This time of year, you’ll be hard pressed to find a home that doesn’t have tons of holiday decorations on display. And rightly so! Christmas is one of the most widely celebrated holidays, and it’s a fabulous excuse to totally deck your house out. But what happens when the holidays are over, and it’s time to take down the decorations? What do we do with them? They take up SO MUCH space, and we only use them once a year!

Take control of your holiday storage! Follow these easy steps to cut down on your holiday storage and still have plenty of holiday decorations to display! I know I could use the extra space! | decorbytheseashore.com

Not everyone has that kind of space, and even if you do, do you really want to use it storing boxes and bins of things you’ll hardly use? That’s why it’s so important to minimize your holiday storage! I know this might sound really hard to do when there are so many cute holiday decor items that we really REALLY want to buy and display. But by putting a little creativity and thought into it, it’s really quite simple!

How to Maximize Your Holiday Decor and Minimize Your Holiday Storage

Be selective about your holiday decor purchases.

This will not only save you holiday storage space, but also a good amount of money! When you are out shopping for decorations, always keep this question in the back of your mind: What will I do with this item when the holidays are over? If it’s something smaller, then you might have no problem finding space for it.

But if it’s something large and bulky, decide where you will store it (and where you will display it in your home) BEFORE you buy it! Items in a store can be deceiving, because they look smaller when you’re in a large store. And then you get them home, and all of a sudden that miniature reindeer is taking up half your entryway! So think really carefully before you buy, and buy selectively!

Use neutral colors for your larger, bulkier decorations.

By choosing neutral colors, you’ll be able to use these items year round and might not need to store them at all. When I made my DIY apothecary jars, I painted them silver so that I could use them for any holiday or season. I fill them with different accessories depending on the holiday. This ensures I only have to store the filler, and not the large jars!

RELATED: DIY Apothecary Jars Tutorial

Take control of your holiday storage! Follow these easy steps to cut down on your holiday storage and still have plenty of holiday decorations to display! I know I could use the extra space! | decorbytheseashore.com

Plan to use your decor for multiple holidays.

Using your decorations for several holidays will not only cut down on your holiday storage, but it will also save you money and ensure that you get to use your holiday decor more than once a year. For example, a red vase could be used for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and even the Fourth of July. So instead of buying the red vase that’s covered in Christmas trees patterns, choose a plain red vase that you can use over and over again. You can always fill the vase and decorate it with holiday accessories to make it appropriate for whatever holiday you want, such as ribbon, Poinsettias, and pine boughs for Christmas.

RELATED: How to Shop Holiday Clearance for Year-Round Home Decor

Use smaller accent pieces for your holiday specific items. 

Your holiday specific decorations will only be appropriate for one holiday, and you might not be able to use them for anything else, but that’s ok because they’re smaller and easier to store! Just remember to keep these items within a reasonable amount, because they can add up quickly!

Think interchangeable!

What items can you maybe make a few tweaks to and use again for the next holiday? My interchangeable burlap wreath is a fabulous example of this! I use one wreath form and simply change out the accessories every season, so I don’t need to store a bunch of wreaths! Check out the difference between all the different versions. You can’t even tell they’re the same wreath!

RELATED: How to Make an Interchangeable Wreath

Interchangeable-Wreath-Collage

Winter / Valentine’s Day / St. Patrick’s Day / Spring 
Summer / 4th of July / Fall / Christmas

Do this with as many of your larger items as possible. Instead of buying Halloween pillows, buy regular pillow forms and cover them with Halloween slipcovers. Instead of painting the letters “fall” on your mason jars, use removable vinyl stickers or wrap the jars with stamped fabric, so that a few weeks later those same jars can spell out “joy” or whatever words you want to use. Think outside the box, and then you won’t need to store as many things inside a box!

Include detailed labels on your storage boxes.

Instead of simply marking a box “Christmas,” include details as to what is in the box that you might want to use for other holidays, such as “white tablecloth” or “red candlesticks.” So often we simply mark our boxes by holiday and put them away and never think of them again until that holiday comes around a year later. This way, the next time you go to decorate for another holiday, you’ll be able to easily see what items you could use again without digging through every box.
Take control of your holiday storage! Follow these easy steps to cut down on your holiday storage and still have plenty of holiday decorations to display! I know I could use the extra space! | decorbytheseashore.com

Clean out your old holiday decorations.

Are you storing holiday decorations that you don’t use anymore? Perhaps these items are better off being repurposed into something else or donated to a local thrift store. There’s no use in storing things you never use! I know it can be hard to get rid of things, but they really aren’t doing you any good stored away for years in a box in the basement, garage, or attic. You can breathe a sigh of relief when you’re finished, as you’ll have more space and less clutter in your life!

RELATED: How to Declutter Your Entire Home in One Weekend (or Less!)

When in doubt, paint it out!

If you have an item that you just love, but it’s not the right color for whatever holiday you want, paint it! A few coats of paint can completely transform an item for another holiday. I scored a fantastic deal on some cute picture frames at the craft store simply because they were fall themed and fall was over. I bought them and painted them white, so now I can keep them up year round and simply change out the holiday prints (because you know I am all about free printables)!
Take control of your holiday storage! Follow these easy steps to cut down on your holiday storage and still have plenty of holiday decorations to display! I know I could use the extra space! | decorbytheseashore.com

So are you ready to take the plunge and minimize your holiday storage? I recommend doing it one holiday at a time as each holiday comes around. So by this time next year, your holiday storage should be under control, and to top it all off, you’ll have some fabulous holiday decorations to display for every holiday! If you enjoyed this post, you’ll love my newsletter. Sign up below for weekly craft, DIY, and home projects and tips!