09 January 2013

Organization: Packing Up Christmas

 I've been picking away at the five Christmas trees, taking down ornaments and boxing up the trees for next year. I've also been continuing on my quest to finish organizing all of my ornaments, a task which I started last Christmas. Last year, Bailey bought me some Snapware ornament boxes at Target which are much better than my old ornament boxes. I bought a few more at the end of the season but still didn't have enough for the ridiculous number of ornaments I've accumulated. Unfortunately, Target didn't carry the boxes this year but I found them online here. They went on sale after Christmas, and by ordering a LOT of boxes, I qualified for free shipping!

The old boxes (plaid, shown at right) have divided layers which must be lifted out to reach the ornaments at the bottom (see the post from last year, linked above). Of course, in the process of lifting them, everything spills. The new Snapware boxes are much sturdier and have completely separate layers, and you can snap together as many as you'd like.They hold a LOT of ornaments!
  
We bought this mixed set of ornaments at Target this year. Unfortunately, they're going to take quite a bit of space to store, but they looked great on the tree!

The new ornament boxes arrived...YAY! This made my "get organized" self very happy!
 


I wish the dividers were made of plastic instead of cardboard, but they're still very sturdy and do the trick.

 My first concern was to safely store my grandma's antique ornaments. I have original boxes for some of them, but the others were just in a large tissue-lined tub and a flimsy shirt box. I was able to fit ALL of those ornaments into just two layers of the new boxes.

Next I'll tackle the gold ornaments I use for one of the small trees. Storing the ornaments by theme will make it really easy to decorate the trees next year. Just pull out the labeled box and decorate! 

Sorting and re-organizing the ornaments is a BIG job, but I know I'll be very happy when it's done. The new boxes should take less space to store, and I know they'll provide much sturdier storage for my treasures.
 jp



3 comments:

Connie said...

Ah, I recognize some of those ornaments! I may have to get some of those boxes for all my sheep ("lamb") ornaments!

Kristina said...

Great minds think alike! I did almost the same thing this year. I purged and re-organized ALL of my Christmas decorations. I actually downsized three totes! I also re-labeled once I was done re-organizing.

Janet said...

Thanks! It's a huge undertaking but is years past due! I can't say I'm downsizing (yet) but I hope to consolidate into fewer containers.