Those long strands of lights for your tree or home are easy to deal with right out of the packaging but can become tangled and a mess unless stored properly. This is a guide about storing Christmas lights.
Solutions: Storing Christmas Lights
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Like a lot of you, I had trouble sorting out my Christmas lights when I got them out of storage. I bought some chenille pipe cleaners at the hobby store. I wind the length of the lights from my elbow to the palm of my hand, over and over, for each set. I then have a nice neat circle. I take three or four of the pipe cleaners and I wrap them around the lights, about six inches apart. This keeps the lights from tangling and the chenille keeps from scratching the lights.
One cardboard tube from wrapping paper is the perfect size for one strand of Christmas lights. Cut a slit at the end of the tube and slide the end of the light strand into the slit, then start wrapping the light strand tightly around the tube.
This is a great way to store the lights, but you will find it handy the next time you are ready to decorate the tree, too. You unravel a small bit of lights at a time, string them on the tree and simply pass the tube to a helper on the other side of the tree who does the same.
Get ready for next Christmas while you pack away the decorations this year. Start with your Christmas tree lights, replace non-working bulbs. Wrap strands in a loop, sort of like wrapping up the garden hose, and rubberband each strand. Folded net lights should be loosely stored in paper boxes. Write out box contents using leftover self-adhesive gift tags. The tags are easy to spot in dim basements. Next Christmas won't have you, "bah, humbuging" as you unpack your lights.
Roll up a thin section of newspaper to use as a tube to wrap your holiday lights around. They stay organized, compact, and it makes it easier to string lights right off the 'tube'.
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Storing Christmas Lights