Sundays with Santa's Little Helpers: Week 5- CLEAN it UP!

I'm back with my last installment of Santa's Little Helpers. Now that the holidays have come to a close, it is probably obvious as to what this step will be. It's time to pack it up folks! I'm here to share with you the process we go through to put all our goods back into storage until it's time to make their debut again next year!

My first step is to bring up all the empty totes (various sizes) out of the basement. Then I gather some other tools- plastic grocery bags and bubble wrap (I always save it throughout the year just for this reason) for packaging and my notepad to keep track of what is going in each bin.


Then I go throughout the house and bring all the decor into one room so I can see everything that needs to be put away. It helps so I can group things with like items and know how much space I need in the totes.

From there, I start with the breakable items. I like to get them packaged away first so their is less chance of them breaking as I move about the room. I just package like items with each other- entertaining items go in one tote, decor items go in another, etc. As I fill the totes, I jot down what is in each one so I can do my standard inventory list like I talked about here. It makes finding things a breeze if I need to, plus it reminds me of what I have if I do any shopping while the holiday items are still put away.

Next, I put everything away, and here is your first glimpse at that basement project I talked about awhile back. Carl and his dad built some open shelving for our storage area of the basement for all our totes. The Christmas items go in one section of them.
Since the rooms are fairly empty, my last step is to give the shelves a good cleaning, vacuum and dust all my regular season decor before putting it back out. For me, it's a must do in this process as it feels sooooo good to kick back and enjoy the clean. :) Because, as much as I LOVE Christmas and all the comes with it, especially the decor, there isn't much that excites me more than a freshly cleaned, simplified house. Sigh....is it spring yet?

So, if it wasn't obvious already- your challenge is to put all your holiday decor away. But not just away- organized and away! And don't forget to clean before you put your everyday stuff back out! And of course check out my fellow helpers, Working Woman's Guide to Domestic Success & A Life In Progress, to see what tips they have! Thanks to everyone who participated in this holiday challenge. It's time to gear up for the New Year Challenge! I hope you are ready for it :)