How Do You Organize Christmas?

I was going to share another project today but when I went to Ali Edwards blog today, and she had posted about Holiday Storage, I was inspired to share my organizational ideas for all my Christmas decorations.

Now, don't be alarmed, but I have over 50 totes and tubs of Christmas decorations. Um...yeah... we love Christmas! That doesn't count the boxes that hold our Christmas trees, nativity scene, outdoor decorations, etc. So, you know that I have to be organized or I would be nutso trying to find everything!

Before you judge me, let me just say that everything I have are things that I absolutely love! When we moved nearly three years ago, we started packing right after Christmas, so I went through each and every item and got rid of a boatload of things that I had that I didn't love! So I can truly say that all of my totes are my favorite things! (I'm just kidding though....I know you're not judging me...it's just that most people think I'm crazy for having that much Christmas stuff! LOL)

Back to organizing....I devised a plan several years ago and it has worked for me every year since. I love it! I created a spreadsheet in Excel and have a complete list of everything in each tote. For example, Tote 1 would have listed, stockings, stocking holders, mantel greenery, pinecones.

Some totes may have only one item listed but there are more than one of that item or it is large enough to warrant one tote.

I can't tell you how much this has saved me every year. When I'm arranging a certain area in my home and looking for that certain decoration, I simply go to my list and I can see exactly where it is, go to that tote and pull it right out!

When it's time to put away the Christmas decorations, I just make a new printout with the boxes blank and fill them in as I pack the items away. I don't try to repack everything in the same bin as the year before. I tried that the first year and it just didn't work for me. I found it was much easier to just note it as I put it in a tote.

Now it may seem a little extra time consuming when you're putting the decorations away, and it is a little, but the time saved when putting up the decorations more than balances it out!

I hope maybe this helps you a little with your Christmas organizing and even if you don't want to use my system, even if you found one tip that helps you, I'm happy!

Have a great day! I'll be back tomorrow to share the project!