How to Store Christmas Lights

I used to store my Christmas lights in a couple of large totes. It also held our garland, ornaments, tablecloths and one freaky nutcracker (I hate those things).

Normally, my wife handles holiday setup and tear-down. She loves making the house look homey and festive.

This year…she was out of town when the lights needed to come down. So, it was the first time it fell on my shoulders.

After an hour of trying to shove lights back into their boxes, I decided there must be a better way.

Let’s discuss how to store your Christmas lights now, so they’ll be organized, and safe for years to come.

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How To Choose Christmas Light Storage

Like ornaments, Christmas lights need to be stored in a dry, safe place. As much as we’d like to shove as much as possible into a single tote, don’t pile so much on top of them so they break.

To get ready for putting away your decorations, obtain a box or several boxes and storage containers. Get as many boxes and storage containers as you’ll need to safely store your Christmas lights. This storage method will keep your Christmas lights safe and dry and prevent your lights from breaking or getting damaged.

When taking down the lights, untangle them by laying them flat and stretching them out while removing any twists or kinks. Do not skip this step, no matter what type they are or how you plan to store them. Doing so will damage your Christmas lights or lessen their perfect appearance.

You can even use a hanger to safely store Christmas lights! You can also use a cord reel. If you saved the box that your lights came in, then you can wrap them around the box and place that box inside a storage container or bag for safekeeping.

I’ve stored them neatly wound together in an extra storage cabinet in a pinch. The possibilities for storing Christmas lights are as endless as the human imagination, and you don’t need a lot of money or fancy equipment to store them. Let’s talk about how to store Christmas lights in some of the most popular ways to store them so you can try an approach that works best for you.

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How to Store Christmas Lights

Here are three easy ways to store Christmas lights–some using items you may even already have around your home.

Storing Christmas Lights with Boxes

If you have spare boxes around the house, you can use them to store Christmas lights. You don’t need to purchase any new boxes. If you saved the lights that your Christmas lights came in, then you’re in luck! You don’t need to force the lights back into the box, but you can use the outside of the box to neatly wrap the Christmas lights around it. 

Cut two slits on the outside of the box and insert the string lights into the slit. Then, wrap the cords around the box in a winding manner as you would with a cord reel. Think of a garden hose and how you wrap it up. Wrap your Christmas lights in the same way you would wrap a garden hose around a garden hose cart.

To store Christmas lights with a traditional cardboard box, first, use a razor blade to cut the cardboard into as many rectangles as you’ll need to wrap your Christmas lights, or you can use the sides of the box and simply cut them off. 

Use those rectangles that you cut from the box as your base. Cut two slits on the outside of the rectangles as you would if you were wrapping the lights on the box that the Christmas lights came in. Then, wcrap the cords around the rectangle like a garden hose and wind them around it slowly and neatly. It helps if you move from left to right or right to left. 

Some people wrap tissue paper around the lights after they wind them and before they store them and place the lights inside a storage bin to prevent water damage or crushing. By placing your lights inside of a container after you wrap them, you are sealing out the elements, and by wrapping them around cardboard, you are keeping your Christmas lights tangle-free. This is perhaps the easiest and least demanding options available to store Christmas lights.

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Storing Christmas Lights With Hangers

Hangers are a great way to wrap your string lights if you have extra closet space you want to utilize for storage. Ideally, you’ll want to use the generic clothing hangers with hooks or divets on the right and left side of the top hook. You won’t need to buy any special hangers if you have extras of these lying around the house.

Take one end of the Christmas lights and tuck them into one of the hooks. Next, wrap the lights around the outside of the hanger from right to left like wrapping a garden hose around a cord reel. Think of a needle and thread. You’ll want to wrap the string lights similarly. 

Tuck the other end into the hook on the opposite end from where you started. They should look like thread neatly wound on a reel. If they don’t, start over again until neatly wrapped and ready for storage. 

You can place this hanger in a storage container to keep your string lights safe from damage and the elements. Sometimes, rodents can eat your lights, so storing them in airtight containers necessary. You can also hang the lights that are wound on your clothes hangers.

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Storing Christmas Lights With a Cord Reel

Storing Christmas lights with a cord reel will cost you money, but it’s money well spent. You can find cord reels or power cord holders at any hardware store. Ideally, you’ll want to use one designed for electrical cords. 

First, insert your string lights into the end of the cord reel and carefully wind them up, taking great care not to break or crack any of the lights.

I help save space by by plugging light strings into each other and wind them up as one long, continuous string.  

Personally, I use the ZOBER Christmas light storage bag. It has three wire cord reels that fit snugly inside a heavy fabric bag. Each reel fits up to 80′ worth of lights.

That’s more than enough to store an entire house’s worth of lights in a single storage bag.

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