Christmas has come and gone, we are in the new year, and it’s now time to put away the Christmas tree. This is my least favorite part of having a tree each year. I find the task to be time-consuming and the most tedious part is taking down the string of lights.

This year instead of just taking them down, creating a tangled mess, and hoping for the best I opted for a different approach. There are many products out on the market for proper storage of lights butttt I decided to make a super simple DIY version.

You will first need a good-sized rectangular piece of cardboard. I used two pieces from an Amazon box. You then will cut two tabs, one from each side creating a shape that looks like the letter “I”. This creates a reel.

Start to unravel the tree lights working from top to bottom while winding them around the cardboard reel. Wrap from one side to the other of the reel to avoid tangling. For best results store each strand of lights separately.

Now your lights are safely stored and next Christmas you will be ready to decorate the tree without having to spend hours untangling!