(Photo Credit: Getty Images. John Greim.)
It’s the beginning of the New Year and the end of the holiday season. As you’re putting away your Christmas decorations, here’s a few tips on how to best store your favorite artificial tree.
DON’T PUT IT IN THE ORIGINAL BOX. When you dissemble your pieces and fold down the branches you’ll want to make sure they each have some room. Sure you can put a few pieces in the box, but it’s likely not big enough to hold the whole tree without running risk of damaging the lights or hooking a wire and pulling it out of the socket. (See what we mean?) You spent all this time fluffing and shaping your tree, so don’t mash your masterpiece! It may hurt the tree more than your ego if you do. We must be gentle with the tree and ourselves. (Now pause and take a deep breath.)
Woah, woah! Before you get too excited you might want to double check your lights. Replace any burnt bulbs you see before storing. It’ll save you trouble next year, and plus Christmas bulbs are cheaper in January!
Invest in some covers. This isn’t mandatory, like we said you can use the box for a FEW pieces or some standard 50 gallon trash bags. They also make nicestorage covers and boxes. Some have wheels to make it easier to move around. Always check the sizing though, sometimes the bag says it’s made for a “6 foot tree” when a “6 foot tree” can be many shapes and sizes. Our friend, Denny Smith learned this the hard way. Just ask your local store to help you!
If you are one of those lucky people who have a spare closet, extra space in the basement, or storage don’t even bother taking the tree down! Box away your ornaments and lay a sheet over the tree. That way next year all you have to do is roll it out into the living room and fluff a few branches.
If you’re not so lucky (join the club,) grab your bags packed with tree pieces and place them in an area that’s dry and temperature controlled. Ideally, set the bags up horizontally so the branches are less likely to crunch into each other.
No matter how you store it (or don’t) every tree and home is different. That’s the beauty of the Christmas tree.
Listen to Pat and Denny’s tips on how they store their trees each year!
Tune into the Home and Garden Show every Saturday, 9am-1pm, right here on WIBC
