Christmas Storage Inventory List {Free Printable}

How do you store your decorations?  Do you find it overwhelming to find what you want when you’re decorating and then figure out how to put everything away after Christmas?

If you use the red and green totes, it’s hard to know what you’ve stored in each one until you open it up and start taking things out.  If you’ve got several bins, it can get pretty overwhelming figuring out where to start!

The holiday season is always busy, and many people say they are going to simplify things next year, but by the next holiday, they’re right back in the thick of everything and get too overwhelmed.  If that sounds familiar, then this Christmas season is the perfect time to take steps toward simplifying next Christmas! 

Here’s a printable inventory list to record what you’re storing in each container as you pack it up this year. 

Click here to download this printable Christmas Storage Inventory!

And here are a few tips for storing decorations:

1. Purge before you store!  Why store items you didn’t use, or that you don’t love?  Give them away to someone else who can enjoy them more. This is especially important if you buy or receive new Christmas items and don’t have or want to use extra space to store your Christmas stuff.
2. Group items by how you decorate.  For example, if you decorate one room at a time through your home, then group each room’s decorations in a separate container and label it with that room.  Then next Christmas you can just open the bin(s) you need for the room you’re decorating at the time.  Or, if you like to use the same type of decoration all at once in different areas of your home (e.g. garland, candles, or lights) then store all of that type of decoration together. 
3. Label each bin with a number or general description of the contents.
4. Record the specific items in each bin on the inventory list and note where you are storing that bin (e.g. garage, storage room, attic, spare room closet).
5. Keep your inventory list someplace handy so you won’t lose it or forget it (home management binder, Christmas planner, etc.)

A few more tips:

• Take pictures of your decorated home before you pack everything up.  It will make it easier to remember how your decorations were used this year.  You can print the pictures and store them in the corresponding bin to make it easy next year, or record where you’ve saved the pictures on your inventory list.
• Once you have everything packed away carefully in your bins or containers, take a picture of the inside of the bin and keep it in the bin so you can put everything back the same way next year. 

Following these tips will likely take you a bit of extra time this year, but it will save you so much time next year and in years to come, when you pull out your bins to decorate!  And if you felt the slightest bit overwhelmed this year, isn’t it worth the effort now to simplify next Christmas?  You’ll be glad you did!

These are the same tips I use myself, and when I help clients organize their Christmas decorations. My team and I also help with Christmas decorating and packing up, if you don’t have the time or energy to do it yourself or need a helping hand!

When do you put up your Christmas decorations?  When do you take them down? How do you store them?  Have you used an inventory list for seasonal decor before?  What other tips can you share for simplifying next Christmas?

If you need help decluttering, contact me for in-person organizing services in the Mississauga area, or virtual organizing services anywhere else.

Happy organizing!