How To Store An Artificial Christmas Tree

One of the biggest perks of an artificial tree is that you get to reuse it each year—no hauling a fresh tree home from the local lot, sprinkling needles everywhere as you drag it into the house. You save time, money, and energy. That is, if you store your artificial tree correctly.

There is no shortage of products on the market these days to make the process a little easier. But before we get into bags, boxes, and bright ideas for making sure your faux fir lasts as long as possible, it all starts with proper prep work. Here's what to do.

1. Disassemble

Take off all lights, ornaments, and other decorations. As tempting as it is to leave them on and pull the tree out next year with no assembly required, you run the risk of breaking ornaments and lights in the process. Stash them in their own organizing containers for easy take down, storage, and reassembly next year.

2. Clean

For the most basic clean-up, you can quickly vacuum and/or wipe down the branches with a microfiber cloth. For trees without lights, you can even fill a spray bottle with dish soap and water and give it a spritz before wiping clean. Alternatively, the experts at The Maids note some trees (made of water-resistant material and without lights!) can even be placed in the shower for a proper rinse. For trees with lights, The Maids suggest a soft-bristled brush, a gentle vacuum or microfiber cloth. No matter your method, just be sure all the parts are clean and dry before placing into storage

3. Pack and Store

Smart storage starts early on—as in when you buy the tree. Aside from height, lights, and flocking (AKA, the fun stuff!) there is one major thing you should consider when buying your artificial tree, and that's how you're going to store it eventually. Sure, that towering tree may fit in your living room, but will it fit in your closet the other 11 months of the year?

Once you have a tree that you know will fit, you can buy a bag—and all kinds of matching containers for ornaments, wreaths, giftwrap, and more—to keep the tree tidy and tucked away. Go ahead and ditch the box the tree came in, as the tree will most likely not compress back down to its original packaged size no matter how hard you try. Bags like those from National Tree Company make storage as easy as zipping up a duffel bag. One pro tip: The experts at Balsam Hill suggest storing your artificial tree with a container of baking soda or fresh coffee grounds as a precautionary measure to avoid the tree taking on a musty smell. Load up your clean and compressed pieces, zip it up, stash it somewhere cool and dry, and you're good to go until next year!