Cleaning up!

The holidays are filled with traditions, but there’s one
you’d probably rather skip: the holiday cleanup. Consider
these tips to make the daunting holiday purge
seem as fleeting as the season.
Wondering what to do with all those leftover holiday catalogs?
Rip ’em up and use the shredded pages to pack away
delicate ornaments and other holiday decorations safely and
securely. If the tissue paper from all those gifts
is too wrinkled to reuse, line boxes with it to
keep your most precious items intact
until next year. Use clear plastic cases
to store decorations, while the
backsides of old greeting cards
make good labels to identify
what’s in each box. And what about storing
all those extension cords and strings of lights?
Wrap them around a gift wrap or paper
towel roll to prevent tangling; bag and label with their corresponding
extension cords so you
know exactly what
light goes where.Do the same for garlands.
Consider boxing electronics by room or by
type to help you avoid stuffing boxes with unrelated
holiday knick-knacks. And last, invest in a tree bag to keep pine
needles from spilling onto your living room rug or foyer floor. Before taking
the tree out of its stand, remove excess water with a turkey baster to ensure that the floor stays dry.

Information provided by www.crs.com