How to Pack Up Christmas

How to Pack Up Christmas

The Holidays are over and now it’s time to pack it up! Unless you are like my Aunt Wanda and leave the tree up until March, most of us take down the Christmas decorations around the first week of January. In Charlotte, the city will pick up your natural Christmas tree on the curb during their regular scheduled trash pickup- starting the week of January 5^th. So it makes sense to get all the decorations down before then. 

Here are some tips from the professional packers at TNT Moving Systems:

Ornaments: Try to keep the original packaging for ornaments. Storing the ornaments in the original packaging can help protect them from damage. If the packaging has already been tossed, then place each ornament in a sandwich bag and use partitioned cardboard boxes like wine or liquor boxes. If you are packing homemade dough or macaroni ornaments, store them in an empty cookie tin. This will help protect the food-based ornaments from humidity and rodents. 

Lights: First off, try to label each set of lights near the plug with the type and number so that you can easily replace bulbs next year. To store Christmas lights, wrap them around a piece of sturdy cardboard or an old coffee tin. This will keep them from tangling up and will be easier to trim the tree next year. 

Lawn Decorations: Big, Bulky lawn decorations can be tricky to store. And they tend to gather dust all year round until you use them again. To help solve this problem, pack the oddly-shaped decorations in zippered garment bags from suits or dresses. You can then hang them on a nail in your garage or attic. If storing things in your basement, be sure to store in plastic containers that have a tight seal. This will help keep moisture out. 

Linens and Stockings: The last thing you want to do before putting away Christmas decorations is laundry- but the best way to keep your fabric decorations fresh is to launder them before you put them away. Table lines, tree skirts, stockings, and Christmas towels should be thrown into the wash before you store them. Also, it’s a great idea to iron your linens before you fold them up and put them away.

Hopefully, these tips will help preserve your Christmas decorations for years to come! And if you need help moving them or storing them- give us a call at 704-523-1455.

*Sources: Real Simple and Yahoo!

We are the Official Movers of the Carolina Panthers!

Tom and Todd in Dallas with the Carolina Panthers

We are the Official Movers of the Carolina Panthers!

We don’t often blog about our relationship with the Panthers- but after our recent trip to Dallas with the team, we just had to brag. TNT Moving Systems have been working with the Carolina Panthers for over twenty years. We are honored to pack up and move their equipment to and from every away game. During training week, we pack up everything and bring it down to South Carolina. We take pride in doing our part for such a great organization!

It's not an easy job, but it is one we are excited about every day. We feel like a family with the team and their managers. 

And we bring that same excitement to moving our other clients. The Panther are our biggest client, but we treat all our clients like they are super stars! It's no secret the Panthers are having the best season in their history which has catapulted them into the limelight like never before. We are proud to be associated with such a great team. But we've been honored to work with the Panthers since day one. At TNT Moving Systems, we strive to not only move our clients in an efficient and cost effective way- but to be happy doing it.

We are as happy to move as Cam Newton is when he gets into the end zone. And we feel privileged to get to do what we love. So if you are in the market for professional movers, consider TNT Moving Systems. We do local and long distance moves plus piano moving. No job is too big or too small for us!

Let us treat you and your belongings with that extra special care we give to the Carolina Panthers! #KeepPounding

How to Store Halloween Decorations

How to Store Halloween Decorations

Halloween decorations are fun, scary, and sometimes really big! Deciding where to put all the spider webbing and fake coffins to get just the right reaction from trick-or-treaters is half the fun!

But when it comes to changing out all the ghosts and goblins for pilgrims and cornucopias, what do you do with all that stuff? At TNT Moving Systems, we know a thing or two about packing and storing things. Here are some tips on how to store your Halloween decorations:

 Lights

The best way to store lights is to wrap them around a piece of cardboard to keep them from tangling. Nowadays, they do sell fancy light storage wheels that prevent lights from tangling or breaking, but they are only necessary if you have a lot of lights. Wrapping a strand of lights around an empty paper towel roll works just a well. 

Knickknacks

Small items like ceramic figurines or plastic pumpkins can easily be stored in storage bins. Look for storage bins that have dividers or use a tackle box. The dividers will prevent the knickknacks from bumping into each other and breaking.

 
Large Items

Keeping the boxes for large decorations is a good idea. You can easily fit them back into the original box. We recommend storing the items so that the things you need first are on top. This will make it easier next year when you are unpacking them. If you didn’t keep the box, consider getting large orange plastic bins to store your Halloween items. They even make clear orage bins so you can see what’s inside without opening it. 

Halloween Costumes

Storing costumes can be tricky because you want to keep them intact. After the fun of trick or treating, wash the washable parts of the costume and store in a garment bag. For extra-large costumes, store them in vacuum sealed storage bags. This will help keep your costumes dry and dust-free for years to come.

If you need more space in storing your decorations, consider getting a storage unit. And when it comes time to move all your belongings, including your decorations, be sure to call us for a free quote- 704-523-1155.