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Storing Christmas Lights

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Storing Christmas Lights

From:

Martha Stewart Living

Next year, don't spend a minute sorting through tangled webs of holiday decorations. Keep lights organized by winding each strand around a piece of cardboard cut to fit in a plastic bin (our pieces were 20 by 14 inches). Use scissors to cut a 1-inch slit at the top of one long side and the bottom of the other long side of the cardboard. Secure one end of the lights in a slit, wind lights around, and secure the other end in the other slit. Store stacked light between layers of bubble wrap in bins.

First Published: January 2006

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1-3 of 3 comments (last comment added 1/14/08 at 7:47 a.m. ET)

1.

1/14/08 at 7:47 a.m. ET

Oh No! I've only just read this now (14 Jan) and I have put all my lights away. Of course they are dumped into boxes. Separate boxes so it's not that bad. :) I will definitely do this next year. Excellent idea!

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2.

1/04/08 at 7:38 p.m. ET

Fantastic! My tree is pre-lit but I will do this with my strings of beads. It took about an hour to untangle them last December! Tangle no more! Thanks.

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3.

1/04/08 at 8:36 a.m. ET

Excellent idea and so easy to do! We'll appreciate it even more next Christmas, when we carry the cardboards to wherever lights are to be strung, and simply unwind! Another tip: with marker, print lighting location right on the cardboard ("Tree", "Front Porch" or "Deck"). How much smarter than heaps of unlabeled, tangled lights shoved in plastic bags! It's another Good Thing from Martha!!

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