Holiday Decorating: Inexpensive, easy tips for cleaning up after Christmas

Now that the wrapping paper is cleaned up and the cookies are nearly gone, it's time to think about breaking it all down and stashing to for next year. Beverly Kain of House-N-Order offers some tips.

Posted 1:20 a.m. Dec 27, 2012 — Updated 1:20 a.m. Dec 27, 2012

Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

Beverly Kain, a mom of two in Cary and owner of House-N-Order, an interior decorating and organizing company, offered some Christmas decorating tips earlier this month.

Now that the wrapping paper is cleaned up and the cookies are nearly gone, it's time to think about breaking it all down and stashing it for next year.

Here Kain shares a few inexpensive and easy tips for cleaning up the Christmas decorations:

Use the core from a paper towel roll or sturdy gift wrapping roll to store lights. What you need to do, is cut a slit in the top of one end to slide the plug in and then wrap the lights around the roll. This will keep them from getting tangled and from giving you a headache when it's time to use them again. Store with bubble wrap.
Stack wreaths on top of one another with a protective layer between each one and put them in a large bin
For small ornaments, you could use an egg carton. Just wrap any breakable ornaments in newspaper or bubble wrap.
When storing candles, use cellophane to wrap them in because newspaper, or another kind of printed page, might bleed onto the candles if they get hot while they are stored away.
For garland, cut a piece of sturdy cardboard (about 12" x 24") and cut a slit to slide one end of the garland in to and then wrap the garland around the cardboard. Once the whole garland is wrapped around the cardboard, cut another slit to slide the other end of the garland in to.
Use plastic bins to store Christmas decorations, if possible, because bugs are drawn to cardboard boxes. And, make sure to label each bin so that you know exactly what is in which bin.

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