How to Store Icicle Lights?

With the holidays behind us, it’s, unfortunately, time to put your Christmas icicle lights away. What is the best way to store icicle lights without them tangling, however? Is there an effective conventional way to go about that or some clever life hack you’ve been missing this whole time?

There are actually multiple cool ways for how to store icicle Christmas lights safely and practically. What you decide to go with is entirely up to you, so, here are our suggestions:

Wrap the lights

The simplest way for how to store icicle lights without tangling is to just wrap them around something. Instead of wrapping them around your arm and then pulling your arm out and dumping them in the box, just get a cardboard cut-out “replacement” for your arm.

Any simple rectangular piece of cardboard can do the trick, just cut it to about the size of the container you want to put it in. As an added trick, you can cut a small slit in one end of the cardboard and use it to slide one of the ends of the icicle lights in place. Then just start wrapping. When you’re done you can slide in the other end of the string into the same or a second slit.

Bunch and tie

The second way is to just imitate the method in which the lights were packaged when you first got them – bunched together and held by a rubber band or a cable tie.

Doing the same can be a bit more time-consuming than wrapping them around a cardboard piece but it’s neat and effective. Just make sure you bunch them slowly and meticulously. Once you’re done you can either use the original cable tie if it’s still in the box or a standard rubber band.

Use clothes hangers

If you’re looking for alternative things to wrap the lights around, spare clothes hanger can work beautifully. The cool thing about this method is that most clothes hangers will even have strap holders for you to hook the ends of the lights through.

So, just hook one of the loose ends to a strap holder, wrap the lights slowly around the whole clothes hanger, and then hook the second loose end around the second hook – it’s almost as if clothes hangers were made for icicle lights.

Get a cord reel

If you want to feel more “professional” when storing your Christmas lights, you can use a cord reel. Yes, they are typically meant for long extension cords but your icicle lights are essentially just that – a cord with lights on it. Some cord reels can be uncomfortable expensive but you can find some that don’t cost more than just a few bucks.

Once you’ve got your cord reel, just detangle the lights, connect one of the loose ends to the cord reel’s roller, and start spinning to would the lights around the cord reel.

There are other ways to store your icicle lights tangle-free until next year too, of course. Whichever way you choose to go with, make sure that you then put the lights in a safe container to protect them from physical damage or pests.