How to Store Your Ornaments without Buying Anything

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

21 Dec 2008 12:56 PM

Doesn't it break your heart when you dig out your Christmas ornaments only to find that some of them have broken while in storage? Or perhaps you just cant locate that favorite ornament from your childhood or early marriage, despite turning everything upside down. This year, when I opened up our ornament box, we found a couple of little toys that my youngest must have thrown in sometime during the packing up process last year. It is just chaos.

This year, I resolve to be more organized in storing ornaments. I might be tempted to go out and purchase some of those ornament storage containers. In fact, they had an entire ornament storage kit available for sale in BJs, complete with every kind of cubby and device you might ever seem to need for ornament storage, including a plastic green and red tub.

For me, I don't think the ornament storage should cost more than the actual ornaments themselves. And so, I did some brainstorming on the way home from the store to come up with some frugal alternatives.

Egg cartons to store small to medium ornaments that might break or even the non-breakable ones for organization.

Tissue paper to wrap the larger ornaments in. Just save all of the tissue paper that comes your way through gifts. You can also use wrapping paper (the stuff that is ripped and can't be saved for rewrapping of course) to wrap ornaments or as padding in the box.

Baby food jars and plastic baby food containers for ornament hooks. I know a family who discards their hooks and buys new ones each year. To me this is a waste.

Paper towel and toilet paper tubes to store oblong ornaments, strands of Christmas lights and garland (wrap around the outside or stuff inside).

Free boxes to pack everything up. This time of year the retail stores are just brimming with clean empty boxes. The best boxes I think come from either the bookstore (very sturdy), the computer store (large but not too large) or the liquor store (some have inserts for wine bottles that can be adapted for ornament storage).

Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans.

Salt Dough Ornaments

Frugal Christmas Tree Ornaments

Ideas for Your Child's Christmas Tree

Frugal Ornaments

Are you subscribed to the Families.com Frugal Living Blog? With the click of a button, you can receive an email notification anytime a new blog is posted in the Families.com Frugal Living Blog!

Just look to the right of this blog and find the subscription center (it looks just like this picture, although you'll have to find the "real" one just above the category listing ). Click on "Subscribe via Email". You'll be instantly subscribed and the email address that you registered at Families.com with will receive an instant notification whenever we post a new Frugal Living Blog! Don't miss a thing - subscribe now!

Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger