The air is crisp, the leaves are turning vibrant shades of red and gold and the days are getting shorter. For many of us, these signs mean one thing: It’s time to decorate for the holidays!

The anticipation, though, can turn to dread when you open the closet or attic door and are buried in an avalanche of decorative pumpkins, skeletons, wreathes, garland and various other festive ornaments. Before you shove it all back in there and close the door, consider this: Fall is the perfect time to get your holiday decorations organized before the chaos of the Thanksgiving-to-New Year’s season begins. Here’s how:

Audit your holiday décor

If you have a large collection of seasonal decorations, the thought of going through them all at once may seem scarier than a haunted house. Don’t skip this step, though. It’s important to know what you have so you can organize it properly.

To avoid getting overwhelmed, start small. Begin by gathering the decorations you have for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve or whichever holidays you celebrate. Search your home for every decoration you can find. Some may be hiding in the garage, tucked away on closet shelves or lurking in kitchen drawers. Then, sort them in piles by holiday.

Keep only what you love

Next, imagine you are decorating your home for each of these holidays. Which items bring you joy? Which have become a beloved family tradition? Which never make it out of the box because you really don’t like them?

As you go through the piles of decorations, put them in the donate pile if:

• You keep them out of guilt because they were a gift
• They don’t match your current decorating style
• They remind you of a sad memory
• They are broken
• You have downsized and they are too big for your new home
• You’re only keeping them only because someone paid a lot of money for them once

Holidays should be happy occasions, and decorations are part of the fun. Donate all decorations you don’t love to a charity.

Create order

Now you’re ready to wrangle all the approved décor into their new homes. Organize your decorations by holiday in water-tight containers. Clear, color-tinted bins make contents easy to identify quickly. Use orange for autumn, red and green for Christmas, blue for Hanukkah and so on. If you can’t find colored bins, create color-coded labels for each one.

Use extra-large bins for light items, such as wrapping paper and decorative pillows, and smaller bins for heavy items. Don’t overpack the bins. If you can’t close the lids securely, dust and critters can get in and spoil your favorite things. Then, store the bins in an out-of-the-way location, such as a basement, attic or storeroom so they won’t be in the way. They’ll also be easy to find when the next holiday comes around.

By taking the time to organize your holiday décor in October, you can ensure you have time to focus on what’s important during this season of celebration: family, friends and making new memories.

LEARN MORE:

Download our Holiday Organizing Video Workshop. Click here.