Pack seasonal decorations early, sort them by holiday rather than by size, and give glass ornaments compartmented boxes instead of loose padding. These are the first things that can be boxed and the last things you will open, which makes them the easiest win in the whole packing schedule. We move seasonal storage out of basements and attics across Salt Lake City, Utah, on residential jobs year-round, and after more than 10,000 moves, the failures are predictable. A professional moving company can load these safely, though what protects them is the packing you do weeks earlier. Pull the holiday bins down this weekend and start there.
Why Decorations Are the Right Place to Start Packing
Everything else in the house is in use. Decorations are not, unless you are moving in December, which means they can be boxed eight weeks out with no disruption to daily life. Getting several boxes finished early builds momentum, and momentum is what keeps the last week from becoming a scramble.
There is a sorting benefit too. Holiday storage is where broken strands of lights, a wreath that shed half its needles, and three boxes of decorations nobody has used since a previous house all accumulate. Sorting them now means you pay to move what you want rather than what has been sitting in a crawl space. Local moves bill by the hour, so volume you discard is volume you do not carry.
Glass Ornaments Need Compartments, Not Padding
Loose ornaments in a bin full of paper will chip because they move, and moving glass finds other glass. Compartmented ornament boxes or a divided carton solve it properly, since each piece sits in its own cell and cannot travel.
Wrap each ornament in tissue or packing paper before it goes in its cell, and keep a light touch on the delicate ones. Antique glass and hand-painted pieces are thinner than they look, and over-wrapping forces them into the divider. Heirloom ornaments can be wrapped individually and boxed separately from the rest, which is worth the extra carton. The same principle that governs dish packing applies here, and packing dishes and fragile kitchenware covers the cushioning and box-filling technique in more detail.
Not sure how to pack your seasonal decorations without damaging them? Call us at (801) 871-5221, and we’ll help you plan your Salt Lake City move so your decorations stay organized and protected.
Lights, Wreaths, and Everything That Tangles
Lights come off the reel they went on or they do not come off at all. Wrap each strand around a piece of cardboard, a paper towel tube, or a purpose-made reel, then label which part of the house it belongs to. A strand labeled front porch saves an hour next December.
Wreaths and garlands need shape protection rather than impact protection. A wreath box or a large carton with tissue supporting the form keeps it round, and nothing goes on top of it in the truck. Artificial trees go back into the original box when you still have it, and when you do not, sections wrapped separately and tied beat forcing them into a bin that does not close. Larger soft items compress safely, and the wrapping approach in wrapping furniture before loading translates well to bulky decorative pieces.
Sort your bins into these groups before packing:
- Fragile glass and ceramic, packed in compartments
- Lights and anything that tangles, reeled and labeled
- Wreaths, garlands, and shaped items that need their form held
- Soft goods like stockings, linens, and fabric decor
- Outdoor and inflatable items, cleaned and dried first
Outdoor Decorations and the Utah Climate Problem
Inflatables, outdoor light displays, and yard figures all have to be clean and completely dry before they go in a box. Anything packed damp in Utah goes into storage, sits through a temperature swing, and develops mildew that does not come out. Give outdoor items a week in the garage to dry if the weather has been wet.
Cords and stakes get bagged with the piece they belong to rather than thrown together in a bucket. Motors, blowers, and timers should be wrapped separately from the fabric they power, since the hard parts damage the soft ones. Where the new home has less storage, our partial packing service can handle the fragile categories while you deal with the bins yourself.
Labeling So Next Season Is Easy
Label by holiday, then by room or by area of the house. Halloween, exterior beats Seasonal, box 4 by a wide margin when you are standing in a new basement a year from now looking for one specific thing.
Write the label on at least two sides and mark the fragile boxes clearly, since these are boxes a crew will stack, and a clear fragile mark changes where they go in the truck. Note on your inventory which boxes are seasonal, because they can go straight to their long-term spot at the new house instead of being opened during the unpack. That one decision saves a surprising amount of floor space in the first week.
When Decorations Go Into Storage Instead
Households downsizing or moving into a home that is not ready often send seasonal items to storage rather than into the new place. That works well, since these are the belongings you genuinely do not need access to for months.
Climate control matters for this category more than most. Glass, painted finishes, and adhesives on artificial greenery all respond badly to the heat swings in an uninsulated unit through a Utah summer. Our vaults are temperature-controlled, monitored around the clock, and each holds roughly 245 cubic feet, with every item tagged and inventoried so a single box can be found without unpacking the whole vault.
A move that considers your kids from the start tends to go better for everyone in the house. Call (801) 871-5221 or email contact@bestofutahmoving.com to schedule your Salt Lake City move.
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