This time of year seems like the invasions of totes and bins. Green and red totes are piled high in stores waiting for shoppers to purchase. Totes in all sizes, shapes, and locking features. There are totes to store your Christmas stockings, the mistletoe, and that collection of Santas that adorn your mantel year after year.
Green and red totes work well for this time of year. Black and orange are perfect to spot the Halloween decorations amongst the towers of totes in your storage area. Colored totes make for easy direction to have the family lug the totes out of the attic or basement without much direction.
Label your tote on the outside with a description of what is inside the tote. Go as far as labeling what room the totes contents should be placed. A friend of mine takes photographs of the decorations in her home as to their location and then places the photo on the outside of the tote. This way her family can help with the decorating and not have to keep asking “where does this go?”
I am planning on purchasing ornament totes this year. One for each of my children to store their ornaments. (This is a good idea from my mother) After I left the home front my mom gave me a box of my very own ornaments from my childhood. She had labeled mine and my siblings with numbers so she knew whose was whose. An ornament with the number 1 on was my sisters, and so on. You can also use thier first intital as a marking.
Use a small piece of masking tape to label ornaments for family members that may want to take theirs along to their new home. Special ornaments from faraway places or special stores I keep the merchandise label/price tag on if it is not too tacky looking. This way the children can remember a little more about that particular ornament. Store the ornaments in the box they were sold in also, it makes for safe keeping.
There are specialty totes for storing wreaths, individual ornaments, and strings of lights. This type of tote usually will be on clearance soon in major department stores. Target, K-Mart and the like are best bets for these sales. The green and red totes will be marked down as well. Yes, you will be taking a chance they are sold out even before they are reduced in price, but if you aren’t desperate for the storage hold out for a better price. Use sale ads and comparison shop. Plain and simple totes with a snap off lid will cost less than a latching type lid.
While you are on the organizational path this month clean out a closet Donate the unwanted items to charity.
Clean out your pantry. Discard outdated food products. Share excess food products with a local food bank. Make a list of staples to replenish from holiday cooking and baking.
Clean out cupboards and closets in the coming months so in Spring you can go outside and play!
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