No one likes taking down those holiday decorations, but mamas? Trust us, you don’t want to be “that one house” with the lights still up on Valentine’s Day. That’s why we’ve got 5 great ideas on how to store your winter holiday decorations and make next year’s light untangling a breeze.

1. Simple, smart storage for Christmas Lights

Tangled light cords are never fun. Fortunately, they will be a thing of the past with this ridiculously brilliant, simple way to store Christmas lights courtesy of decorating (and undecorating!) doyenne Martha Stewart. Bonus: you don’t have to buy anything.

2. Turn holiday cards into craft supplies

Some of us have more of a challenge than others, throwing away those holly jolly holiday cards. Instead, tear off the top half and save the images for the kids’ craft box. Deer and snowflakes and poinsettias are always pretty, and you can even save them for next year’s collages and gift tags. Hey, people pay money for collage sheets!

3. Get a good ornament box

If you’ve got keepsake ornaments that have been in the family for years, or just really want to take care of your ornaments from year to year, you’ll swoon for these fancy ornament storage boxes from Sterling Pear.

Sure, you can get an ugly plastic bin for ten bucks. But this one is built to last and pretty enough to keep out in the den during the holiday season. The black velveteen padding holds 50 ornaments and the tiered sections makes packing and unpacking them a breeze.

4. Or…make a good ornament box

If the idea of a pricey ornament storage box is not your speed, check out Martha Stewart’s DIY ornament box, which uses a plastic bin, paper cups, and your basic glue gun. (Always with the glue gun.) Or, just head down to the liquor store or Trader Joe’s for some of those free cardboard wine boxes with the handy little dividers. Reuse the tissue paper from gift bags to wrap ornaments– newspaper ink can rub off. And wrap lights around empty paper towel rolls and tuck those in, too. One box of Christmas cheer, ready for next year.

5. Put away those ribbons and bows. Gently.

We love this idea via This Old House – grab a hanging gift wrap organizer which you can just hang in the back of closet somewhere. But honestly, it also looks like you could use an old (clean) garment bag and just put those rolls of paper in there as well. Way better than cramming it all into a CVS bag and hoping it doesn’t look terrible come next December.

Don’t miss more storage tips in our archives.