Every year we struggle to find where we put last year's holiday decorations—ornaments, garlands, candles, wreaths and table decorations.

Finding them always is a challenge.

Did we put the lights in the attic or under the floor? Were the wreaths in with the garland or was the garland in the boxes with the lights? We tried labeling the boxes once. That was a mistake—three years later nothing was as marked.

Recently, we were flying home from a hardware convention in Chicago. As passengers, we were a captive audience. There in the seat pouch was an airline sales catalogue. Soon we got to the holiday section and to pages that dealt with holiday decoration storage. What a find! There was an ornament box, a wreath box, a wreath bag and even a bag large enough to hold an artificial tree. That's when our wheels started turning. How did these differ from our old storage containers? And how could they help? Well, the answers were right there, and the thought of storing this year's decorations became exciting.

A few years ago, our items for the holidays were not stored in an organized fashion. Every box was a different size and large items like garlands and wreaths went into big black trash bags. The bags were ideal for keeping the dust off the decorations, but they were flimsy and didn't hold up over several seasons. Every bag and box had to be opened and the contents laid out and sorted before any decorating could begin. What wasn't used had to be put away again.

We then came up with an idea we thought to be the solution—hard plastic flip-top containers, all the same size and color. We labeled their contents and stacked them neatly where we could find room. The next year or two wasn't too bad, but as time went by, the labels on the boxes and the contents of the boxes no longer matched.

In the airline catalog, we discovered a group of storage products that were decoration specific. Wreath boxes for wreaths—no more black plastic bags; ornament boxes with two levels of divided storage; a gigantic bag for our small artificial tree and garland; and a large flat bag for our very large wreath.

We continue to use our flip-top plastic boxes for many items, but adding a few new separate pieces helps make things easier to store and find. Now our garland goes in large zipper storage bags that are duffel-like. Our ornaments go into red and white ornament boxes that have separators—two deep. Hexagonal boxes are superb for protecting our wreaths. One of the problems we used to have with wreaths was that they would often get damaged in plastic bags, and, if we used a box big enough to hold the wreath, it took up too much room. The hex-shaped wreath box is sturdy and storage-friendly. We folded back part of the horizontal center separator in the ornament box so that we had a place for dolls and statues. It works well. The figurines are protected head to toe, and we don't have to use nearly as much tissue to protect them. Here's what we ended up with:

• We made H-shaped spools out of quarter-inch plywood (hard board also works) for our strings of lights, making sure to mark which string goes where—on the string and the holder. They prevent the lights from becoming tangled and can be custom made to fit both the lights and your favorite container.
• Odd-sized items are stored in flip-top hard plastic boxes (we like the clear kind), but labeling will work if you are careful when putting things away.
• All our small statues, dolls and ornaments go into special ornament storage boxes. The sleeves protect everything.
• Our large garland and trees go into special zipper bags that won't wear out every year and are fitted with grips for easy handling.
• Our wreaths now are securely protected in rigid boxes that are big enough for them, but not so big that they waste precious storage space. This is a real step up from garbage bags.
• Our big wreath goes in a special large, square flat bag that has carrying handles which double as hanging straps.

So, we've found a few additional ways to make storing our decorations easier and less time consuming. Now things won't be difficult to find.

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