Taking Down the Tree (So Next Year Is Easy)

Putting up the tree is a party. There's music, hot chocolate, and everybody fighting over who gets to hang the pickle ornament. Taking it down is a different story. The music's off. The kids have vanished. And it's just you, alone in the living room, stuffing ornaments into whatever box is closest and shoving the lights into a bag in one giant knot that next year's you will have to untangle.

Here's the thing: how you take down the tree decides how easy next Christmas will be. Spend one extra hour packing it right, and next year's decorating goes twice as fast. Here's how to take down the Christmas tree in the right order, pack every ornament so it survives, store the lights so they come out tangle-free, and get rid of a real tree without a trail of needles to the curb.

When to Take Down the Tree

Whenever you're ready. Some families take it down the day after Christmas. Some wait until New Year's Day. Many wait until January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, which marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas.

One exception: a real tree that's drying out. Once the needles are falling every time someone walks by and the branches feel brittle, the tree has become a fire hazard. Take it down soon, no matter what the calendar says.

Before You Start: Set Up for Success

• Bring up every empty bin and box before you take down a single ornament, and line them up near the tree.
• Swap in the everyday decor. The candlesticks, art and throw pillows you packed into the holiday bins in November come out now, and the holiday decorations go back in.
• Gather your supplies: tissue paper, zip-top bags, sturdy cardboard, masking tape, a marker, scissors and a trash bag.
• Recruit help. Taking down the tree goes three times faster with three people, and it's not nearly as sad.
• Put on music. It worked when you put the tree up.

Take It Down in the Right Order

1. The topper. Take it off first, carefully, so nothing knocks into it. Use a step stool, not a dining chair.
2. The ornaments, from the top down. The breakables come off first, while the tree is still stable and nobody's bumped it yet.
3. The garland, ribbon and beads, unwound in the reverse direction from how they went on.
4. The lights, last. Unplug them, then unwind them from the top down, wrapping as you go (see below).
5. The tree skirt, once the tree is bare.
6. Then the tree itself.

How to Pack Christmas Ornaments

• Use divided boxes for glass and treasured ornaments. A store-bought ornament storage box works, and so do free options: egg cartons for small ornaments, a liquor-store box with its cardboard dividers, or plastic cups glued to a sheet of cardboard.
• Wrap the fragile ones in tissue paper. Skip newspaper, which can leave ink smudges.
• Heavy on the bottom, light on top. The ceramic Santa does not belong on top of the blown-glass birds.
• Keep the hooks together. Pull the hooks off and put them in one zip-top bag, so they don't tangle up the ornaments or poke a hole in a box. You'll know exactly where they are next year.
• Pack the kids' ornaments together, each child's in a labeled bag or box. When they're grown, you can hand over the whole box.
• Give heirlooms their own box, with a note about where each one came from. Your kids will want to know someday.
• Toss what's broken and donate what you didn't use. Don't pack it to decide next year. You won't want it any more in 11 months.

How to Store Christmas Lights Without Tangles

1. Test each strand while it's still on the tree, or plug it in before you pack it. Toss strands with frayed wires or cracked sockets. Strands that only need a bulb or two go in a bag labeled "fix."
2. Wrap each strand around a rectangle of sturdy cardboard. Cut a notch in one end to hold the plug, so the strand can't unwind. A clean coffee can, a hanger or an empty wrapping paper tube work, too.
3. Label each strand with its length and where it goes: "tree, white, 100 lights" or "porch railing."
4. Store the lights in their own bin, with the extension cords, timers, light clips and spare bulbs.

The Rest of the Christmas Decorations

• Garland: Coil it loosely around a wrapping paper tube or your arm, and store it in a bag or bin, not under heavier things.
• Wreaths: Store them in a wreath box or hang them on a hook in a closet, so they keep their shape. A wreath at the bottom of a bin comes out flat.
• Tree skirt and stockings: Wash or spot-clean them first, then fold them with tissue paper. Leftover food and sticky fingerprints attract bugs in storage.
• Nativity sets and Christmas villages: Pack them in their original boxes if you still have them. If not, wrap each piece in tissue and pack them in a divided box.
• Candles: Keep them out of a hot attic, where they'll melt and warp.
• Battery-operated decorations: Take the batteries out. Batteries left in leak and corrode, and the decoration won't work next year.

