More Bang for Your Buck: Storage Secrets

WSVN -- Broken ornaments, twisted lights -- they can turn holiday decorating into a pricey headache if you aren't organized.

Elizabeth Jelke: "Things are in the car, things are in the storage facility. In my neighbor's house, wherever I can find space, that's where things are shoved."

Elizabeth Jelke feels the pain each year. With three kids, Christmas decorations tend to get shoved all over the place and moved around.

Elizabeth Jelke: "It is especially hard, because there are so many demands on your time, and you are spread so thin that your regular routine is completely disrupted."

Closet queen Beth Levin has some helpful hints on simplifying your holiday treasures that will get you organized and save you money.

Beth Levin: "People over-buy. They have too much stuff, and it gets overwhelming."

So, type up an inventory of what you have. Update it when you get something new.

When you go to the store, take it with you. You'll only buy what you need and won't give in to impulse buying.

If broken ornaments crush your holiday spirit, Beth suggests buying ornament boxes designed to keep your ornaments in place.

Beth Levin: "This saves a lot of space. I mean, the ideal situation when you do buy ornaments is to actually keep the original boxes, because they will be an inexpensive way to keep your items as is."

And if your twinkled lights get tangled every year, Beth has a cost free way of wrapping them up.

Beth Levin: "This is a paper towel holder. What I did was string the lights around and put the cord inside. You shove it in, and you put the cords together. This way they won't tangle."

As for Elizabeth, with Christmas just days away she's already thinking how nice this year's Christmas lights will look on next year's tree.

Elizabeth Jelke: "This is going to be fantastic. I think I am going to be organized this year. I'm on my way to getting organized now. I won't be buying new lights. I am going to preserve the ones I have. And, I am going to recycle as well."

Beth says for larger holiday decorations, consider using under-the-bed storage containers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Beth Levin
"The Closet Queen"
(305) 674-1657
(305) 469-4083
www.closetqueen.com
www.containerstore.com

Contact: lgarrigan@wsvn.com