One Simple, Smart Tip for Organizing Christmas Decorations

You don’t have to spend hours or make things complicated to keep your Christmas decorations tidy. If you’re looking to streamline how you store and find holiday décor each year, one straightforward approach will save time, frustration, and, quite possibly, your patience when the next season rolls around.

When the holidays end, many of us are tempted to toss everything back into boxes and shove them into storage. That quick approach may feel satisfying in the moment, but next December it often means hunting through multiple bins to find matching ornaments or garlands. If you want one small habit that delivers big results for Christmas organization and holiday storage, adopt this simple tactic.

Sort your ornaments and seasonal decorations by color. That’s it—sort by color.

Why sorting by color makes decorating easier

Grouping decorations by color reduces decision fatigue and speeds up the decorating process. Whether you like a classic red-and-green tree, a monochrome modern look, or a mix of metallics, having like-colored ornaments in one place helps you pull together cohesive displays quickly. Color-based organization is also useful when you change themes from year to year—simply select the color bins that match your current scheme.

How to store ornaments and decorations for easy access

If possible, use clear storage bins so you can see contents at a glance. Clear bins are ideal for quick inventory and can be stacked neatly in closets, attics, or storage rooms. If clear containers aren’t available, label each box on all sides with the color or type of item inside—example labels include “Red Ornaments,” “Gold Garland,” or “Small Tree Picks.”

For fragile ornaments, use cushioning like tissue paper or bubble wrap and place them in sections or trays to prevent shifting. Unbreakable items can be consolidated in less protective but still labeled bags or bins—just keep like colors together to maintain the system.

Simple supplies that make a difference

You don’t need a lot of equipment. The basics are:

• Clear plastic bins or stackable storage containers
• Permanent marker and labels or pre-printed color labels
• Padding materials for breakables (tissue paper, bubble wrap, foam trays)
• Smaller boxes or dividers for delicate ornaments

Keep a few spare labels and a marker in your holiday storage area so you can relabel or reorganize items when needed. If you rotate themes annually, consider keeping a small inventory list taped to the lid of each bin for quick reference.

Tips for keeping it simple

If you’re short on time after the holidays, prioritize color-sorting for the most used items: tree ornaments, wreath decorations, and mantel garlands. Other seasonal pieces like special tabletop displays or seldom-used light strands can be organized later. Even a partial color-based system will make next year’s decorating noticeably easier.

If you want a deeper dive into seasonal storage, look for posts or guides on attic organization and seasonal decor storage on this site. Those resources cover full systems for sorting, labeling, and storing every holiday item for efficient access year after year.

Adopting this one clear habit—sorting decorations by color—will make decorating faster, keep pieces in better condition, and spare you unnecessary stress. Try it this year and see how much smoother the whole process becomes next December.