Many homeowners love to deck the halls and turn their homes into winter wonderlands – but when the holidays are over, those decorations become more of a nuisance than a source of joy.

Before you head to your local store to stock up on holiday decorations, have a plan for how you'll store them in an organized manner. 

Thankfully, our real estate agents know a thing or two about packing and storage. Try out a few of the tips below to take the hassle out of packing up your holiday decorations this year. 

1. Put Old Shipping Boxes to Work
   Got some leftover boxes from all of those gifts you ordered online this year? Recycle them as ornament boxes instead. Plastic and felt ornaments can go right in the box, but it's a good idea to wrap delicate ornaments in tissue paper or paper towels first. Be sure to label each box clearly and place them close to each other in your garage, attic, closet, or other storage areas. You'll want to make it easy to round them all up next year.
   
   
2. Use a Shoe Organizer for Gift Wrap Supplies
   If you have a treasure trove of scraps of wrapping paper and ribbons to put away, consider investing in a shoe organizer to hold it all. These convenient tools attach to the back of your bedroom or closet door and give you rows upon rows of pouches for all your wrapping supplies. Large rolls of wrapping paper may not fit easily here, but all those extra odds and ends can be stored in their own pouches. As a plus, this tip keeps all of those supplies easily accessible for other gift-giving occasions throughout the year!
   
   
3. Create Your Own Ornament Chest
   Ornament chests are wonderful contraptions that allow you to store your holiday ornaments in individual padded segments. They can be a bit pricey at most retailers, though. Why not make your own instead? Just glue some plastic or paper cups onto some cardboard trays, then layer them inside a larger box to create a tiered ornament chest. You can add some cotton balls, tissue paper, or packing peanuts to the cups to keep your ornaments safe if you're worried about them. 
   
   
4. Re-Use Food Containers for Ornaments
   Conveniently, many holiday ornaments are just about the same size as common food items. Smaller ones fit perfectly inside egg cartons. Re-using old packaging like this is not just an affordable and eco-friendly solution – it also takes advantage of carefully engineered packaging structures that will protect your ornaments from damage.
   
   
5. Keep Your Lights Tangle-Free
   Got too many strings of lights to keep them all straight? Wrap each string around a cardboard tube or a small flat box. This makes the strings easier to store and avoids tangles during the storage process. If you don't have any boxes or tubes, you can also wind your lights into a circle, then secure them with a bit of masking tape. 
   
   
6. Wrangle Those Wreaths
   It's all too easy to accidentally crush a holiday wreath. Finding a good place to put these items can be tricky due to their odd shape and relatively bulky size. The best solution is to hang them up like a rack of clothes. Hang your wreaths and garlands from clothes hangers, then insert the top of the hanger through the bottom of a heavy-duty trash bag. You can then hang that bagged wreath on a clothing rack in your closet or garage. 

Always feeling like you're running out of storage space? A larger home can give you more breathing room for both storage and everyday living. Contact us to learn more about our Round Rock homes for sale and find the perfect property for your needs.