Nothing is worse during Christmas than removing your ornaments from their storage only to find them broken and scratched. It immediately curbs the festive excitement, and you're left scrambling to see if your sentimental pieces remain intact.
You can avoid this flurry of fear with just a few simple amendments to help protect your much-loved pieces. After all, finding the best ornament storage is the key to ensuring your precious decorations make it to another Christmas.
To ease things for you before the holiday season, I spoke to a few professional organizers to learn how they safely store Christmas ornaments. I also shared a few of my own recommendations as someone who has since converted to improved means of caring for their decor. Without further ado, let's get into it.
1. Get clear on quantity
The more Christmas decorations you have, the more likely they are to end up in poor condition. So, if you're into maximalist style, love Christmas Disco decor and have thirty disco balls — they will need to be protected from breakage.
When I thought about this deeply, it made complete sense and sparked an urge to declutter my decorations. If you have ten sets of lights, they are more likely to tangle around each other. If you have two hundred baubles, they are more likely to crash into each other, becoming broken or chipped.
Take some time to evaluate the quantity of the items you're dealing with. Then after decluttering where necessary, consider your storage needs based on what you have.
Ben Soreff, a professional organizer at House to Home Organizing, says, "When you know the quantity of what you have, you can get the correct storage solutions to accommodate that amount."
Large clear storage bins like the 103 qt. weathertight tote with wheels from The Container Store can be a great start for keeping your decorations safe from the elements. However, your breakables will benefit from being protected by something else as well to prevent them from rolling around or becoming crushed by other decorations.
2. Use ornament boxes
Looking to make your house look Christmassy? Starting with the right pieces is key, and storing them correctly when not in use is a must. You can invest in special little boxes to hold breakable Christmas decor pieces, such as baubles. This keeps each piece of decor separated, cushioned, and in one place so it is less likely to roll around or get dropped by accident.
Amy Trager, certified professional organizer and owner of Amy Trager, LLC, says, "For very delicate ornaments, it's helpful to store them in ornament boxes, similar to glass/mug/stemware boxes, with dividers for each ornament. The dividers make sure the ornaments don't clank into each other or tangle on hooks or strings."
The handy laundry Christmas ornament storage box from Amazon is extremely popular. It stores up to 64 baubles or small decorative ornaments. With handles on the sides, this storage box is easy to take out when festivities come back around and will keep your decor safely in one piece throughout the rest of the year.
3. Consider an ornament chest
Before talking to Dawn Falcone of The Chaos Liberator, I had never heard of an ornament chest, but now that I've seen one, I can totally see why it would be an incredible investment.
"If you have lots of ornaments and a decently large space to store them, this is the mack daddy of ornament storage," says Dawn. " The Balsa Hill Deluxe ornament chest, priced at $219, comes with a cover, and everything inside of the cart is adjustable to keep your ornaments safe and sound."
Since this chest is made from fabric it cushions your ornaments itself, providing further safety for your ornaments than purely existing as a divider.
If you're a minimalist decorating a Christmas tree, this item is likely too large for you, but it would make a great, practical gift for your more maximalist friends.
4. Use Bubble Wrap
Bubble wrap is designed to cushion and protect breakables, but since there are so many useful storage methods, it's best to use bubble wrap in conjunction with other decor protection unless the items aren't breakable.
"If your ornaments aren't delicate or glass, you can probably get away with wrapping them in tissue or bubble wrap and packing them into a box," says Amy. "But, this will take added time to pack and unpack every year."
Mary Jo Contello, certified professional organizer and owner of Organized by MJ, places bubble wrap inside her large clear storage container to help cushion ornaments which are in other storage containers, such as ornament boxes. This further prevents everything from moving around and adds an extra layer or two of security.
"I like to put bubble wrap on the bottom and top of the divided sections, creating some extra padding," says Mary. "My favorite storage is weather-tight bins, as they keep pests out and protect their contents from dust."
5. Wrap your ornaments up in fabric remnants
If you're no stranger to the craft room and have a bunch of fat quarters to spare, they can be used to protect your Christmas tree decorations from damage.
You don't even have to sew anything to do this: wrapping fabric around your ornaments and then securing the ends of the fabric together with an elastic band will do in a pinch. It's not the best method to store decorations but it will stop your ornaments from scratching one another. Although it's recommended to avoid using fabrics with a silky sheen as those will be slippery, potentially making your decorations harder to handle.
This is a good alternative to newspaper for those who have no current ornament storage as newspaper can actually harm your decorations in the long run.
Liz Halvorsen, owner of Mess to Bliss, LLC, says, "I recommend that people avoid wrapping up their ornaments in newspaper because the ink can rub off and stain. Instead, opt for tissue paper, bubble wrap, or soft fabric to wrap each ornament, and then store it in a plastic bin. My favorite is the Homz plastic bin from Wayfair."
If you still find yourself swimming in far too many ornaments, embarking on the 12 days of decluttering challenge but sticking specifically to categories of festive decor might do just the trick.
More Storage Solutions
As a Christmas lover, these are some more ornament storing lifesavers that I'd suggest considering for your home.
Price: $80.51
This ornament storage box is far more than just a box. It comes with so many handy compartments that are adjustable to fit more than a traditional bauble, and it even includes space to store gift tags and tinsel. Your festivities will truly be kept safe all in one place.
Price: $16.98
If you have an extra drawer or two in your home using dividers like these to safely store your Christmas ornaments will make them so easy to access when the holidays come around again.
Price: $19.99
If you're super worried about your baubles getting broken, you could search for a set of these clear balls to place them inside. This way, each ornament will have its own individual protective case. Just be sure to purchase clear balls as similar to the size of your baubles as possible so they can't move around too much.
FAQs
What DIY storage solutions are there to store my ornaments?
Amy Trager, certified professional organizer and owner of Amy Trager, LLC, shares, "If you don't want to invest in an ornament box, wrapping ornaments well and storing them in any container will work. But, it will make packing and unpacking a more laborious task."
Some examples of containers you could repurpose include ice cream tubs, boxes received in the mail from packages, and clean egg cartons.
Where do people store Christmas decorations?
Mary Jo Contello, certified professional organizer and owner of Organized by MJ, shares a few places in the home where Christmas decorations are commonly stored during the year.
"Typically people store holiday decor in the attic or garage or basement," says Mary. "I like to store all holiday decorations in the same area so they are easy to find each year when possible. But if ornaments are very fragile they sometimes end up in the top of a closet or inside my home."
