Pack Away Christmas So Next Year Is Easy

Future me has opened too many boxes labelled only with the word Xmas. This is the pack-away routine I do every January so that December is easy.

The sheet, in text

Before you box

• Bin anything broken or unloved
• Test every light strand now
• Photograph setups you liked

Lights and garland

• Wrap around a flat piece of card
• One strand per card, plug end out
• Spare bulbs taped to the card

Ornaments

• Fragile ones in divided boxes
• Soft ones in a zip bag
• Hooks together in a jar

Label like a stranger will read it

• Room it belongs to
• What is inside, in plain words
• Label two sides, not the lid

Where it lives

• Tree items in last, out first
• Heavy bins low, light bins high
• Wrap and ribbon stay accessible

One last thing

• Note what ran out this year
• Tape the note inside the top bin

What I would actually use for this

Do the sheet first. If you still need something afterwards, these are the ones from my own shortlist that fit this job.

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