Essential Oil - Home

 Safe Christmas Ornament Storage

Handling Glass Ornaments

Glass decorations must be handled cautiously and with proper caution. When they are taken out of storage, work on a soft surface as you take off their wrappings. Place a padded tree skirt under the tree to soften the blow if an ornament falls from the tree.

A moveable fence is useful to keep toddlers and animals away from the decorations. If you don’t have a barrier, hang the fragile handmade balls high on the tree, and put less breakable ornaments on low branches. It is helpful to spray a pet repellent under the tree.

If your ornaments are displayed for more than two weeks, position them away from windows. Direct daylight can cause the paint to fade.

Cleaning

The colors painted on antique ornaments were often special family recipes. These were likely to fade. Time has made them even more delicate. They should not be fragrance oil because most old paints are water-soluble. Avoid glass cleaners and other chemical solutions as well. Many modern lacquers are also water-based and will last longer if the same preventive measures are followed.

Gently dust glass tree decorations with a feather duster to clean them. Ostrich-feather dusters are especially useful.

Storage

Sturdy boxes with attached lids are needed for Christmas ornament storage. Many manufacturers make plastic or cardboard boxes. Some are especially designed for Christmas ornament storage and include appropriately-sized internal sections. Plastic boxes are stronger than cardboard vanilla oil but the totally air-tight space they provide is often not good for valuable or antique ornaments. Special acid-free cardboard containers are good for these valuables.

Each ornament should be individually wrapped before being placed in a box. Use acid-free tissue paper, or acid-free paper towels (the kind sold as microwavable). Newspaper is not a good choice; the chemicals in the print -- and in the paper too -- can damage the paint on the decoration.

Place bubble wrap or gently wadded tissue in the bottom of the storage container before you put any wrapped ornaments inside. If the container does not have dividers, use extra tissue between ornaments to provide more protection. Add a last layer on top of the ornaments before closing the box.

Place some silica gel desiccant in every container to absorb moisture. You can purchase it at craft stores.

For more security, store big glass decorations separately from little ones, and glass ornaments apart from wooden or metal ones. Mark all your Christmas ornament storage boxes plainly, so that you won’t have to unpack the lot if you want a particular decoration later in the year.

Even with so much protection, ornaments are still vulnerable to damage from extreme temperatures and/or humidity levels. Those conditions can cause stress fractures over time. Unheated attics and basements are poor locations for Christmas ornament storage. Put your decorations in a closet instead.