Organizing My Storage Unit

For people who love putting up lots of decorations at the holidays, it can be a challenge to find safe ways to store and organize fragile pieces. If you have a lot of decorations to store  and you are concerned about protecting them from damage, use this guide to help arrange your fragile holiday items:

Load Shelves By Weight

If you have free standing shelving systems, you'll want to make sure that you load them properly. Heavy items, such as Christmas tree stands or outdoor decorations can be placed on the bottom shelves, and more fragile pieces should be stored above them. This way, your ornaments and other breakables won't be crushed if a shelf should fall or become broken. You can also store boxes of fragile items on top of pallets, but don't stack the boxes on top of one another, even on the pallets.

Use Proper Packing Materials

Using the proper packing materials is essential, but this doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune on protective packing items. Consider using coffee filters to line compartments in ornament boxes to protect ornaments from scratches, or use leftover wrapping paper to wrap each ornament individually. Consider placing all of your used gift wrap in a garbage bag after presents are unwrapped, and store it in the basement or garage until you are ready to pack your items away. This lets you reuse the paper, which helps to eliminate waste and save money at the same time.

Invest In Round Wreath Boxes

Round wreath boxes can protect your holiday wreaths, but they can also be used to pack away garland or holiday lights. For garland and lights, wrap them around the curved design of each wreath box, and use plastic ties to secure them in place inside. When you open them up for the following year, you won't have to worry about untangling knots or repairing damaged sections of garland. This option works for tinsel garland as well as artificial pre-lit garland. Round wreath boxes can also be used to safely pack away bows or organize spools of ribbon.

Buy Glassware Containers

For a collection of holiday figurines, purchase plastic glassware containers or glassware moving boxes. These storage containers come with tall compartments, which let you slip each figurine into its own compartment. Remember that you will still need to wrap them in tissue paper, wrapping paper, or some other protective packing material before closing up the boxes and placing them in storage.

Consider shopping after the holiday season is over for containers designed specifically for holiday decorations and put a plan together for organizing and packing so you can simply place the boxes and containers into your self-storage unit in January.

Contact a company that specializes in household storage for more information and assistance.