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Christmas is busy, fun, exciting, and sentimental. We love it all -- all but the part when we have to clean up and put everything away.

While it may be tempting to just throw everything into cardboard cardboard boxes and worry about sorting it out next year, you’ll be sorry when a precious Christmas ornament or ornament gets lost or broken.

Following these 10 techniques will help you…

A. salvage time by getting all your Christmas ornaments organized so it’s quick and easy to find them next year.

B. salvage space by using the right kind of cardboard cardboard boxes that can be easily stacked and organized.

C. salvage cash by storing your Christmas lights and ornaments in a manner that preserves their quality and extends their life span.

10 Quick techniques

1. Use Clear Plastic Storage Containers - These are great because you can see the contents without having to spend time labeling each cardboard box. Plus the plastic helps protect from moisture better than cardboard. When stacking, be sure to place the largest and heaviest cardboard cardboard boxes on the bottom and smaller cardboard cardboard boxes on the top.

2. cardboard box the Beads - Pack the beads in small cardboard cardboard boxes such as plastic shoecardboard cardboard boxes. If you use many strands of beads, larger cardboard cardboard boxes could become too heavy. To keep the beads from becoming tangled, place individual strands in baggies. If you prefer, you can wrap each strand around empty paper towel rolls and tape the ends.

3. Don’t Dog Pile the Christmas Lights - Don’t stack too many lights in the same cardboard box. The cardboard box will become too heavy and the lights on the bottom could be damaged. Lights can easily become tangled so individual strands of lights should be bagged separately or wrapped around paper towel rolls or something similar and placed in plastic grocery bags or large freezer bags.

4. salvage Space with Re-Shapeable ornaments - Bows made of wired ribbon can be flattened and reshaped next year. Wired ribbon garlands and streamers can be tightly rolled. They don’t need to be flattened unless you need to conserve space.

5. Don’t Crush Your Wreaths - Wreaths can be stacked in larger cardboard cardboard boxes but each wreath should be wrapped with bubble wrap. If they aren’t wrapped then they shouldn’t be stacked. Bubble wrap can be purchased where office supplies are sold. Wreath cardboard cardboard boxes can also be purchased and are readily available on the Internet and in stores.

6. Wrap Christmas Ornaments Properly - Ornaments should be individually wrapped in white tissue paper or where greater protection is needed, wrap in bubble wrap. Since most ornaments are lightweight they can be stored in large cardboard cardboard boxes. If you still have the original cardboard cardboard boxes the ornaments came in, then store them in these and then place them in the storage container.

7. Protect Christmas ornaments from Moisture - If you live in a humid climate using plastic containers may not be enough to protect from moisture. Place packets of silica gel in each container to avoid damage from humidity. Silica gel can be purchased at arts and craft stores. If you cannot find individual packets, you can make your own by wrapping several tablespoons of silica gel in white tissue paper and securing with tape. Several packets should be placed throughout the cardboard box.

8. Guard Against Temperature Extremes - Delicate ornaments such as ornaments made with photos or wax can be temperature sensitive. Store them in a climate-controlled area or they could deteriorate, melt or stick together.

9. Avoid cardboard box Identity Loss - Attach a red ribbon or tag to each Christmas storage cardboard box. This will make them easy to identify next Christmas if they have been stored with other cardboard cardboard boxes unrelated to Christmas ornaments.

10. Toss the Trash - Some individuals have a tendency to just “hang onto stuff” in hopes that they’ll find a use for it later. Don’t waste space by holding onto old ornaments you know you’ll never use again (unless of course it has some sentimental significance). Just toss out the trash.

A final note: You may also want to think about Christmas ornament cardboard cardboard boxes and wreath cardboard cardboard boxes for especially fine ornaments and wreaths instead of clear storage containers. They are available in stores and on the Internet. They are very convenient and some are even acid free for even greater protection for your fine collectables. They are more expensive, but for high quality, valuable ornaments this may be a worthwhile investment.

A little organization today will make you feel like a Christmas decorating pro next year. Happy un-decorating!