This Is How I Declutter and Store All My Fall Decor Pieces at the End of the Season

When I think of the fall, I picture pumpkins in my living spaces, spiced candles burning in the background, and autumn decor all across my porch. My family and I appreciate all the spooky things.

As you can imagine, this leaves me with a ton of faux pumpkins and a mixture of haunted houses and witches to neatly store and organize before the Christmas season arrives. Thankfully, I’ve figured out a system that makes the process as seamless as possible.

Here’s what you can do to make it easier to store away all your fall decor pieces when it’s time to make the switch to winter decorations.

Before packing away anything, I like to dig through decorations that didn’t make the cut for being displayed in my home. If items are sitting in the attic or stored away in boxes being ignored, consider donating them to a local organization. 

If someone in my family no longer needs a piece of furniture or outgrows a decor item, we take a picture and send it in a text asking if anyone we know is interested in taking it. It’s a way to reuse items without buying new ones. Over time, some decorations just lose the original attraction you had when you bought them, and it’s helpful to let them go to make way for other fall decor treasures.

After I’ve taken the time to re-home any unused decor items, I like to make use of any unused bins in my basement as a result of decluttering. Sometimes you can shift some items around and realize that you already have all the storage bins you need.

If there are none, I purchase these clear 64-quart Sterilite containers. This allows me to see everything I’m storing without guessing what’s in the container. Typically the size is just right for storing on my basement shelves, and the lids are also sturdy with an easy latch to open and close tightly.

Then, I divide my fall decor into two categories : evergreen and Halloween. All my evergreen items include pumpkins, candles, and fall leaves that typically remain out until the end of the season. Basically, anything that doesn’t scream Halloween. These items are the first decorations I pull out to decorate with every fall — and the first ones to be put away, too. That way, everything that’s spooky and more Halloween-focused is grouped in its own bin.

By separating these items in storage, I can feel better about taking decorations down and preparing for a new season. It also saves time not having to sort through all my decor when those first autumn leaves begin to turn the following year.