Sure, you may have your tried and true methods of decorating for the holidays, but did you know there can be an art to the way you dis-decorate? It’s true, take it from our own organizational maven and Wonder Mom, Jill.

Here are a few of her tips to make dis-decorating as painless as possible, and hopefully we’ll help you improve your decorating process for the next holiday season!

• If you don’t already have one, get yourself a label maker. It’s Jill’s favorite toy. There are so many options available, and many are less than $20! Then, get to labeling all of your storage containers!
• Select one storage container and label it “OPEN FIRST,” our open first box contains our stockings, plastic Christmas glasses, paper guest towels, kitchen towels and aprons; all useful items that signal to us it’s time for the holidays. This box should contain no fragile items and will be what your kids help you to set out first next year. This way, if they’re young, you’ll have no worries of the kids breaking vintage ornaments, etc.
• Only put away working lights/light strands. Trust us. Sure, it’s inevitable, you’ll have to make a few repairs next year, but don’t pack away light strands with the intention of fixing them next year, it just won’t work.

• Use pieces of cardboard to wrap your lights around, and then place each wrapped strand into a plastic shopping bag. Hopefully, this will mean far fewer tangles in future years.
• If you use faux trees or greenery, wrap them in sheets, or plastic sheeting, to ensure they’re dust-free when you unpack them next year.
• Always keep bubble wrap and tissue paper on hand when dis-decorating. This way, you’ll always have packing supplies on hand for the breakable items you’re putting away.
• Label everything – okay, this one’s a repeat. But, it’s well worth it now that you have your label maker!

And Jill’s #1 holiday dis-decorating tip:

• Enjoy it! Dis-decorating doesn’t have to be a melancholy event. Warm up some hot cocoa, put on some tunes and make a little family party out of it. Everyone can help. And at the end of the day, order in take out and veg-out, you’ll deserve it after all that work!

Good luck everyone! Do you have any special dis-decorating tips??? We’d love to hear them…