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January 5th, 2011
The one thing I was taught from the beginning was to take care of the ornaments and they will last forever. When dismantling my tree decorations or my fireplace mantel or even my staircase I always following the same steps.
- Get all your boxes ready
- Have tissue paper ready
- Have tape gun ready
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Boxes with tissue lining
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Boxes with tissue lining
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My trusty tape Gun
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You can never have enough tape
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Taking very good care of your lights will pay off huge!
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A string of lights from my tree
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If you leave the little pkg of
lights on the strand you will
always know where it is. I will
show you how to hide the plug
when decorating in
a future blog
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Keeping your lights on either
end makes it easier to not
only store but to ensure all
lights are working . The
first thing you do the following
year is to plug your lights in prior
to placing on the tree
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I find once the strand gets too full I
start laying a second row over the first
this makes it easier to hold.
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Once the strand is folder in your hand
wrap one end of the plug one way around
strand and the other plug in the opposite
direction. Plug one end into the other
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To reinforce - tie curly ribbon or string
or use an elastic to secure
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I like to place each strand of lights
in a freezer bag. This helps to
eliminate the possibility of any
bugs, moisture etc coming in
contact with the lights
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I label the bag so I know when I
purchased the lights and what tree
they are for. DR is dining room
and so on. Note - these bags are
reusable year after year.
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Putting away delicate ornaments
Any ornament that is breakable should be wrapped in its original packaging. If this is not possible than carefully wrapping each ornament in a couple pieces of tissue or bubble wrap should prevent breakage. Place ornaments wrapped in tissue in a size appropriate box. If there is room to spare in the box crumple up tissue or extra plastic bags to fill the empty space. Tape up box.
If you have delicate decorations such as poinsettias or flowers, gently fold back up to its original state as shown below. Start by gently folding in each leaf and petal. Continue until the item is folded up and place in original box covered in tissue. Tape up box.
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Believe it or not, artificial trees do fit back in the box the way they came!!!! I'll show you how.
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| 7 1/2 foot slim Christmas tree |
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| Top Section of tree |
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| Begin by folding all the branches towards the tip and work your way down |
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| Your tree should look like this |
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| Fold all sections together before folding up. |
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| Take each section and gently fold in towards middle. I am laughing as this pictures does not look like I am being gentle but trust me I am |
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| Gently fold in each branch like this |
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| Gently press to ensure the branch is in snug |
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| Branch folds in easily |
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| This is now the top all folded up. Let's continue with the rest of the tree |
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| Now the top is done let's remove the second section |
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| When placing section on table or floor fold up the branches that the section will lay on. This will eliminate damage |
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| Begin folding up as was done with top section |
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| Your second section will look like this |
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| The bottom or last section I find easier to fold up if I flip it over and start at the bottom. |
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| I like to get the first two rows all folded together before I put the section right side up. It will just make the task easier to get the bigger branches done first |
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| Once I flip the tree right side up I continue to fold all the branches together as before. The tree is hinged so now the branches will fall naturally together |
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| Here are all three sections folded up |
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| We are now ready to place the folded tree in the box. Begin with the largest section. Place the branches against one end of the box making sure not to force or bend branch tops |
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| Here we have the middle section of the tree placed on top of the first and largest section. Note the branches are facing the opposite way to the first section |
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| Now the final and smallest section - the top. Lay the top section of the tree in last |
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| This is the Christmas tree stand. Fold up and place in the box |
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| This stand fits nicely along the side. Now fold up the box and tape closed |
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| Here is the box closed and taped with my 7 1/2 foot tree inside. What about the screws for the stand??? |
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| This is a trick we learned years ago. Tape the screws to the top of the box using the tape gun. Run a strip of tape top to bottom and a second strip from left to right. I add another piece just to make sure they won't slip out. You will always be able to locate the screws |
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| Here is a better picture of the screws taped to the box top. Awesome! The same rules follow for any side tree. If you take the extra few minutes to follow these simple steps your tree will last and look wonderful for years. Not to mention fitting the tree back into the box it came in. I hope this helps! I will have tips on setting up your tree and show you how easy it is to get that tree to look as real and amazing as ever. Watch for this. Coming beginning of November 2011. |
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