Packing up Christmas. Quick Tip.

Christmas has come and gone yet again. At this time of year I find myself hopeful for a new year but a little sad as Christmas is my favorite time of year. As I write this, I would like to say I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and new year and pray ya'll have a wonderful 2014!
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    This year while packing up I tried something new, something that I would LOVE to take credit for, but, can't quite do that. Found it on Pinterest, DUH! Every good idea comes from there lately huh? However, I have seen it several times from different pinners and not sure the original. This is one of those, "Um, why didn't I think of that?" ideas. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ARE YOU READY FOR IT????                                      ...                                         So, here it is...                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                            
                                          Using just a few cheap items you can make packing up Christmas ornaments so much easier, and, surprisingly a fun game for the kiddos too.                                                                       
What you need:
--Cardboard sheets cut to fit inside your storage totes (cake boards from the Wilton section at wal mart are cheap and were the perfect size for me...I had some on hand so used them instead of cutting boxes up)
--Plastic punch cups
--Regular plastic solo cups
--Hot glue gun and a good bit of glue sticks
Glue around the bottom of the cups and place on the boards until its full. The ornaments fit quite well into the cups and you can stack them because the cups provide a barrier.
Of course some will not fit perfectly but most ornaments will go pretty easily into the cups. 

The kids putting ornaments away with me!

Another quick tip: Place each strand of lights in a large zip lock to avoid DE-tangling the strands next year.