How to Organize Storage Bins (with FREE Printables!)

ByAbby Lawson December 22, 2022

Time to organize storage bins full of Christmas and holiday decorations so they’re neat and tidy when you pull them out next year! Grab the free printables below to help get organized!

Storage Bins of Christmas Decorations Organized and Labeled

So I realize that Christmas isn’t even over yet, but believe it or not, I’m already thinking about decorating for Christmas next year! I know that probably sounds premature, but I promise that there is a method to my madness! 😉

I’ve found that the more organized I am about putting my Christmas decorations away this year, the quicker and easier it will be to get them all out next year, so today I thought I’d give a quick rundown of how I organize storage bins to keep all of our holiday gear neat and tidy!

How to Organize Christmas Storage Bins After the Holidays

Helpful Tools for Organizing Storage Bins

These are the items I used to help organize storage bins of holiday decor.

Step 1- Gather all of the holiday decor in one spot.

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I begin by collecting allllll of my Christmas stuff from around the house and putting it in one spot. It’s helpful to empty all of the bins so I can easily see everything that is there.

I like 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. 🙂

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Kind of crazy, right? And this was even before I had unpacked every single thing from the bins. Ugh!

Step 2- Declutter anything you don’t love or use often.

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 After everything has been set out, I start weeding out the things that are broken, missing pieces, out of date, or haven’t been used in a while.

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! And it’s such a great feeling to know that I genuinely love and use all of the items I’m holding on to.

Step 3- Sort items by type.

Once all of the items I’m discarding are out of the way, I arrange everything I’m keeping 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 mini trees in another spot…

All of the ribbon in a separate pile, etc…

Should I organize storage bins by item type or by room?

If you decorate the same way each year, “sorting by type” for you may mean putting all of the dining room decorations together, all of the living room decorations together, all of the kitchen decorations together, and so on.

If you change it up from year to year and decorate differently, you will want to sort by item category as I showed above– all ornaments together, all trees together, all ribbon together, etc.– so you can find exactly what you’re looking for.

Whether you decide to group by category or by room, the goal is to try to put like items together. That way we can easily find what we need when we go to decorate next year.

Step 4- Match items with appropriate bins.

I can easily tell what size bins I will need once my items are grouped by type. All of my outdoor decor is in two bins, my mini trees in one bin, all of my pillows together in one bin, etc. (I used these bins and these bins to store my items.)

For ornaments, I sort the shatter resistant ornaments by color and put all of the metallic ornaments in one tub and all of the red ornaments in another tub. Just make sure you only do this with the plastic ones. Glass ones will break if you try to store them this way!

For my fragile glass ornaments, I use divided bins so each ornament can have its own slot. These bins are great, but they can get pricey, so I only use them for my more fragile ornaments.

I just use shoe boxes to store our family ornaments within a larger bin. This lets me keep ornaments separated by person, and it’s FREE!

Step 5- Label the storage bins.

My most favorite step ever! 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 download free printable bin labels!

[Side note: We actually have more than 65 types of free printables on the blog to help you get organized! You can see them all in our printables library!]

I like to run my labels through my handy dandy laminator (I have one similar to this one and love it.) so they’re a little more sturdy. Then I just cut them apart and stick them to my bins. Boom. Organized.

If you don’t feel like you need a detailed contents list for each bin, a simple category label can work too. I have created labels using my Cricut cutting machine and adhesive vinyl for this purpose, and they have also been great.

Everything is neatly organized and ready to go back into storage. I will be thanking myself next year because I’ll easily be able to find everything I need! Woohoo!

Step 6- Store bins neatly.

Once you’ve sorted, decluttered, re-filled your bins, and labeled them in a way that makes sense to you, it’s time to pack them neatly away!

I’ve learned that if it’s possible, it’s easier to store bins on sturdy shelves rather than stacking them on top of one another.

Christmas Bins on a Shelf in the Basement

When bins are stacked on top of one another, if you need one of the bins on the bottom, you have to unstack everything, find what you need, and then re-stack it all, which can be a pain.

If the bins are on shelves, you just pull out the one you need and easily replace it when you’re finished! (We use these shelving units and love them.)

Organized Holiday Decor Bins in a Basement on Shelving

That little bit of extra effort to get organized when we’re putting our Christmas decorations away this year will really pay off next year when decorating for the holidays is a breeze!

Organize Storage Bins: Frequently Asked Questions

Storage bins will look nicer if we use all the same type of bin, helping our space to look more uniform. In my basement, I use all clear bins so I can easily see what is inside each one.

If your storage bins will be in a more highly trafficked area, consider opaque bins. This hides the bin contents for a tidier look. (You can even find opaque storage bins in pretty colors– I use aqua bins in our garage!)

Finally, cute bin labels can also help bins look nice. I like adhesive vinyl labels cut with my Cricut machine, or simple printable labels like the ones provided in the post above can also work well.

Use a “bin within a bin” strategy. If you’re organizing small items (like Christmas ornaments) inside of a larger bin, it can help to split up the space with smaller containers inside of the larger bin.

These can be whatever boxes or bins you have on hand, like shoe boxes, diaper boxes, or small Amazon boxes. Or you can invest in smaller matching storage bins if you prefer.

Reserve the bottom of the bin for items that are sturdy, that won’t be broken if other items are placed on top of them.

Larger items typically work best at the bottom of the bin so we aren’t trying to layer big items on top of smaller, more fragile ones.

If you have softer items like pillows, blankets, or other textiles, those could be good candidates to place at the bottom of the bin as well.

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How to Organize Storage Bins (with Free Printables!)

More Storage and Organization Ideas

How do you keep all of your seasonal decor organized? I’d love to hear about your strategy in the comments below!

Have a wonderful week!