How to Store Christmas Lights

This week, many people are wondering how to store Christmas lights. In fact, now that we’ve all decided on the proper time to take down the tree, most of us will be tackling this dreaded task at some point in the days ahead. And while it’s not nearly as fun as putting the tree up and decorating every inch of it, taking down your tree can be rewarding in its own way — especially if you have a good strategy that sets you up for success for next Christmas.

That brings us to this new cheap and easy Christmas hack we just discovered and can’t help but share with the world. You know how tangled and annoying those long, unwieldy strands of lights can be? Untwisting them from your tree is one thing; storing them for next year is quite another. The last thing you want to find when the holidays roll around next time is a knotted mess of wires that you have to spend hours unraveling. And if you give up and throw the whole thing away, you’ll be stuck having to run out and buy new lights (err, not that that’s happened to us or anything). No, learning to store Christmas lights properly is the much smarter move.

How to Store Christmas Lights With a Hanger

As far as stressful holiday-related tasks are concerned, this one’s actually not a doozy; all you need is a plan, like this one we found on YouTube from HomeTalk. The only supplies required are your lights and a clothes hanger (or a couple of hangers if you have a large amount of lights). From there, the steps are quite easy.

First, start at the groove in the shoulder of the hanger. Hook one end of the light through the groove, and begin wrapping the lights around the hanger.

Then, wind or wrap the full length of your light strand around each side of the hanger. Grab the strand’s plug (or other end piece) and be sure to leave it hanging out for easy access for next year.

Finally, store the wrapped hanger with the rest of your Christmas decorations by laying it atop other non-fragile items. If you have multiple hangers to put away, stack them in an orderly pile or side by side in a neat row inside a box to make sure they’re ready to go next Christmas season.

If you’re still not convinced, this quick clip from HomeTalk shows how quick and simple this holiday hack really is. We guarantee: Once you try storing your lights this way, you’ll be doing it for years to come (and probably bragging about it to your friends). Watch the video to see how quickly the whole task can be done.

How easy is that? If you’re the chief tree-taker-downer at your house, you just saved yourself several precious minutes (both this year and next) untangling wires and tiny fragile lights. And with the time you save taking down your winter decor, you may want to sit down and have a relaxing glass of wine. You’ve earned it.

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