Label Every Bin So Next Year Is Easy

"Christmas" is not a label. You already know it's Christmas stuff. That's why it's in a box. Tell next year's you what's actually inside:

• Label by room: Mantel, front porch, dining table, kids' rooms. Each bin goes straight to its room next year.
• Label the contents: "Mantel garland, stockings and stocking holders."
• Label the order: Number the bins in the order you'll need them. The tree stand, lights and tree supplies are Bin 1.
• Make an "Open First" bin: Lights, extension cords, ornament hooks, the tree skirt, the topper, scissors and spare bulbs. When it comes out first next year, you're decorating in minutes.

Leave yourself a note. Tape a list inside the "Open First" bin lid: what you ran out of, what you never used, and what to buy on sale before next Christmas. Here's how that note pays off: Unpacking Christmas Decorations Without Losing Your Mind.

Taking Down an Artificial Tree

• Dust it first. Run a vacuum with the brush attachment over the branches, or wipe them with a damp microfiber cloth, so you don't pack a year of dust away with it.
• Fold the branches up section by section, from the top down.
• Label the sections with masking tape, A, B and C, if they're not already marked.
• Pre-lit tree? Note any sections that weren't lighting up, so you can fix them before next December, not during it.
• Store it in a tree storage bag or its original box, in a cool, dry spot.

Getting Rid of a Real Tree

1. Strip it completely. Every ornament, hook, light, strand of tinsel and the tree stand. Most recycling programs won't take a tree with anything left on it.
2. Bag it before you move it. Slide a tree disposal bag or an old sheet around the trunk while it's still in the stand, and pull it up over the tree. Then carry it out, and the needles stay in the bag instead of on your floor.
3. Drain the stand first, with a turkey baster and a towel.
4. Check your city's tree pickup. Many towns collect trees curbside in the first weeks of January, or have a drop-off spot where they're turned into mulch. Some ask you to cut the tree into shorter pieces.
5. Never burn it in the fireplace. Christmas trees burn fast and hot, which can cause a chimney fire.

Then vacuum the needles with the hose attachment, not the beater bar. More needle tips: The Christmas Morning Cleanup Plan.

Where to Store It All

Pick a spot with steady temperatures, like a closet, a basement shelf or the coolest corner of the garage. A hot attic melts candles, warps ornaments, and turns tape into goo. Stack the bins with the "Open First" bin in front, and the dining table bin in the back. For more on storage, see these Christmas organizing ideas.

Give Everyone a Job

• Little kids: Take down the unbreakable ornaments on the low branches, and pack their own ornaments in their own box.
• Big kids: Pull the hooks off the ornaments, and wrap the lights around cardboard.
• Teens and grown-ups: The topper, the glass ornaments, the step stool jobs and hauling the tree.

Promise a reward when the last bin goes into storage: pizza, a movie, or the very last of the Christmas cookies.

Taking Down the Christmas Tree: Quick Answers

When should you take down the Christmas tree?

Whenever you're ready. Many families take it down after New Year's Day or on January 6. Take a real tree down sooner if it's dropping needles and the branches feel brittle, since a dry tree is a fire hazard.

What order do you take decorations off the tree?

Take off the topper first, then the ornaments from the top down, then the garland, and the lights last. Remove the tree skirt once the tree is bare.

How do you store Christmas lights so they don't tangle?

Test each strand, then wrap it around a rectangle of sturdy cardboard with a notch cut in one end to hold the plug. Label it, and store it in a bin with the extension cords and spare bulbs.

What do you do with a real Christmas tree after Christmas?

Remove every decoration, light and the stand, then check your city's tree pickup or drop-off program. Many towns turn old trees into mulch. Never burn a Christmas tree in the fireplace.

Keep Going

Put Christmas away the smart way with these related guides:

• Christmas Organizing Ideas: Gifts, wrapping and decorations, sorted.
• Unpacking Christmas Decorations: Without losing your mind (or a weekend).
• After-Holiday Cleaning: An easy green cleanup guide.
• How to Organize Storage: So you can find the holiday bins next year.
• Where Do I Put All This New Stuff?: Make room for the gifts.
• The Christmas Morning Cleanup Plan: Wrapping paper, recycling and pine needles.
• January Cleaning Checklist: 15 things to clean and reset.
• The Clean-House Resolution That Actually Sticks: 15 minutes a day.