Every year when I unpack my Christmas decorations, I vow that I will be more organized and methodical the next time I go to put them away. Most years, though, when the time comes to take down our holiday decor we are busy and trying to fit it in our schedule between various other things, so I just randomly throw things in the tubs and stick them back on the shelves, only to very much regret that decision the following year when it comes time to decorate again. It’s a vicious cycle. 😉 Actually, last year I made a small (albeit very weak) effort to achieve some semblance of organization. This year when I went to take out my bins I saw this:
Now believe it or not, an old crinkled up piece of paper with Sharpie scribbles on it, slapped onto a bin full of junk was actually an improvement over my former non-system, but I still knew I could do better this year. So a few days ago when I was taking down all of my Christmas stuff, I followed my tried and true organizing method…
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Step 1- Assemble Everything, Emptying Every Bin
I began by collecting allllll of my Christmas stuff from around the house and putting it in one spot. I emptied all the bins so I could easily see everything that was there. I always think it’s nice to start with a blank slate. It’s easier to see what you’re working with, nothing gets missed, and you can easily evaluate which storage vessels will work best for certain items. The downside is that your house looks like a bomb went off. 🙂
(Also, sneak peek of what our living room kind of looks like these days!)
Kind of crazy, right? And this was even before I had unpacked every single thing from the bins. Ugh!
Step 2- Purge, Purge, and Purge Some More
I love this part. 🙂 After everything has been set out, I start weeding out the things that are broken, missing pieces, out of date, or haven’t been used in a while, and I either throw those things away or put them in the donate or sell piles. It’s a waste of space to store things that I’m never going to use again!
Step 3- Sort Items by Type
Once all of my junk is out of the way, I arrange everything into groups, putting like items together. This time I was doing my Christmas bins, so I put all of my ornaments in one section of the room, all of my nativity sets in another spot, all of the stockings in a separate pile, etc. And when everything had been sorted, I had something that looked a little like this…
I still wouldn’t call it organized per se, but we were getting there. From here I was able to match each grouping of items with an appropriate bin, combining groups when necessary. All of my greenery went in one bin, mini trees went in another, all of the red bulb ornaments went in a bin, the metallic ornaments went in another, etc.
Step 4- Label!
My most favorite step ever! If you’re new to the blog, you’re finding out early– I’m slightly obsessed with labeling. I kind of can’t get enough of it. I printed out some cute tags on white card stock and wrote out the contents of each bin. You can snag my cute tags too– just click on the photo below!
(Click here to snag your free printable bin labels!)
Then I ran them through my handy dandy laminator (I have one similar to this one
Want to get even more organized this year?
I love, love, love to organize and label! Something about it just makes me giddy. I also love printables like the ones I used in this post. Since I know that I’m not the only one that loves these things, I put together a little eBook called Simplify: 35+ Printables to Help You Organize Your Life that is packed full with every organizing printable I could possibly think of!
Some of these are newer, prettier, more updated versions of printables I’ve done on the blog. Many of them are brand new and have never been seen before! They all have been formatted with the same colors and styling to create one cohesive printable set that will help you organize so many areas of your life. And did I mention they come in both full 8.5″ x 11″ size AND a 5.5″ x 8.5″ half size?! So many organizing possibilities!
Here’s a list of all of the printables that are included (totaling over 100 printable pages in each size!):
Let’s make this year the most organized one yet! Click the button below to learn more about Simplify (and our matching 2017 planner!) and get ready to get organized!
Have a wonderful day!
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
I love organising as well! I get so messy sometimes that organising becomes an obligation, but I learned to love it. Beautiful post!
Xoxo https://thoughtsintiffanyblue.blogspot.com/
I finally went through every single bin as well, purging what was broken, no longer used etc. I have about 10 more years worth of Christmas hoarding than you though, so my spaces really looked like a bomb went off! It’s a great way to organize. Love the printables. 🙂
A Christmas bomb! Lol!
Yeah I was so excited to see the printables. I haven’t put our stuff away yet- these are perfect Abby:) Thanks for sharing!!!
