Old Egg Cartons Are the Secret to Storing Christmas Ornaments

Now that you’ve spent a fortune on Christmas gifts, been forced to smile while hosting dozens of houseguests, and had to clean up all the holiday leftovers, the last thing you want to deal with is taking down the Christmas tree. Luckily, we’ve discovered a simple hack that will make storing Christmas ornaments a breeze — and it only requires a few empty egg cartons.

If you’re like us, at the end of the holiday season, you just toss your ornaments in a giant box and cross your fingers that they’re still in one piece next Christmas. We don’t blame you for not wanting to spend hours searching for the ornament bins (which you might have accidentally thrown away) or playing a game of Tetris when you try to fit dozens of different sized boxes in a larger container. No, thank you!

So, instead of adding clutter by saving the packaging from your Christmas decorations, just grab the leftover egg cartons sitting in your recycling bin. (If you’ve been baking up a storm for the holidays, you probably have a ton of empty cartons just lying around.) Then, simply plop your ornaments in the egg carton’s dimples and snap the lid shut. The uniform shape of all the cartons will make it easy to stack them in a box, shove them in the attic, and forget about them until next year.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images) 

And the best part is you won’t have to worry about your precious, homemade ornaments taking a tumble and breaking. The cardboard or Styrofoam packaging will nestle those shiny baubles until you’re ready to hang them in another 12 months. 

But what about those larger ornaments that are too big to fit in a normal egg carton? This craft requires a few extra minutes, but all you need to do is grab some plastic cups from the pantry. Drop the ornaments in the cups and place the cups side by side in your box. If you run out of space and you’re worried about stacking the ornaments on top of each other, grab a piece of cardboard (or even a few stacks of old newspaper), lay it down on top of the cups, and repeat the process. Wrapping your sparklers with newspaper — or even leftover wrapping paper — before putting them in the cups will add an extra layer of protection. Pretty neat, huh?

Now, all that’s left to do is leave your naked Christmas tree at the curb, go back inside and enjoy a glass of wine! New Year’s resolutions can start tomorrow, because you deserve every sip.

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