Halloween Decorations Storage Ideas

By Karen Porter, Editor

EasyHomeOrganizing.com

Store your Halloween decorations so they will be easily accessible and in one piece year after year. Here's the scoop on how to do so for everything Halloween.

♦Designate a special color marker, such as the Halloween color orange, to use when labeling the outside of your Halloween decoration storage boxes and containers. This color-coding technique will make them easier to locate. Label the outside of the boxes with titles such as Halloween Box 1, Halloween Box 2, etc.

♦Make a separate itemized list of what Halloween decorations are in each container. Write the storage box number at the top of each list. Buy a half inch loose-leaf binder (purple or orange if you want something distinctive for Halloween). Put three-hole punched sheet protectors in the binder. (You can purchase both of these items from an office supply store.) Put your itemized lists of Halloween decorations stored in the containers in the sheet protectors. Stick a label on the outside of your binder that says Halloween.

♦Put the Halloween binder you just created on your bookshelf or on another special shelf elsewhere for these type informational binders. Now you can easily refer to this binder to find any Halloween decorations, costumes or party supplies in your storage in seconds. And you can update these lists as needed. Add other Halloween items to the binder too such as recipes you use at Halloween, family Halloween costume sizes, instructions for creating Halloween crafts or Halloween party planning lists.

♦When you buy plastic storage containers for storing Halloween decorations, ornaments or costumes, make sure that either the lids or the entire container is a Halloween color (usually orange, purple, black or grey). That's another easy way to find your Halloween items at a glance in your garage, closet or attic. Obviously, you'll mostly find these colors at walk-in retailers sometime between September and November. But if you look around, you can problem find them at some online retailers year-round.

♦Keep all of your plastic storage containers and bins that hold Halloween decorations stored near each other and stacked in the same columns in your garage or closet. This will make it even easier to find and fetch your decorations at Halloween without having to dig through or beneath other unrelated storage boxes.

♦Original boxes and containers, including the custom shaped Styrofoam, work best for storing Halloween decorations. But if you don't have these, you can still wrap items in newspaper, tissue or even soft paper towels. Store the really fragile or breakable Halloween decorations in smaller storage boxes and tins for extra protection. Then put those smaller boxes into your larger plastic container.

♦Store candles in a cool, dark, dry environment so they don't fade or melt. Store tapered candles on their sides so they don't warp. Garages, attics and even some kitchen cabinets get too hot. Your candles will melt a little in them (and drip on your shelving) so don't put them there. Do store them in a box or other covered storage container to keep dust off of them and retain any drip residue that still occurs.

♦If you haven't already, start saving those air packets and packing peanuts that come with your ordinary mail order deliveries. These are great to stuff around inside the tops and sides of your storage containers holding your Halloween decorations. This keeps items from shifting and breaking. You also can use them between loose items to create more of a protective cushion so items don't scratch each other.

♦If you don't have the special packing materials mentioned above, just use crumpled newspaper for this job. However, don't use newspaper on any "special" Halloween decoration that you think the ink could rub off onto. Wrap those items in a paper towel or tissue first so the newspaper ink doesn't make direct contact (though most of the time the newspaper ink will not rub off on items).

♦Halloween decorations that normally hang by cords, including fragile ones like thin cardboard scarecrows or even bulky ones, can hang from a wall hook in your garage. You can hang these decorations one in front of another. That will take less room because you'll be hanging several on the same "large" wall hook (such as a hook used to hold bikes, ladders or hoses).

♦Cover these hanging Halloween decorations with old pillow cases and plastic trash bags. Or use those clear plastic dry-cleaning bags or garment bags that you get from a trip to the drycleaner or when you buy a nice suit or dress at a department store. Be sure to tie the bottom into a knot (or use a twist tie) to keep critters out. But be aware that some experts do not recommend you leave these bags long-term on fiber materials. In that case, you may want to invest in some zip-up garment bags to hold your hanging Halloween decorations made from fabrics. You can probably fit several thin hanging decorations in one garment bag.

♦If you're storing Halloween masks (or some Halloween costumes) that you plan to keep for a long time or that have sentimental value, be sure to check their care instructions or ask the store where you purchase them about this. If you don't do this, next Halloween you may be surprised to find your Halloween mask crumpled and cracked due to improper storage.

♦Store Halloween lights strands around ordinary extension cord wraps or specially made plastic light wrap reels (or plastic garden hose reels). This will keep them tangle free. Put a soft rag or newspaper between light wrap reels that you stack in plastic storage bins to keep the light sets from bumping each other. Also, add cushiony material as needed around the inside of the container to keep lights from shifting and breaking when someone moves or bumps the box holding them. Label the box fragile too.

♦Very fragile or sentimental Halloween ornaments, such as valuable ones made of glass should not be stored in areas with extreme temperature changes and humidity conditions. The reason is these temperature changes could cause stress fractures in the ornament. Store these inside your home in a central closet. Since your home probably has some form of central heat and air conditioning, this is a more stable temperature environment.

♦As with any holiday decoration or ornament storage, keep your valuable or precious glass ornaments out of direct sunlight. Wrap them in acid-free tissue, bubble-wrap or other material. Place them in a storage container with a lid. Put packing material inside to prevent shifting of these most valuable and delicate Halloween decorations and ornaments.

♦If you plan to use cardboard boxes from behind a liquor store or supermarket to store your Halloween decorations and ornaments, reconsider this. While they're free storage boxes, cardboard has a tendency to get squashed easily when someone accidentally stacks another box or container on top. Cardboard will absorb moisture from high humidity or water leaks. Plastic will protect from these elements. The bottoms tend to fall out of cardboard boxes with too heavy loads. This doesn't happen with plastic containers. In the end, free cardboard box storage can cost you more when you have to keep replacing or repairing your Halloween decorations and ornaments annually (Not to mention the stress of seeing your most sentimental ornaments damaged next year.).

♦Store Halloween wreaths in plastic or vinyl wreath storage containers made in shapes just for wreaths. You can then hang these wreath containers on a hook in your garage or store them on their sides on top of each other loosely in a plastic container. Don't store more than two or three on top of each other so that their weight doesn't crush each other. And definitely store them in hard plastic containers and not crushable cardboard boxes.

♦You may want to put all Halloween decoration hardware such as wreath hangers or other special Halloween ornament fasteners in one small box (that goes into one of your larger containers). Put it near the top for easy access and label it "Halloween Hardware--Open First". That way you can get started right away next year with your Halloween decorating.