ornament boxes when there is no tree yet?  Manageable clutter :)

In the past,  all our decorations came out at the same time.  We'd spend a week navigating a path through half filled totes, with stray packing materials sticking to our feet.  The chaos slowly stripping away Mommys' joy :(       
When the time finally came to pack it up, my strategy began at one end of the room.  Working  my way down the wall (shelves, table tops, railings, etc.), the decorations are taken down.  Being a tiny bit compulsive, dusting / cleaning is inevitable.  It takes longer, but when it's done, it's DONE. At least for the moment.

Instead of heaping all the decorations on the kitchen table, sort like items together--breakables on the table and the rest can be organized into bins. for example; all our plush snow "people" are placed into bins first.   

Later (after everything is sorted and ready to put away), the wrapped delicate things are nestled in with the plush-ies, filling in gaps. Combining the two protects treasured items and distributes weight of each box. (Your back will thank you later. Especially if you're on a ladder!).  The extra packing effort pays off next year, too.

Here's my solution for keeping lights, garland and beads untangled:

 Niiiiice, Right?? 

A small piece of tape fastened at the end before wrapping saves time and frustration.

Longer wraps may be a bit bulky, 
but easily stack upright in boxes.

We love doing crafts, and foam ornament kits are fun and easy.  They also make great gifts for kiddos to give at Christmas, too.  I think we found these in the $1 buckets waiting in line at JoAnn's.  I like to put the date on the back, just because. 

Foam ornaments are not really made to last, but wrapping them in cellophane keeps them for at least one more year.  

Fold / roll the sections over, adding more with each fold. 

Repeat as needed.

Mom and Dad Get Angels :)

Our almost 7 year old is into creative penmanship, its pretty fun to watch.  If you're a sentimentalist, date the back.  What great memories 15 Christmases from now! 

                     [With your adult child. Yikes! Pausing to hyperventilate now..] 

Stockings, tree skirt and cotton batting are great packing materials, protecting treasured glass / ceramic keepsakes. 
Not sure this qualifies as re-purposing, but it's a lot less messy :)

If there are original boxes for ornaments / decorations, time to fill those, too!

Question: I wonder what the ratio between "original box savers" to the tossers? "We" are savers, but it's more like, "Why is that in here?"  

Of course, packing popcorn is great for breakables; so are torn, mashed and unusable wrapping paper and gift bags!  Newspaper ink can stain, so protect that ceramic santa Grandma made when you were 10, by placing inside a plastic grocery bag first.  Out of the landfill and reusable for years.  Look at me, all green :) 

Once the bins are filled, cover top with sheets of cellophane wrap, leaving about 4-6" hanging over the edges.  Tuck the cellophane underneath the lip of the outer bin gently (so fingers don't poke holes when carrying).  

Seal with clear packing tape and you are done!

Yep, the festivities are over--in our house the antibiotics are aplenty.  This mom is taking one more day of rest before starting 2015 with her 1st Christmas present: critter free decorating next November(ish).  Happy New Year, everyone!