Halloween approaches and, as with any holiday, it’s an opportunity to revisit how you organize all the supplies that go with it. Drag out all the bags and boxes where your Halloween stuff is lurking and give it a fresh look!

Costumes

• Set aside outgrown kid costumes to hand-down to friends & family or donate.
• Repair or discard damaged/broken props and costumes.
• It can be useful to separate small props/accessories from larger costume pieces.
• Ziploc bags or smaller boxes within a larger container are helpful.
• Give your future self a gift and label all containers.

Decor

It’s a good idea to keep décor in a separate container from costumes. It makes decorating easier and you may need costumes for other parties/occasions/general dress-up play. It makes sense to have them live in different locations.

Party Supplies

There’re basically 2 options for Halloween specific party stuff– keep them with other Halloween supplies or keep them with other party supplies.

• Halloween friends: Sometimes these end up stuffed into the same box as décor. That can work if you don’t have that much but do yourself a favor and at a minimum use large Ziploc bags to keep paper goods separate from house décor.
• All party friends: Store all holiday/party specific paper goods in a container together but keep them separated by holiday/event within that container.

A word about containers…

Don’t forget the concept of container as limiter! What containers you choose depends largely on where you decide to store Halloween supplies and how much room you’re willing to give over to it. Lidded tubs are great because they’re deep and can stack and be labeled easily.

Some décor (such as giant inflatables and yard props) are too large to contain in a tub and must have some shelf or floor space. Remember, you get to choose how much is enough in each category – contain it appropriately then live within.