Tag: holiday decorations

Make Boxing Day Into Boxing Week

Posted on by Jordank

In the major countries of the former British Empire, the day after #Christmas is celebrated as Boxing Day. A legal holiday, the event grew out of a custom for wealthy landowners to offer their servants and workers a box of edible goodies, gifts or a monetary tip during the Christmas season.

Stateside, many make the erroneous assumption that “Boxing Day” is on the calendar as a day people might set aside to box and store their Christmas #decorations for another year. In #quarantine times, however, the Organizing Blog would like to propose a modest compromise:

Let’s celebrate Boxing Day as a way to #declutter and #donate to a good cause. And since we have plenty of time at home due to pandemic travel restrictions, let’s take the whole week to do it.

The first step is to declutter. Start with the stacks and stacks of shipping boxes you’ve likely accumulated buying gifts from Amazon and other outlets. With online shopping up 40% from 2019, households are drowning in cardboard. Break down and #recycle any box that can’t be repurposed.

Next, conduct an organized destaging of all of your household holiday trappings, including wrapping paper, decorations, tree, lights, ornaments, and tchotchkes. Take your time and store everything in dedicated, labeled bins and boxes for easy access next year, or use these clever suggestions from HGTV.

As you pack up, toss anything that’s damaged or dingy. Dead light strands, cracked ornaments and worn fabrics aren’t worth saving or storing. Then, set aside any items that don’t provide a Kondoesque “joy.” These items may still be of good use to someone — just not you.

Finally, gather those unwanted and orphaned items together in extra boxes and bags and contact ClothingDonations.org for a donation pickup. Consider it a tax-deductible gift to the nation’s veterans, made in the true spirit of Boxing Day. You may not be landed gentry, but every little bit you give helps veterans access health care, housing and other resources.

Take advantage of a pandemic-era “Boxing Week” to get rid of the things you don’t want and show your appreciation for those who served. Happy New Year from the Organizing Blog!

Craft a Festive Holiday

Posted on by Jordank

Budding crafters know that all you need is creativity — and maybe a hot glue gun — to decorate for the #holidays in magnificent DIY style. Reader’s Digest has 50 foolproof ideas you can use to make your home into holiday headquarters, including jingle bell wreaths, rustic reindeer figurines and cinnamon stick candles. These and other holiday crafts can keep you and the kids busy while in #quarantine, and give you that warm holiday feeling that may be missing with so many travel plans cancelled this year.

Make Your Own Ornaments

Posted on by Jordank

Celebrating your first holiday in a new place and don’t have enough ornaments to put on the tree? Do what your parents did: Make a batch of salt dough to cut into festive shapes to decorate and hang on the tree! “Those homemade ornaments you made as a kid were the best,” Bustle says. “You can imprint thumbs, greenery, or whatever else you want, or cut out festive shapes like trees and stars using cookie cutters.” This is also a great way to keep the kids occupied make memories with the kids in the runup to Christmas.

Thrifting for Holiday Decorations

Posted on by Jordank

Holiday decorating doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. Some of the best decorations, in fact, may be available at thrift stores supplied by generous contributions to ClothingDonations.org. “Thrift store holiday décor can sometimes make you feel like you’ve opened a time capsule from your childhood,” says blogger Brittany Goldwyn, “but there are always goodies mixed in.” If you use your imagination (and perhaps a touch of spray paint), your home can quickly exude holiday cheer.

Store the Holidays Away Sensibly

Posted on by Jordank

Even the most diehard #holiday celebrators will admit that it’s finally time to take down the tree, wind up the lights and box up the tchotchkes for most of the year ahead. They’ve communicated your holiday cheer dutifully for several weeks, and it’s time to give them a rest.

A little ingenuity will help you pack away and preserve those holiday items for next Christmas. And a little judicious weeding out will save you some space so that holiday clutter can’t get the best of you next season.

First, of course, is the weeding out. As you take down the lights, toss any strings that no longer work and can’t be fixed with a simple swap of bulbs. And throw away damaged ornaments and other decorative items — the only place to stores trash is in the circular file.

You’ll want to preserve what you keep to create that winter wonderland again quickly, so take time to sort, organize and store decorations carefully. Good Housekeeping offers a number of clever ways to keep thing safe and organized for the months they’ll spend in the attic, garage or basement.

Wrap string lights around squares of notched cardboard so they can’t tangle when stored, for example, and put fragile ornaments in plastic cups or egg containers to keep them from getting crushed. Bag any artificial wreaths to keep them dust-free, and consider shrink-wrapping the tree.

Remember to label all bins and boxes with their contents, even if you opt for clear-plastic containers. If you really want to streamline 2020 decorating, The Spruce says, you can number your bins to know which ones should be reopened first.

After all, the biggest benefit of getting decorations organized as you put them away for the season is that you’ll be able to locate and use them easily next fall! The holidays are hectic enough without your having to hunt down every item or buy it again.

If there are still-useful items you just don’t want to store or display next year, bag them and contact ClothingDonations.org for a pickup. They will be resold to benefit veterans’ initiatives, and other families will be able to use them to create holiday cheer.

It can be bittersweet to take down and shelve your holiday decorations, but that’s what makes the season so special. Get #organized, and this year’s holiday season will be better — and more stress-free — than ever.