The Christmas holiday season is filled with joy and the spirit of the holidays, but once everything has settled down, it is time to take down the decorations. It is very important to properly look after and take care of your Christmas ornaments to make sure that they remain just like new ones on the next Christmas. You can be lured into simply throwing all your baubles into a box, but that small bit of extra effort is going to keep your treasured mementos safe for a longer time.
Clean Your Ornaments Delicately
Ornaments should be cleaned before being stored. A simple soft microfiber cloth should be sufficient to clean dusty glass, metal, and plastic Christmas ornaments. For glitter or color ornaments, only a soft brush can do the work perfectly, and that’s only if those delicate ornaments happen to be very dusty. Do not use water or detergent on them, as they may damage the finish and discolor the ornaments.
Get Suitable Storage Containers
Finding the right Christmas ornament storage boxes is the first step to physically protecting the decorations. As time goes on, cardboard boxes gradually lose their durability and protective qualities. Instead of that, go for sturdy, acid-free ornament containers. Dividers in such containers cushion each piece, thus preventing the ornaments from hitting each other and breaking. If you don’t have any special boxes, you can safely still wrap each of your ornaments in acid-free tissue paper or bubble wrap and then put them in a sturdy plastic bin.
Decorations Sorting and Organizing
Sorting your Christmas decorations will make your Christmas tree mounting much easier the following year. It is best to organize your Christmas ornaments into categories or themes. Once you group them, not only will it be easy for you to see your collection, but heavy items will not be able to damage delicate ones. Using even homemade dividers made from cardboard helps keep the ornaments from being piled up and thus prevents them from being scratched or chipped while carrying.
Once again, as important as the care you give to your Christmas ornaments is, the place you keep your decorations can be as important.
Control Temperature and Humidity
Extreme temperature conditions are harsh on delicate materials. Attics and basements are most of the time subjected to changing temperatures and humidity, and these can cause glass to crack and paint to peel. When storing Christmas ornaments, consider using a place that is cool and dry and has a stable environment, such as a closet shelf or under the bed.
Memories of Christmas to Be Kept for a Long Time
Your Christmas ornaments will continue to enchant each year if only you take care of washing, sorting, and storing them properly. By doing these simple things, you are not only saving the memories but the physical memory carriers as well. When you take out your ornament’s boxes next season, a collection in good condition will be there to welcome you.