Cleaning up after Christmas isn’t just taking down the tree and
hauling out the
holly. Packing carefully this year can help preserve Christmas
keepsakes for
holiday seasons to come.

“There is nothing mysterious about how to pack decorations,”
said Judy Hibbs,
textile specialist with the University of Georgia Extension
Service. “The most
important thing to remember is to clean before you pack.”

Check your tree skirt before you pack it away. If you had a
holiday party or the
kids had Christmas breakfast around the tree, make sure no food
was dropped on
the skirt.

“Insects are attracted to the food,” Hibbs said.

If the skirt is felt, don’t wash it.

“You can use a hand-held vacuum cleaner or the upholstery
attachment of your
vacuum to clean felt before storing it,” she said. “If it has
food spilled on it,
spot-clean the spill.”

If your skirt is washable, wash it. Then pack it.

Did you pull out last year’s satin ornaments and find them
fuzzy? Did your
grandmother’s favorite ornament get broken in storage?

“If you have family heirlooms, store them in a pillowcase and
then put them in a
cardboard box,” Hibbs said.

Cardboard is better for storage than plastic because it breathes
and lets air get
inside. But make sure your box isn’t contaminated.

“Check the box you store your ornaments in and make sure it
doesn’t show signs
of insect infestation,” Hibbs said. “If it does, get a fresh
box.”

If you have old ornaments or stockings made of wool, put them
away clean. Don’t
use moth balls.

“Moth balls will only repel moths and not other pests,” Hibbs
said. “And when
you get your ornaments out next year, they will smell, and you
won’t have time to
air them out.”

Silverfish will eat cotton, but they’re usually after something
spilled on the fabric,
not the fabric itself.

“Unless you have wool ornaments that may attract moths or carpet
beetles, you
aren’t in much danger of insect damage,” Hibbs said. “Again, the
secret is to keep
it clean.”

The biggest Christmas headache can be untangling all those
strands of lights. If
you organize them when you pack them away, you won’t face that
problem next
year.

“You can buy commercial holders for lights,” said Pat Bruschini,
county extension
agent in DeKalb County. “Or you can use extension cord holders,
garden hose
holders or even pieces of cardboard.”

If you have lights that go certain places in your home, label
them.

“I usually put a stick-on label that tells me where certain
lights go,” Bruschini
said, “whether it’s on the tree, on the mantel or outside.”

When you pack your lights, be careful not to bend and damage the
wires, or they
can be dangerous next year.

If you notice that some lights or wires are damaged when you
bring them in,
throw them away. Lights will be on sale after Christmas, and you
can replace
them at a bargain price.

“If you don’t repack your lights in the box they came in,”
Bruschini said, “cut the
label off the box and put it with the lights so you know the
voltage and wattage if
you need to buy replacement bulbs.”