If you are using the zone plan for organizing, November is a good time to tackle the storage zone. Since this zone might be in your attic, basement, or garage, it often is not heated or air conditioned. The weather in November is not usually really hot or really cold and so this is the best time for this job. When you are organizing your storage space, make a list of the type of items you plan to store here. Divide your storage area into zones ( archival paper, holiday decorations, decorative items, etc.). As you place items into each zone, take time to purge. Do I have some papers stored that can now be trashed or shredded? Am I really going to use that lamp again? Are my holiday decorations still fresh and reflective of my style? Have a plan for each area and make it accessible. This is not to be just a dumping area. When storing holiday items, it is helpful to store the items in plastic tubs or containers. Color coordination is helpful. A yellow or orange tub could hold the Halloween decorations. A brown or orange tub could be Thanksgiving. Red or green for Christmas or blue for Hanukkah. Each box should be labeled. Boxes can be labeled by what is in them- ex. tree lights, creche, advent wreath- or by room-dining room, entry way, kitchen. If your boxes are well labeled you will only need to bring out the ones you want and not have to dig through everything to find the advent wreath the first week of advent. If your boxes are labeled by rooms, you can bring the boxes down and put them directly into the appropriate room for unpacking. Some homes and condos have no real storage space. In that case, the best way to store the holiday items is to find an area in each room where the items are used. Christmas towels and candles can go in a back shelf of the linen closet. Entryway decorations can go in a marked box in the hall closet. Bedroom decorations might be stored in a box under the bed. Having your decorations spread throughout your home is less convenience than having them in one place, but may be necessary with limited storage space. It might be a good idea to put together a master list of what you have and where it is stored and drop it into a file labeled “holiday decorations.”
Please share the storage hints that have worked well for you.
Jonda S. Beattie Professional Organizer
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