Tips for Storing and Organizing Halloween Decorations

I can’t believe that October has already flown by and we’ll be packing away Halloween decorations in just a few days. Hi, Susan from Organized 31 here to share some of my favorites tips for storing and organizing Halloween decorations. It’s important to me to protect my decorations when they’re packed away for eleven months of each year and just as important to have them organized and easy to find next year.

As part of a military family, I have 25+ moves under my belt. Since we move all the time, it’s important to my family to maintain family traditions by decorating each holiday with our treasured and familiar decorations. No matter where we live, we know it’s our home when the decorations my children can remember from years (and houses) past come out and decorate our new house.

Over the years, I’ve learned tricks to protect my decorations when they’re packed away for storage. These tips also protect the decorations from damage when they’re moved across the country or the world.

#1 Use easily identifiable boxes or tubs

Most of us store our holiday decorations away with many other boxes in an awkward to access area. Store your decorations in boxes that are easily identifiable by color or by large easy-to-read labels to that you don’t waste time shuffling boxes around trying to find your holiday decorations.

#2 Use plastic tubs

I prefer to use color coded plastic tubs to store my decorations. I’ve lived in climates with bugs, humidity and more bugs. Using a plastic tub helps protect my decorations from the environment. I have a friend who had her basement flood. Fortunately,  plastic tubs protected her decorations from the water (her other items in cardboard boxes were ruined).

#3 Create a content list for each tub

As you pack each box or tub this year, take a few minutes to jot down the contents. Place the content list inside the box on top of the contents. This will help you find the exact item you need in the future (for that school project in February or blog post in August). The content list will also help you pack items away next year because you’ll know exactly which box they’ll fit in.

#4 Place fabric or paper items in resealable plastic bags

I always place any items with fabric or paper in a resealable plastic bag. This helps protect the item from bugs and moisture.

#5 Label each bag with the contents

I label each plastic bag with the contents so that I know which decorations go where when I pack away the decorations.

#6 Use bubble wrap to protect items

I wrap any items that might be damaged in storage or moving in bubble wrap. I’ve found these padded envelopes that mail-order prescriptions come in to work perfectly (and save money and the landfill).

#7 Place smaller items inside of larger items

I always place smaller items inside larger items so that I can pack more into each box. This also helps secure the items so that they won’t rattle around as much.

These tips have worked for me as we’ve moved all over the world and stored our decorations in all kinds of climates. I hope that you find these tips storing and organizing your Halloween decorations make the job a bit easier this year and a lot easier next year when you begin decorating. Have a very happy Halloween.

Susan

Organized 31

Be sure to check out more packing and moving ideas from Susan over on her blog.

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