Designer Jeffrey Phillip shows us how to stow away those festive items until next year.Christmas has come and gone, so it’s just about time to wrestle your tree back into the garage (or out to the curb), wrap up all those precious handmade macaroni ornaments, and find a way to somehow store those strands of lights without completely losing your mind. Professional organizer and celebrity designer Jeffrey Phillip has some excellent tips on getting all the holiday decorations under control—a great first step to getting organized this January.
Jeffrey’s overall philosophy has a lot to do with using the right containers—he emphasizes this tip in many organizing situations, but in this case, using appropriate storage solutions can make all the difference. And don’t worry, he doesn’t advocate using expensive specialty containers, but rather reasonable plastic boxes and ornament organizers as well as reusable garment bags and other ordinary household objects to get a handle on all that tinsel.
Quality containers that are long enough to hold wrapping paper and include smaller boxes to hold other wrapping supplies are a great place to start. And for all those heirloom ornaments: instead of using tissue paper and the original boxes, try buying an inexpensive ornament organizer and use acid-free paper in order to keep moisture away from them all year long.
And before you buy a few new containers and mindlessly stuff all your Christmas decor into them, first take one of Jeffrey’s biggest pieces of advice, and toss it! Don’t keep things that you no longer love—even when it comes to holiday decor. If you didn’t want to display that old wreath this year, chances are you won’t like it any more next year, so get rid of it! Take all of your unwanted decor to a local thrift store—perhaps someone else will love your old things.
Watch the video below to get some more of Jeffrey’s expert advice on storing all your Christmas gear, and happy packing!
