Good morning friends! Well, today is the first day the kiddos go back to school, so were up and at em early for the first time in weeks! The excitement of the first day back makes getting up and out the door easier, but Im sure Ill hit the wall later today.
Pearl Sweatshirt Chewed Hem Jeans Leopard Sneakers
Im so excited to share the first of two organizing projects Ive been working on over the Christmas break. Before we dive in, I have to admit, Ive always been EXTRA when it comes to organizing (my mom said I was that way even as a toddler). I truly get so much JOY when everything is all neat and tidy and organized in the prettiest way. The Home Edit ladies are my girl crushes and Im not even kidding! 
My home includes two playful kiddos, so things dont always stay as neat as Id like them to. And, just like any real, lived-in home, my stuff gets out of order and the house is a disaster sometimes.
The thing Ive gotten really good at (especially in the last few years) is KonMari-ing the crap out of my house. I almost exclusively have things here that I love and have gotten rid of so much clutter. No more drawers and cabinets packed to the gills- now we have room to breathe!
Truthfully, as Ive mentioned before, our home has more space than we really need now. But, its been our home for over 10 years and we are very comfortable and safe here. As long as we live here, I vow to make the most of it and appreciate every square inch.
The curve under the staircase feels like it was made for a Christmas tree!
Its always bittersweet to take down the Christmas decorations, which only reinforces my decision to start decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving. Its also a lot of work (both the set up and the take down), so I want to enjoy it for a long time.
It took me almost a week to fully un-decorate, but this time I put everything away EXTRA organized (which youll see below)!
Now that the tree is down, were back to a fresh start in this space with a new jute rug.
HOLIDAY DECOR STORAGE
Usually, my Christmas decor is stored up in the attic, but its always a big job to pull everything down each year. The bins are big and heavy and there are a lot of them. This year, I was lucky to have my brothers come over and help pull down all the bins and trees, but I didnt want to have to lug them upstairs and back into the attic again when the holidays were over.
One of the great things about building a custom home is that you get to decide things like how much storage space you want to have and that was really important to me when we built this home. Coming from tiny apartments and a small townhouse, ample storage space was always an issue. I knew I wanted to have a proper home for everything.
Theres a huge walk-in closet with built-in shelves that I realized would be perfect for storing holiday decor. This closet is located on the first floor, off of whats now Jordans playroom (but it was originally designed to be an office).
CLOSET BEFORE
Before the big organization job, the closet was holding extra office supplies, my workout equipment like weights, jump rope and mat, golf clubs, framed degrees, and luggage. I started putting holiday bins in here as I decorated for Christmas this year.
It was also really dusty and dirty in here since we barely went into this space.
The first step was to pull everything out, give the shelves and floors a good vacuum with my trusty stick vac. I swear I love this thing so much! Yall actually recommended it to me a couple of summers ago and its been one of my best purchases! Ive certainly gotten my moneys worth out of it since I use it daily, sometimes more than once!
CLOSET AFTER
Now, I can actually open the closet door, walk inside and see everything at a glance. The decor for all seasons is housed in here- Christmas, Summer, Spring and Fall. Ive fondly named it the holiday decor closet and I cant believe I have one of these in my own home! It never even occurred to me before this year.
The first thing I did was line the lower shelves with a grey grip shelf liner. Not only does it make the shelves look cleaner, it helps hold everything in place. You can simply cut the liner to fit your shelves or drawers with kitchen scissors.
Way in the back where the ceiling dips down (thats under our staircase) is where I have our Christmas trees stored. The main tree fit back inside the box it came in, but I didnt close it. Instead, I added some of our wreaths to it!
I considered getting one of those Christmas tree storage bags with wheels. Ive heard good things about them. People rave about how easy it is to just slip your whole tree into the bag, zip it up, and roll it out into the garage to store for next year.
Every year, much to my kids chagrin, I put faux wrapped presents under the tree. Its nice to have the space to store those so I dont have to rewrap them each year. It saves time, energy, and gift wrap!
Below that are my ornament storage boxes. Ive had hem for several years now and theyve held up really well. They come with cardboard dividers so that each ornament is protected and nothing breaks.
What I really like about them is that theyre sheer (with pretty decorative dots), so you can see what color ornaments are inside. I have the small, square ornament holders, and the larger rectangular ones too.
They zip closed and have handles that make them easy to transport.
I have a few decorative boxes that hold special ornaments and one is full of faux snow.
I figured that if I had this space with room to spare, I might as well go ahead and display our Nutcracker collection. It helps keep them from getting damaged in a box and they just make me happy to look at.
Isnt that the key? To do things that bring YOU joy even if other people dont get it or disagree? Its YOUR life, YOUR home. You should have it be a place YOU love and enjoy with things in it that delight you and your family.
Next to the Nutcrackers are two glass jars that lost their lids or they broke I cant remember. But, since Im not using them in the pantry (that tour is coming up Thursday), I figured I might as well repurpose them in here. They are holding ribbon and some gift tags. Its a functional decorative element that looks pretty!
I enjoy decorating for all seasons, and I have one Spring bin, one Summer bin, and two Fall bins. I used a chalk label to indicate which season is in each bin.
I displayed the adorable bunnies because they are too cute!
On the very top shelf, I had some extra room, so I put a few more decorations up there too.
Not all of my Christmas decor fit in the closet. There are still several bins that I kept in the garage. These large green bins have lasted for years and the size is great for storing big things like garland and wreaths.
Green Storage Bins Chalk Labels
If I had shelving in the garage, thats probably where my decor would have ended up.
Where do you store your Christmas decorations? Are you particular about organizing it?
I find it extremely helpful to utilize holiday organizing boxes for specific purposes, so I linked the ones that got good reviews on Amazon here.
1 Hanging Gift Wrap Organizer | 2 *Best Seller Gift Wrap Storage | 3 Gift Wrap Organizer | 4 Ornament Storage | 5 Ornament Storage | 6 Ornament Storage | 7 Rolling Tree Storage | 8 Wreath Storage
Some years, my decorations have been thrown into bins without much careful consideration (just wanting to get it put away quickly) and other years Ive been more particular. But nothing beats this year!
I am already excited about pulling out the decor for next year, knowing exactly where everything is and having it all organized neatly. And now I also know what Spring, Summer and Fall decor I have, so I can easily decorate for those seasons too.
I did pull the trigger and bought two of these gorgeous tulip wreaths for the front door! I cant wait for them to arrive! You can find more of my SPRING Amazon home decor finds here.
Have a fantastic day friends!
The post How Im Storing Holiday Decor appeared first on Honey We're Home.