You will love this when you pull it out later this year, Abby! I haven’t put ours away yet so these are just in time! Thanks Abby and happy Friday! 🙂
Perfect! Thank you Abby! Just what I needed! I was saying to my friend last week that I really need to go through all my storage bins and actually note down what is inside them – most a sentimental items (that I do need to purge) because trying to find that ONE thing is a MISSION!! So thank you for inspiring me to get it done!
This is perfect timing and thanks for these labels. I will definitely use them, I’m gearing up for a craft room (which is really 1/2 of our storage area) makeover. It helps when moving things around to know what’s inside those bins. Is it strange that I want to get rid of my storage bins and buy ones that match? haha…again, thanks for the tips and for the link up!
These bins and labels are awesome Abby- I love how you so clearly know what exactly is in each one! I bet your printables are going to be fabulous!!
Great tips! I am obsessed with bins and baskets and crates… basically anything that makes organizing cute. Cute labels don’t hurt either! 😉 I would love it if you linked this up on my blog for Crafty Chaos Tuesdays. Thanks for sharing.
I really need to get all of my stuff organized. The problem I have is no closets, a wet basement, and not a whole lot of other options! I tend to get rid of almost everything so that I don’t need to store it. With three kids, it seems like our stuff constantly multiplies though! The e-book looks awesome 😉
Great idea with the labels! I had thought of doing this a while back for my boutique items while I search for a new location. Thanks for the reminder! I will be replacing regular cardboard boxes with bins as I go. They protect from wetness. Water can be a double edged sword! Happy organizing everyone 🙂
Love this idea, Abby! I have labels on my storage bins but I like that you can list what is actually in the bin. Thanks for sharing the printable.
We’re about to experience the Christmas “bomb” effect this week, Lord willing. Thanks so much for the pretty labels, Abby! I’ll use them on my ebay storage bins also.
I actually organized my Christmas bins like this over 10 years ago, but I took my organization one step further. I numbered/named each bin and created a “library” of the contents. This library is kept in a 3-ring binder. I do this because my bins (over 13 of them) are stored behind the wall in my loft area and are hard to get to. I place the binder on the bin nearest the entrance. Doing this keeps me from having to read every label on every bin.
For example the Tree Decorations page in the binder looks like this;
Tree Decorations (printed at the top)
*Hallmark ornaments
*Adrienne’s (my daughter) ornaments
*Chandler (my son) ornaments
*Keepsake ornaments
*wooden garland
*wooden candy canes
*metal tree topper
You get the idea. I do a separate page for each bin. I also put the year in the upper right corner..If I discard anything I just mark through it. I also have a page titled Discarded that lists each year what I discard. This is a running. list. Why a discard page? So when I start looking for that oversized tree-shaped coffee mug that I just know I would never get rid of, I have a record of where it is. I also have a page titled Purchase or Make by Next Year and it is exactly what it says it is. This page also is a running list with the year.
My labels usually come off too easy (my OCD brain can’t stand to see the curled up corners of the labels)…What specific tape or adhesive do you use?
Hi, Terry! I just used duct tape to attach these. When they are laminated, the duct tape has held up well for me. These are in our garage and aren’t messed with a lot. Have a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
After using the see thru bins and boxes for years and adhering labels to them, one day it occurred to me that I did not need the tape or adhesive. I now make those same labels, but now merely slide them down INSIDE the bin. It is visible, stays in place and if I ever decide to use that bin for something else, I do not have to deal with the removal and residual tape. Taking this storage process one step further, I like to take a photo of the contents before actually putting them inside (similar to your shot of everything in the living room. I like Kim’s idea of the binder and love your labels!
Love these ideas! Thanks for sharing, Christine!
~Abby =)
The printables are great! Thanks a lot! For a long time already I’ve been thinking to buy boxes and to organize my home! Thanks a lot! Greetings, Storage New Southgate Ltd.
I finally did this when I retired and organized my garage! Mine is similar to Kim’s although I only print out the page that goes into a protector sheet – which gets placed on the end that is visible or on the top of the bin if it is a solid Xmas Red bin. I keep the original only on my computer. I collect Nativities, I have over 50, I also buy one ornament each year. Well 3 one for each of my two sons and one “family ornament”. All my bins are on the top row of shelves in my garage.
