Let’s Get Organized: Organizing For Small Spaces!

I told you I was going to begin a series on Organizing For Small Spaces.

I need to start with the Christmas Tree as, it is the most pressing, I need to get it out of the living room.

As you know, we moved into an apartment a few months ago and it is much smaller than we had.  When we move, I always forget to stay with my 3 boys and hubby while they move everything!

Usually – not that we move often – I will go with the first load and then stay at the new place to point out where things go and unpack the boxes as they arrive.

That is a good strategy except that my boys and hubby want to finish quickly…leading us back to the Christmas Tree.

We got a storage unit this time to store our stove and fridge since we can’t have those here. We also don’t have places for the things that were in the attic – so a storage unit was necessary.

So, they filled it up with the stuff that wasn’t coming to the apartment and I never went to look.  Then comes Christmas and my hubby is hiding my gifts in there, so still I don’t see anything – until the day the tree comes out of storage – HOLY COW!!!

I sit in the car waiting for him to bring it out – (remember last year I had just had surgery so my son-in-law packed the tree away after Christmas) here comes my hubby with the worst looking totally unrecognizable cardboard box!

I mean ornaments are falling out and rolling down the way and the pieces of the tree are hanging out all over!  Worse than a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree!

So, I knew right then and there a new hard plastic box was in order!  Well, having never had one for any of the trees, ever, I wasn’t sure where to find one.

I did find however, that there is a sweet spot to the time frame of finding one and that is going to be 1-2 days after Christmas – yeah, I missed it!

I looked for storage solutions at Target, Big Lots, and Walmart in store and online and they were all sold out!  So, I had to buy 2 boxes at Home Depot and paid about $18 each – yuck!  but it held the tree, and I bought 2 smaller boxes for the ornaments and the garland and other decorations for about $4 each.  I used the garland to wrap around the fragile ball-type ornaments and I cut up an old towel to wrap the fragile memory ornaments.

I have been told that a canvas tree bag works well, too.  It definitely would have been cheaper.

So, now with the tree and decorations packed up and in storage in hopefully indestructible boxes, I feel better!  Even somewhat accomplished! Yay!

What are your storage solutions for Christmas decorations?

Next Time:  My New Space Saving Keurig!

And: The Stockpile Pantry!