Top holiday decoration storage hacks

It is no secret that Christmas decorations in Southwest Florida are at the lowest price right now. But before you stock up on half-price wreaths and garland on a discount, ask yourself where you will keep it all.

Christmas lights make the season bright. But storing the stands can be anything but merry. Marla Ottenstein, the owner of Naples’ Premier Professional Organizer, said to wrap your lights around a piece of cardboard, saying, “make sure they work.” Once they are all set, be sure to tuck in the ends.

If it is gift wrap you are trying to manage, store gift bags inside of one gift bag and wrapping paper upright in a garment bag can hang in a closet.

“The area at the top of the closet that is important real estate,” Ottenstein said. “You don’t have a lot of space, so if you’re in a garment bag, it’s very narrow.”

For everything else, Ottenstein said to use medium-sized clear bins that lock because cardboard gets musty and the bugs love it.

“Little roaches, they burrow in the tunnels of corrugated cardboard and they nest and over time,” Ottenstein said. “You will have a bug problem.”

Roaches are a problem that none of us have time for, regardless of the season. Ottenstein adds that the bins should be made by the same company so that they stack nicely on top of one another.