Christmas decoration storage tip

A little early for posting a tip on putting Christmas decoration away, but I figure most parents are a little too crazed after the holidays to be looking up tips. Just read this one and file it away in memory for when the time comes.

A couple years ago we bought one of those inflatable outdoor Christmas decorations. Setting up the decoration was easy and the kids loved it. What I didn’t like was untangling the tied down strings the following year! I tried wrapping them up when I put them away the year before, but they still got tangle and it took forever to get the mess straightened out. When I put them away that year I came up with this idea for preventing a repeat of that birds nest and it worked perfectly.

	I cut the flaps off of two boxes (had plenty of these lying around after Christmas) and cut 4 notches on each side.
	Next I put one end of the string through one of the notches to hold it securely.
	Now wrap the string around the cardboard and secure the other end in the notch on the opposite side.
	Repeat for the rest of your strings. That’s it! A cheap and easy way to store these buggers.

My last piece of advice…don’t bother trying to fit these decorations back in their original box. Buy a big rubbermaid, I prefer clear, and throw them all in there along with the extension cords and timers.