How to Clean Up Decorations

Place large display items such as Santa statues, Easter bunnies and jack-o'-lanterns in plastic storage bins. Label the outside so you'll know what's in the bin at a glance. Or buy color-coded bins and add Christmas decorations to red bins, Halloween to the orange, etc. This will allow you to identify specific holiday containers more easily in your storage closet.

Fill in the empty spaces with smaller items, carefully wrapped in bubble wrap or newspaper.

Wind strands of lights around a plastic storage frame so the lights stay tangle-free. Place frames in storage bins.

Wrap lights in a loop and store in a cardboard paper towel roll, if you don't want to go to the expense of purchasing storage frames. Lights will be tangle-free the next year and one strand fits nicely in a towel roll. Store in plastic bins.

Place your holiday wreath in a wreath storage box for maximum safekeeping. Putting it in a storage bin with other decorations is likely to cause damage.

Set small ornaments carefully in empty egg cartons, if you don't want to go to the expense of buying an ornament storage box. Or fill a cardboard box with a layer shredded paper. Add ornaments on the bottom and then layer with more paper and more ornaments as you work your way to the top.

Set your Christmas tree on the curb if your town does curbside tree recycling. Check to find out where to drop off your tree if it will not be picked up. If you have an artificial tree, wrap it in a Christmas tree storage bag. You may even decide to keep the lights on the tree to be ready for next year.

Wash all holiday tablecloths, runners and napkins before putting them away. Remove stains so linens will not look unsightly when you bring them out next year. Remove any candle wax that dripped onto the cloth by putting the fabric in the freezer for a several hours and then scraping it off with a butter knife.

Put wax-stained candle holders in the freezer overnight so wax easily scrapes off the surface. Throw away any old, burned-down candles that you don't want to reuse next year.