I took the time to reorganization my Xmas bins this year too. Quite a task. I organized mine by room with another few bins for outdoor. lights. This year our calendar was so busy that I only had time to decorate the living room. I still had to go through so many bins to find what I needed, that I decided to reorganize my bins by room after Xmas. All of the bins are numbered and I keep a more comprehensive list of what is in each bin on an index card in my recipe file. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
I am on the same page as your thought process only about 25 years ahead. Trust me when I say you are so going to be thankful in the future if you keep this up. The older you get the bigger your family gets and with age you inherit . Due to these things I have always had one box of: still love it but could live without it. The stuff you are on the shelf about.sometimes the next holiday season your priority of things has changed and you may delegate some of those things elsewhere, when my kids were little all of their ornaments collected for each holiday were placed in their keepsake holiday boxes. As they have gotten older and their-boxes have expanded they are labeled: babies first Christmas – age 3 ornaments and or 1981 – 1984 Christmas and their names. I love your color coding ideas and lines for details. Thanks for the printable .
What I don’t understand is: Why don’t you (and others) alphabetize? It makes looking for things sooooo much simpler. You only have to look so far and “nope” it’s not in this container… I also just put Christmas in certain containers and put them together so I know where Christmas is and then label them.
I love this sytem! We just went through that moment when you are unpacking and you realize everything is a big mess! Then you vow to yourself that you will be better organized when it’s time to put them away… Haha! I was planning to group like items together like you and am excited to use your labels to make everything nice and easy to find! Thanks! 🙂
Yay for organization! 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful weekend, Alix!
~Abby =)
Great system! I’ve got to be more intentional about gathering everything first because it never fails that I find a snowman or a dishtowel a few days after everything has been stored. Thanks for the labels!
Lol! It really is difficult to make sure you collect everything around the house! So glad the labels are helpful, Misty! Have a great week!
~Abby =)
For something that’s used once a year for just a few days, Christmas decorations can really take up a lot of space. It is really important to purge and organize them. I like to have a limited number of storage bins and space dedicated to storing them. Once those bins are full, that’s it! Glad to see you got yours organized.
So agree, Maria! Have a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
I do the same thing — Every year I take out my Christmas ornaments and decor and reprimand myself for not taking the time to organize them the year before! I definitely have to invest in some clear bins, though. Right now everything is in old paper boxes from where my mom used to work before she retired that she gave me when I moved. I know I have boxes in the attic I didn’t even pull out this year, too. Definitely time for a purge! 🙂 Thanks for another great post and Happy New Year, Abby!
So glad it was helpful for you, Megan! Hope you’re having a wonderful start to 2017!
~Abby =)
I’m finally getting to those storage bins. I am a little late as usual.
But I like to keep on the Christmas tree lights as long as possible. Thank you so much
for the labels! I really needed something pretty!
So glad they will be helpful for you, Barbara! <3
~Abby =)
Abby-I did this a few years ago. Problem is that I store the bins in the attic. I sadly watch as the labels fall off them!. It might take a year but due to the surface of the plastic bins and the weather changing (?) the taped labels fall off. I didn’t even laminate the labels-I know plastic and laminated labels are hard to keep stuck together.
Any ideas?
On reader suggested using clear bins and just sticking a piece of paper on the inside facing out so you can see it! Maybe not ideal, but it would work! 🙂
~Abby =)
Cant wait to get this done!
Thoughts of my basement stress me all day long!!!
But i am working on it little by little
Glad this will be helpful for you, Tami! 🙂 Hope you’re having an awesome week!
~Abby =)
I typically use the clear plastic bins & organize by room for my Christmas things. This year was a time nightmare & I only put out about 1/2 of my decorations. I still have not tackled putting all away, but your suggestion for how to purge is an excellent one. Some things didn’t even come out this year so very likely they can move on. I have put the labels inside the box facing ou for years, (under the stairs,) but had not thought to laminate them. (I have a “forgotten” laminator for up to 11×17 sheets.) That will allow me to use a wax china marker or dry erase marker to add or delete notes each year!
Yes! Great idea!
~Abby =)