It’s that time of year again. The carols have been sung, the gifts have been given, the champagne has been sipped. What now? Yes, it is now time to take down all your holiday décor and put it away until next year. This time consuming and tedious task may not be the most fun, but it is important that you do it right so everything looks, and works, perfectly next year.
At Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, we take down and store our clients’ holiday lighting for them. Why? Well, first, we don’t want everyone climbing ladders and working at the roof line for safety reasons, but we also want to protect your lights properly and test every light before we install them again next year. It’s part of what we do.
If you are taking down and storing your lights at your home, there are some tips that we suggest to protect your holiday décor:
Take inventory. Make sure you know what you have so you know what to look for next year. Check for items you may need to replace. If you are not using LED bulbs and your lights are a few years old, you may need to replace them.
Place them in something safe. For string lights, old coffee cans are a great option. Not only do small spaces cut down on the possibility of them getting tangled, but depending on where you store your holiday décor, they also protect them from critters (placing them in plastic bags would also protect them).
Take your time wrapping lights. No one likes to open their Christmas boxes and realize that there is a giant ball of Christmas lights all tangled together. If you take the time to wrap the lights around something now (wrapping paper tubes, newspaper, etc), you’ll be happy next season.
Treat your garland delicately. Don’t place your garland at the bottom of heavy objects or squeeze them into too small of boxes. They’ll flatten. Placing them in large plastic bags or large boxes will give them the space to stay full.
Label everything! If you label indoor and outdoor Christmas holiday décor properly, you’ll be able to get started on decorating more quickly next year.
There you have it, a few simple tips to protect your lights throughout the year and prepare you for the next holiday season. If you have any further questions on holiday lights, feel free to visit our holiday lighting website.