Christmas light storage hack offers simple solution to the 'tangled mess' that you dread each year

Creative holiday hack shared on Instagram has been viewed some 283,000 times

Tangled Christmas lights can be a holiday hassle — which appears to be why one social media blogger thought up a solution.

Beatriz Santos, @makelifesimpler, has created a page filled with organization hacks and DIY ideas to help people stay organized around the house.

Santos posted a video on her Instagram page showing how to keep Christmas lights from being knotted up in storage bins.

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The hack requires only one major item that you might already have lying around the house: cardboard.

The instructions include cutting up a cardboard box with some scissors by separating the panels.

tangled string of christmas lights

Avoid the annoyance of tangled Christmas or holiday lights with this creative and easy hack of wrapping up decorations efficiently. (iStock)

How to do it

On the top and bottom of the panel, cut a notch in the upper left corner and the lower right corner — or vice versa.

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Then, advised Santos, slide the light's plug snugly into one of the notches, cut into the cardboard — and start wrapping the lights around the panel.

cutting cardboard notch

Cut out a little notch in the cardboard, one on each side and each corner of the panel, so that the string of lights can slide into the slit. (iStock)

As she demonstrates, once you reach the end of the lights, take the other end and slide it into the opposite notch on the other side of the cardboard panel.

Her Instagram video, as of Tuesday evening, has been viewed some 283,000 times.

‘Best way’

Some of the blogger's followers shared their feedback on her hack, with many saying they wanted to give it a try.

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"This is the best way to organize Christmas lights!" one user commented.

"Needed this 2 weeks ago … It’s too late now, it’s in a tangled mess 'til next year," another person wrote.

box of xmas lights for storage

Instead of throwing your Christmas lights into one big pile or box, try out a clever hack to keep things under control and in order. (iStock)

"Where was this video [last] night when I threw all of my crap in a bag?" said another Instagram user.

The blogger decided to invent another hack to help people avoid the dreaded Christmas-light tangle.

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Santos posted a video similar to her previous hack; but instead of using a flat cardboard panel as earlier, this time she used the cardboard core from an empty paper towel roll.

christmas light storage hack

With only a cardboard panel or cylinder of cardboard, anyone can keep their Christmas or holiday lights streamlined and organized with this easy, at-home trick. (iStock)

She cut a notch at the top and bottom of the roll, and wrapped the lights around the cardboard cylinder.

If you've already put your Christmas lights away, you might want to remember this holiday hack for next year.

Fox News Digital reached out to Santos for additional comment.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.com.

Sydney Borchers is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital. 

Authored by Sydney Borchers via FoxNews January 9th 2024