Hope your Christmas was absolutely wonderful! We spent the holiday with family out of town and afterwards came home to a dry, brown tree. But, it was beautiful and fragrant while it lasted.
When they’re on the tree or hanging from an eave, twinkling Christmas lights can seem almost magical in their appearance. Once you have to put them away, you have to be careful. Otherwise, you’ll only meet a tangled mess when you fish them out of the closet next holiday season. Not to worry – we’re going to learn exactly how to store icicle Christmas lights!
We undid the tree, taking off all the ornaments that this sweet girl helped put on.
Threw out the popcorn strands and then unwound the tree of it’s lights. This year though, the Mr. wasn’t around to wind my lights up nice and tight like he does so well.
How Do You Put Christmas Lights in Storage? Where Should Christmas Lights be Stored?
It’s best to keep your Christmas lights somewhere safe like your garage, attic, or even a weatherproof shed. Just make sure you perform any needed roof repair, as you more than likely will not notice leaks until it’s too late and you’ll have to get roof restoration in a hurry. It would be better to hire a roofing contractor to ensure that the roofing repair is properly done.
Mostly, you want to make sure that you don’t get your Christmas lights wet and that you don’t end up with any accidentally broken bulbs from a bump or fall. Here’s Continued way on how to deal with those if you lack knowledge to avoid any issues ahead.
If you’re looking for a roofing company, you may want to visit Prestige Works Roofing.
What You’ll Need to Store Icicle Christmas Lights:
- Cardboard box or spare cardboard
- Scissors
- Icicle Christmas lights
- Storage container
- This can be any storage tote or box that you might use to store extra Christmas supplies. The only thing to really watch out for here is to make sure that your cut cardboard will easily fit into the storage bin.
How to Store Icicle Christmas Lights Step-By-Step
Step 1: Remove and Lay Out Your Christmas Lights
The first thing you want to do is make sure you have your icicle Christmas lights set aside and ready to put away. It helps to not only remove them from your tree but taking the time to untangle them can save time later as well.
Oops. So, I grabbed some pieces of cardboard and put them to work.
Step 2: Preparing the Cardboard
Now, you’ll need the cardboard box we talked about earlier. In this step, we’ll focus on making the cardboard organizers you’re going to use.
This is easiest to do if you have a spare cardboard box lying around because you can simply cut off the wings that fold to make the bottom and top of the box. If you’re using scrap cardboard or trying to repurpose the rest of the box, you’ll want to cut out a rectangular piece that is long enough to fit your icicle Christmas lights on when you wrap them later.
Step 3: How to Wrap Christmas Light for Storage?
Once you have your icicle Christmas lights set aside and your cardboard pieces measured and cut out, you’re ready to get started on the actual job to store icicle lights.
All you really have to do is wrap them around the cardboard. You should make sure to start with one end and start wrapping it around at the top.
As you continue to wrap them, the cord doesn’t have to directly overlap every time. If you vary it just a bit, you can keep the wrap closer to the cardboard rather than bulging out as much as you continue to wrap the lights.
This will help make sure you can fit multiple cardboard organizers in your container side-by-side. Once you’re done, you can place your icicle Christmas lights in their storage bin. Then, you can store these bins in a storage van from companies like https://www.boomboxstorage.com/storage_unit_prices along with the other stuff that you won’t be using for a long time.
And working they are! All my Christmas lights are now organized and stored away.
How to Store Christmas Lights with a Clothes Hanger
Step 1: Hook the Cord on the Strap Holder
To keep your lights in place, start by hooking the ends of the lights on the holders for shoulder straps on the hanger.
Step 2: Wrap Your Lights
You’ll want to start wrapping the lights vertically but make sure that you hold them taut as you do so. This will help prevent your tidy wrap from coming undone later.
How to Store Christmas Lights with the Box
Step 1: Keep the Box
Many people toss the box their Christmas lights came in. So, the first step of this alternative is to make sure that you keep the box on hand for later.
Step 2: Wrapping the Lights
Before you start to sweat too much, don’t worry! You don’t have the seemingly impossible task ahead of wrapping the lights just right to fit back in the box.
Rather, just wrap the lights around the box.
How to Store Christmas Lights with a Cord Reel
Step 1: Get a Cord Reel
If you don’t have one, you’ll want to get a cord reel like this one. These are often used for long extension cords but can work for Christmas lights too in a pinch.
Step 2: Wrapping Your Lights
Now, all you have to do is wrap the lights around the cord just like you would an extension cord or even a hose you were getting ready to put away.
How Can You Use LED Icicle Lights
The most obvious answer to this question is Christmas, of course. However, icicle lights are often beautiful – surely too beautiful to sit in an attic for most of the year! Instead, you could use them to add some soft lighting to a bedroom or dorm, although remember to have an extension cord handy if you want them near the ceiling.
If you want something a little more creative, you could even fashion these lights into a lighting fixture of their very own.
How to Put Christmas Lights on a Tree
While everyone decorates their Christmas tree a little differently, there are some rules you can follow when putting on the lights. To start, take the time to make sure all the lights are working – it’s easier to solve this now than to realize after they’re on the tree.
Once you’re ready, start at the top of the tree. Make sure that as you wrap the lights, you intertwine them both above and below the branches.
Do this as you work your way down to the bottom of the tree. If you have extra in the end, hide it in the back of the tree.
How to Make Christmas Lights Blink or Stop Them from Blinking
If you have blinking Christmas lights already, you can usually control them through a control panel or button. If you don’t, you can switch out some of the lights for red-tipped bulbs, creating a flashing circuit.
If you want your Christmas lights to stop blinking, find out which lights blink and replace them with standard bulbs, not ones with a red or silver tip.
How to Hang String Lights Indoors Without Nails
There are plenty of reasons you might not want to nail your string lights into the walls. Luckily, there are a variety of alternatives. If you like to learn more about it, check more tips here.
Pushpins are a great choice for a temporary and much smaller hole than a nail. Plus, since many Christmas lights feature twisted wires, a pushpin fits in perfectly. On the other hand, if you don’t want to leave a mark at all, you can look for damage-free adhesive hooks.
Conclusion
Did you enjoy this tutorial? If you did and found these ways to store your Christmas lights helpful, make sure to let us know in the comments and share this article with your friends!
We are all ready to party! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!