Its that time of year again! Time to decorate for the Christmas holiday. You make your way to your garage, eager to pull out the lights and the Christmas tree. You find a storage box filled with nik-naks and miscellaneous ornaments, but not your coveted items. After digging and sifting through car parts, sports equipment, and camping gear you find your Christmas lights tangled and damaged. And soon enough, you're as red with frustration as Rudolph's nose.

Make next Christmas more enjoyable by storing and organizing your Christmas decor the best way possible! Organization is all about visualizing and planning for lasting change. We have gathered the best way to store Christmas decor to make your holiday season all the merrier.

Strategize a Space

Before you start taking everything down, have a game plan. Where do you plan on storing your items? Christmas decor is best to be stored out of sight and in an area that creates space for items used more often. Get creative with your space! We recommend using overhead storage, or top shelf storage for Christmas items. This will ensure your ornaments and fragile items stay safe.

If you're storing your Christmas decor in a storage closet, invest in shelving if possible. If you prefer something less permanent, we found some great options here .

Wrap Your Lights

Lights are items that tend to cause frustration. The best way to keep lights untangled and easy to re-purpose each year is to find a piece of cardboard and wrap the lights around the boards. Once the lights have been wrapped, you can place them inside a plastic storage box and label the box accordingly.

Preserve your Ornaments

Ornaments are a tricky item to store. Luckily there are several options for how to store these effectively. Using old egg cartons to store small ornaments is a good way to keep these fragile items safe. Another great option is to invest in an ornament storage container. We found several options here . You can also use clear re-usable bags to sort and place ornaments inside a plastic storage container; don't forget to mark this container fragile!

Invest in Tree Storage

If your family uses a real tree, we applaud your bravery! However, for those of us using artificial trees, putting this item away for storage takes some effort. Instead of using the box the tree came in to put an item away we recommend investing in a tree box or bag. These items make it easy to put the tree away and keep it safe and fresh.

For more tips on storing your Christmas tree, take a look at this article .

Sort and Label Gift Wrapping

If you find yourself with extra wrapping paper, ribbon, tape, and bows, this is the perfect time to label boxes and organize the material. Start by tapping the ends of the paper down, and place the tubes in a plastic trash bag. This keeps the paper from tearing or getting damp from moisture. You can then sort through the bows and ribbons and place them in small storage containers, label the containers and place them inside a bigger storage container.

Saving these items will keep your pocketbook in check next season, and make for an easier start to wrapping gifts. Make sure to do the same with stockings!

Hang Wreaths

Instead of storing your wreaths in a box or bag, try hanging the item! Use a wood hanger and hang the items either in a storage closet or on a designated hook in your garage.

If you don't have the option to hang wreaths, wrap the wreath in newspaper then place the wreath inside a plastic bag. This will help reduce the risk of the wreath looking worn and crushed next season.

Next year, when you open your garage or storage closet, you’ll know exactly where your decor is and it will all be in top shape. Cheers to a great holiday season from our team here at Monkey Bars!