Start with the tree, not the boxes

Christmas comes down far faster than it goes up, and the temptation is to clear the whole room in one frantic afternoon. Resist it. Working from the top down, at a steady pace, keeps breakages down and means you actually know where things have gone. Lay an old sheet or a flattened cardboard box under the tree before you begin — pine needles, glitter off the cards and stray strands of tinsel will land on it, and you can bundle the lot up at the end rather than chasing it round the carpet for a fortnight.

Take the decorations off first, branch by branch, and pop the hooks and ties into a small tub as you go. Anything you find that is chipped, snapped or missing its loop can go straight into the recycling or the bin now — there is no sense in storing rubbish. If you have a real tree, check your council's arrangements for collection or take it to a local recycling point where it will be chipped; most will not take it in the general waste. Artificial trees benefit from a good shake outdoors, a wipe with a barely damp cloth, and a proper dry before they are packed away. Once everything is out, give the floor a thorough vacuum, working into the corners and along the skirting where needles always seem to hide.

Wrap lights around cardboard, not your elbows

Tangled lights are the single most annoying part of next December, and they are entirely preventable. Cut a piece of stiff cardboard — a cereal box or a delivery box lid is ideal — to roughly the size of a hardback book, then cut a small notch into each short end. Wrap each set of lights lengthwise around the card, tucking the plug into one notch and the last bulb into the other. One set, one card, every time.

Before you coil anything, plug the lights in and check them. If a set has a blown bulb, replace it now while the spare is still in the packet; if a set has finally given up, let it go rather than storing it for another year. LED sets survive storage well, but older filament sets can become brittle, so handle them gently and keep them away from sharp edges. Coil extension leads, timer plugs and adaptors separately, secure each with a rubber band or twist tie, and keep them together in one clearly marked bag. It saves a great deal of scrabbling about next winter.

Baubles in egg boxes and other brittle-busting tricks

Cardboard egg boxes are perfect for small and medium baubles. One bauble per hollow, lid closed, and you have instant, free, stackable protection. Larger or glass decorations need more care: wrap each in tissue paper or the paper it arrived in, then stand them upright in a shallow box with dividers made from stiff card. Never pile heavy ornaments on top of delicate ones, and keep the sentimental pieces — the ones the children made, the ones handed down — gathered together in a single clearly marked box so they are easy to find and easy to keep safe.

• Tinsel and garlands: fold or roll loosely and store flat; cramming them into a tight bag crushes them out of shape.
• Wreaths: use a box slightly larger than the wreath, or hang it on a sturdy hook in a dry place.
• Candles: keep in a cool, dark spot, away from radiators and hot pipes, and out of reach of curious pets and small hands.
• Fabric items: wash stockings, tree skirts, table runners and napkins before storing, never after.

Label like you mean it

A box marked "Christmas" tells you nothing in eleven months' time. Write what is actually inside, and where it goes. Try "Tree — lights, 2 sets, warm white", "Baubles — box 1 of 3, glass", "Table — crackers, candles, napkins". Put the label on the short end of the box so it is readable when everything is stacked and you are peering into a cupboard with a torch. A roll of masking tape and a marker pen will do the job perfectly well.

It also helps to note anything that needs attention: a set of lights that flickered, a bauble that needs gluing, a box that has seen better days. Tape a master list inside the cupboard door, or take a quick photograph of the finished stack on your phone. And if something has not been out for two Christmases and is still in good condition, consider passing it on rather than storing it again — but make that decision in November, when charity shops are actually looking for Christmas stock.

Store in the dry, not just the spare

Damp, not space, is what ruins Christmas decorations. Lofts are tempting, but they swing from baking to freezing and often suffer condensation; sheds and unheated garages are worse still. If you have no choice, use rigid plastic boxes with well-fitting lids rather than cardboard, which soaks up moisture and attracts silverfish. Raise boxes off the floor on a pallet or shelf, keep them away from outside walls, and tuck a couple of silica gel sachets into each one.

A genuinely dry cupboard is the best home: under the stairs if it stays dry, the top of a wardrobe, or a spare bedroom cupboard. Keep everything in one place, return things to the same spot each year, and check the boxes in spring and autumn for signs of damp, mice or mould. Avoid stacking anything directly against radiators or hot pipes, as heat will make plastics brittle and can soften candle wax. A cedar block or a lavender bag in the cupboard does no harm either, and makes the whole ritual of opening the boxes next year a good deal more pleasant.

A quick reset before the boxes go away

With the decorations down, do the jobs that are far easier now than in November. Shake the tree sheet outside and give the tree area a second going-over with the vacuum. Wipe down windowsills and shelves where tinsel and cards have sat, as there will be a fine film of dust and fingerprints. Clear out the fridge of leftovers and out-of-date chutney, wipe the kitchen surfaces, and gather the stray chocolates, batteries and instruction booklets into their proper homes.

Then give the rest of the house a ten-minute tidy, room by room, with a basket in hand: anything that belongs somewhere else goes back where it lives, and anything that has no home gets one or leaves the house. It is not a deep clean, and it does not need to be. It is simply the difference between starting January in a calm, ordered space and starting it tripping over a half-empty box of crackers. Do the work now, label it well, store it dry, and next December you will open the cupboard and find everything exactly as you left it — which is the nicest Christmas present you can give your future self.