How to Safely Take Down Christmas Lights

Safely Take Down Christmas Lights

Contributor

By Dave Donovan
eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating:

(23 Ratings)

When the holiday season is over, taking down the decorations often resembles a race to the finish. It's a chore that nobody really likes, and often, the job gets done rather hastily. This is when most of the damage occurs to your Christmas lights. Of course, you won't find out about them until next year--but with a little mindful de-decorating, you will be able to ensure that your Christmas lights (or most of them, at least) will last much longer--and work the next time you plug them in.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Brown paper lunch bags
Zip ties

Step 1

The first thing you have to avoid doing is pulling on the wires when you are taking down your Christmas lights. This is the primary reason for wires being pulled out of their sockets.
Step 2

When removing Christmas lights from your Christmas tree, use the following technique:

In one hand, keep coiling the lights while the other hand is maneuvering the string of lights from the point at which they enter the tree. More than likely, the strands of lights have gotten tangled with each other or within the branches and it may be tempting to tug on them to get them out. Rather than pull, get your hands in there and move the branches to gently untangle the wire.
Step 3

The same applies to taking the lights down from the ceiling or any other difficult-to-reach place, like a rooftop. When you decorated your home, you took as long as you needed to make sure that the Christmas lights were solidly in place, so don't cheat now when you're taking them down. Get the ladder out or get on the roof (ice permitting) and take down the lights, so nothing gets damaged.
Step 4

When storing Christmas lights, I take the cheap approach (it IS after Christmas). I wrap up each string of lights individually, so they are not a tangled mess and keep it assembled by using a zip tie (be sure the zip tie is not too tight, just tight enough to hold the bunch together). Then I place it inside a brown paper bag, the kind used for sack lunches.
Step 5

Next, I take a sturdy box and line up all of the bags of Christmas lights. I don't store anything else inside the box, just lights. If you have an excess of space left in the box, just fill it up with extra newspaper.
Step 6

Label the box "Christmas Lights" and store it some place where a heavier box won't be set on top of it.
Step 7

I know this seems like a simple task, but when you're ready to get your home's decorating back to normal--or you're trying to get the decorations down in time for the big game--it can be easy to forget about preserving your Christmas lights for next year. Taking a few minutes now, will allow next holiday's decorating to go smoother--and you'll be saving money by having your lights safely stored and ready to go.