Q. I can't throw out my holiday decorations and start over every year but that's what I'd like to do. Any help in organizing things like the artificial tree, ornaments, left over cards, wrapping, ribbon, etc. so I can have them next year but not make myself crazy in the mean time?

A. No need to start over every year, especially when you develop good storage habits.

There are numerous products that you can utilize to store your decorations, wrapping paper and the like. If you want a pre-designed solution, two resources to consider are Lillian Vernon and Improvements

They sell containers specifically designed to keep all of your stuff neat, clean, dry and well organized. They offer many options, sizes, shapes and price ranges so you can pick and choose to your own specifications.

If you prefer a more generic solution, you can go to your discounter or home store and peruse their housewares and storage container aisles for the products that most suit your situation. Since organizing holiday decorations is such a prevalent need, they too will have many options for you to consider.

Regardless of how you craft your system, the key is to keep like-items together in a specifically assigned set of containers.

For example, keep all of your bows together in one box, your tree in another. Be sure to label the outside of your containers if they are not transparent. Keep all of your holiday specific containers together in a spot that is out of the way but accessible when you need it.

Lastly, concentrate on decorating, or un-decorating, just one area at a time. Don't feel that you have to do it all at once, or you will add lots of unnecessary stress. Your objective at the holidays is to be joyous, not crazy!