|
 When you think of a Christmas ornament your first thought may be that it’s time to start trimming the tree. But aside from trimming your tree for the holidays, you need to think past the actual holiday and consider what you are going to do with all these ornaments when the season is all done and the holiday decorations need to be put away until the following year. And just like there is a variety in Christmas ornaments, the same is true of equipment storage.
When it comes time to put away your ornaments, it’s a good idea to take into account the various shapes and sizes of the ornaments you have so that you can account for them in your planning strategy.
Ornament storage boxes are generally made out of plastic materials and come equipped with smaller individual compartments. This makes it easy to just place your ornament inside the compartment and it will be protected from being crushed while in storage. Some newer storage boxes are being made out of canvas, but if you do not want to spend the extra money you can always ask your local grocery store for left over apple or pear shipping boxes since they usually come compartmentalized. To be on the safe side, it is a good idea to cushion very fragile ornaments. Even though you have separate compartments, it may not protect them if for some reason they get shifted during their extended time in storage. You can safely pad a Christmas ornament using newspaper or bubble wrap but you do run the risk of the ink transferring off of the newspaper on to your ornament due to heat or humidity. A great cost saving tip is to salvage some of that white tissue paper used in some of your Christmas gifts and use it to cushion your more delicate pieces.
If you already have large containers or boxes to store your ornaments inside of, then you might want to improve on your strategy. Using large storage bins or boxes is a time old tradition, but you can help save a Christmas ornament or two by taking some time to carefully package fragile pieces. If you have some empty shoe boxes, they make great compartments for glass, crystal, porcelain or other delicate material ornaments that can break if just tossed inside of a box.
If you are going to be storing most of your decorations in a heated attic, garage or moist basement, you need to consider that in your packing endeavor. A Christmas ornament that may be temperamental to some of these conditions can be destroyed by one swift season in storage if not packed correctly. Ornaments made of wax or heat sensitive clay materials will have a tendency to melt or alter in appearance with excessive heat. Another idea would be to make two areas in your home for some of your holiday décor; one area for all of your general decorations and an indoor location to keep items that could be damaged by excessive heat. Particularly candles or a Christmas ornament that may need some special care in order to stay safe between seasons.
|
