Christmas Ornament Storage

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Today will be a lazy new year's day at our house watching the parade and lots of football on television, while a gentle snow falls outside our windows.  

I'll be taking down our Christmas decorations tomorrow, so I thought this would be a great time to re-share my system for storing all our delicate glass Christmas ornaments. 

I used to have those slotted cardboard honeycomb inserts that came with this box, but every time I went to pick up a layer to get to the one beneath it, the cardboard would fall apart and collapse, and I'd have to put all the slots together again. Frustrating! Plus, if it was full of ornaments and I picked up a layer, the ornaments on the edge spaces would fall out. Even more frustrating!

Last year, I finally decided to create something better.

 I bought a few packages of the shorter and wider clear plastic cups at the grocery store and took the time to hot glue them to the cardboard dividers in my ornament storage boxes. It made storing our ornaments and decorating the tree so much easier. I can just pick up the flat cardboard with the cups securely attached and hold it in one hand, while either putting ornaments directly from the cups onto the tree or taking them off the tree and putting them back into the cups. This system really cuts down on the time it takes to both decorate and un-decorate the tree.

You could create this system for any big cardboard or plastic box you have. Just cut some flat pieces of cardboard, mat board, or display board to fit your box size and then hot glue the cups on securely. Layer as many as will fit in your box.

Once you take the time to create this system, you'll have a sturdy and easy ornament storage system for years to come.

I hope you have a wonderful day today, and best wishes for a new year that's full of happiness, good health, and prosperity for you and your loved ones!

PS: A big Congratulations to our Boise State Broncos for winning their third 

Fiesta Bowl yesterday! 

GO BRONCOS!

Friday Finds

I managed to get my Christmas decorations packed up today, so this afternoon I'm treating myself to some Friday Finds.

  But first, here's a great ornament storage tip: hot glue some clear plastic cups to cardboard and stack them up in a box. I don't wrap my glass ornaments in paper anymore and haven't broken one in years. You can hold the cardboard in one hand and put the ornaments right into the cups as you take them off the tree with your other hand. Super fast. Plus, when you decorate your tree, it's easy to see and find the ornaments you want, and you can put them on the same way. No more bending over the box to pick up each ornament one by one until your back is screaming, "Where's that rum for my eggnog?!" 

Today, for Friday Finds I'm sharing some inspiration for our projects we have planned for around the house in 2014.

Hidden Pond Kinnebunkport

 The project I'm finding the most challenging so far is redecorating our living room. Almost everything needs to be replaced, and all I know for sure is that I want a warm neutral pallet like in this cozy Maine guest cottage. 

Cedar Hill Farmhouse

 The project I'm finding the next most challenging is our master bedroom. It hasn't been touched in years. The walls are still red! We want the living room, dining room, and master bedroom to flow well together, so neutrals for all with slightly different paint colors in each. We'll also be ripping up our bedroom carpet and refinishing the original hardwood floors that still have linoleum on them. Yes, in 1910, linoleum was all the rage, even in bedrooms. (Oh, and by the way, I'm pretty sure our entire master bedroom would fit inside Anita's gorgeous bed. Okay, maybe a little exaggeration, but it is small.) 

Hvitur Lakkris

 Next up is our master bathroom. That one will be easier because we'll be handing the work over to the same fabulous contractor who did our kitchen. Did you snicker over the red bedroom? Well, have a good laugh now because our bathroom is still hunter green! The challenge will be to choose neutral surfaces that will pass our "would it have been seen in this house one hundred years ago" test. Timeless is what we're aiming for.  

Down to Earth Style

 In the other end of the house we'll hopefully get to replacing our old sheet vinyl floors in the family room with wood. We're stuck on the fence (paralyzed, really) between the authenticity and mess of sanding real wood floors or the convenience, but not quite the look we really want, of manufactured hardwood floors. Tough decision!

The Vintage Farmhouse

 Smaller projects on my mind right now are how to replace the storage from the bottom of the dining room hutch where our new kitchen bar is now.  There's no more room in the dining room, so it will have to be incorporated into the living room as either built-ins or a new large piece of furniture.

Daisymaebelle

 I have some furniture to paint this year. There's always furniture to paint!

Bliss Ranch

 As much as I adore my little antique dining room light fixture that was original to our kitchen, it just doesn't give enough light, nor the right kind of light, for our dining room. You know how I love chicken wire, so I'd be a happy camper with Bliss' fabulous chandelier, and I also like the carriage lamp look that's popular now. I feel like the dining room light is one place I can do something fun and trendy if I want to.

So those are a few things that caught my eye today when I went hunting on my Pinterest Boards for some Friday Finds with my next projects in mind. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

I hope everyone has a really terrific weekend and a very

HAPPY FRIDAY!