Thread: Never thought 'd say this but....

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I have too much Halloween stuff in my house!

I have been really bad about not boxing up Halloween stuff that I have picked up throughout the year. I have bags and bags of random stuff. I just cleaned out from under my kitchen table and now the tabletop is completely covered with skulls, birds, chains, costumes....I am really shocked at the amount of little things that I have bought and just done nothing with.

After I finish the kitchen I have to start the living room and I know for a fact that there is a giant box of random halloween yard sale finds. Someone needs to teachme how to organize all these wonderful finds.

I have kind of the opposite problem. I guess I became a Halloweem minimalist this year. I was so sick of most of the Halloween "junk" I used every year that I boxed it all up and gave it to my daughter to use in her home. Now I look around and everything looks so bare and unfinished it kinda makes me sad. Of course, I still probably have 10 times as much Halloween decor as the average person, It just doesn't look the same without Halloween cluttering up every inch of the house!

You're welcome to send anything you don't want to use over my way I actually think I don't have enough

I even found costumes under the table and they still had tags on them. It's a bit out of hand this year.

I swear I seriously need a lesson in how to pack and store stuff in a timely manner. It's just ridiculous. I told myself a dozen times today no more buying any halloween until this is put away but I know I am just lying to myself. Most of it is stuff we will use in our outdoor display so there is no reason for it to be in the house. I found 4 flood lights...I mean why did we even bring them in the house to begin with?

I've got way too much, also. A lot of it I just don't have time to set it up on Halloween day before the TOTs come.

Plus too much old stuff I just don't use. I need to get rid of some of it.......

Me and hubby was discussing this the other day.He built me a room just for halloween well it's about full.I have boxes of unopened items.Or items I opened and put them back in the box.I have enough props and lots of costumes to do many themes so I promised him I wouldn't buy anything but actual supplies and party supplies next year I did include unless it's a real good buy lol.

I love how you put your stuff UNDER the table...I never thought of that. Why that's 18 more square feet of space to store stuff!!! Thanks....LOL!

Ive been going through this same problem, and your mileage may vary but this is what Ive done. For costumes, buy the x-large vacuum bags from Dollar General for $4.25 each. You put all the costumes that will reasonably fit inside and vacuum out the air, It shrinks them to 3X smaller. Ive made loads of space already with just this solution and freed up alot of my plastic totes for other things. Ive put blankets, stuffed toys and clothing/costumes in them so far.

Now that it freed up my plastic totes from clothing, I can put more of my decorations in the shed out back without worry of insects (roaches and spiders) and rats going for my clothing and toys anymore. Ive been keeping all that inside because of the vermin and the totes take up so much space and now I can keep them here because the bags shrink so much and I can put them anywhere. The totes can go out back again with stuff that wont get damaged by bugs.

Ive separated a huge pile for sales and for crafts and what to keep. I make lists to keep track of whats needed for props Im going to make sooner than later and as I go through stuff I pull out whats needed. What isnt needed and can go in storage, goes in the bags and shrunk down or into the totes for the shed.

of course, if you dont have a shed, you can do something else I employ in my bag o tricks. I hide in plain sight. I will take whatever box or tote that fits under a chair (or behind a couch if against a wall, behind entertainment centers if in a corner (making a pocket behind the system), or a box in a corner somewhere that can be covered with a nice cloth. Some people use fabric or paper and cover boxes with that as well that matches your decor. Now it will look like a part of the room and is actually storage. I use my VHS tape box like that, in a corner draped with a cloth tucked around it and switch it up for the holidays. I also use it as a type of mini platform for my decorations as well.

Originally Posted by kittyvibe

Ive been going through this same problem, and your mileage may vary but this is what Ive done. For costumes, buy the x-large vacuum bags from Dollar General for $4.25 each. ... Now it will look like a part of the room and is actually storage. I use my VHS tape box like that, in a corner draped with a cloth tucked around it and switch it up for the holidays. I also use it as a type of mini platform for my decorations as well.

Ooo, didn't even think to check the Dollar stores for the vacuum bags - thanks for mentioning it!! Hopefully will find some & be able to pack costumes and maybe flat decor in a bunch of them. Also like your suggestion for throwing some cloth over a tote to make a mini display platform - now just gotta find the floor space :eyeroll:

I've been using totes too, and have bought shelving to try & organize some of it in the basement (keep like things together on each shelf (Lemax one, indoor decor another, etc.)) Don't know if it helps, but sometimes when I get stuck, I take a long look at the items I'm having a hard time getting rid of, then put it out of sight. If I don't think about it after 48 hours, my feeling is that I really don't need or want it. It kind of helps to see things a little more objectively (though there's still things after that time that I end up keeping). Hope it helps, and good luck with your de-cluttering!

Originally Posted by halloween71

Me and hubby was discussing this the other day.He built me a room just for halloween well it's about full.I have boxes of unopened items.Or items I opened and put them back in the box.I have enough props and lots of costumes to do many themes so I promised him I wouldn't buy anything but actual supplies and party supplies next year I did include unless it's a real good buy lol.

Your hubby must be very supportive of your halloween obession to build you a whole room for it- I am VERY jealous!!

I just put all my stuff into plastic bins and store in the garage-- if I can't see it, it doesn't exist hehe