The Christmas Closet

I have been spending a little bit of time in here the last few days, so I thought it was about time I'd share.

As I mentioned in the basement post a few weeks ago, we had a small (ahem) critter problem in our basement, and I needed to remove some stuff for safekeeping.  The thought of mice crawling through my Christmas things and leaving crap everywhere was really upsetting, so it was the first of the stuff to go 'elsewhere'.  Not that there is that much 'elsewhere' in this house, but there was the closet in Jordan and Owen's room that was only a third the way full of extra clothing tubs - sizes too small or yet to grow into.  I put them up high on the shelves in the family closet - and viola!  S - P - A - C - E appeared. (See?  If you put every one's clothing into one closet, you can designate other closets for other types of storage....)

Before I moved things into the closet I did a huge purge.  Then I spread everything out in the living room (this took the better part of a day), and bundled like items into bins and then printed off labels to tape onto the bins.  For instance: in the Christmas tree bin, there is the artificial tree stand, the living tree stand (just in case we ever get one again), the rubber pads that go under the stand to keep the tree from skidding off of it's platform, the tree skirt, the nylon string used to anchor it to the wall so the cat doesn't topple the tree over, all of the colored tree lights (each string in a separate plastic grocery bag) and the large spool of ribbon that gets wound around the tree.  All of the basic things needed for the tree set-up is in one bin.  So I kept filling bins and making labels.

* Outdoor lights (the strings and clips)
* Outdoor lights (the lit garland and clips)
* Craft supplies (for ornaments or whatever)
* Christmas cards (address list, old keepers, the left-overs, all of the past letters, etc..)
* Advent calendars and stockings
* Nativity collection
* Cookie tins.  (This embarrassingly enough took an entire tub)
* Linens and dishes : hand towels, melamine kid plates, Santa mugs, table runners
* Candles
* Books
* Toys set aside for Toys for Tots - which I add this and that to as the year goes by
* Santa Collection
* Gift bags, wrapping paper and bows

And then I put it all in - and crammed it absolutely full - including the tree.  We don't need access to this closet hardly ever, so Owen's bed is up against it in order to make more room in the bedroom he shares with Jordan.  It's nice that we can treat it like it was a wall, rather than having to keep that space clear.

So I haven't been in this closet at all since last January, except to add a couple of new items.  My mom brought back a Santa for me from Australia in February, and I inherited my grandmother Betty's Mary & Joseph after she passed away in April.  It was so nice to just open the doors and grab the specific bin I was looking for as I started decorating this past weekend.  I'm not feeling up to par yet, and I could only do a little bit and then rest for a long while.  I pulled out the Advent calendars on the first of December.  I went back and pulled out my Santas, nativity sets, and the tree box yesterday.

Here are some more pics...

Oooo!  Look!  Space to add stuff!!  (uh-oh)

I am glad that I took these pictures before I pulled stuff out, because now I can see how I have to cram it all back in there.