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Tinsel Tote

Outdoor and Exterior Light Storage

Exterior strands come down wet and heavy. Both facts change what you should store them in.

By Scooter M.Published Last verified

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The short answer

Dry them indoors overnight before winding, take replaceable bulbs off C7 and C9 sets, wind indoors where the wire is warm, and use metal reels for the heavy runs. Cold storage is fine; damp storage is not.

The drying step

Exterior strands come down wet more often than not. They have been through rain, snow, frost and condensation for six weeks, and water sits in the recesses around each socket.

Sealing that into a waterproof container in January means ten months of trapped moisture against metal contacts. It is the single most avoidable cause of a strand that worked last year and does not this year, and the fix is a night indoors.

Drape them over a stair rail, a clothes airer, or the back of a chair. Somewhere with air movement. One night is enough for a mini-light strand; give a heavy C9 run two if the weather has been bad.

The method

  1. 1

    Take them down on a dry day if you have the choice

    It removes the drying step entirely and it is a lot more pleasant on a ladder.

  2. 2

    Test each strand while it is still connected

    Once a roofline strand is coiled on the ground, testing it means plugging it in and inspecting 100 feet of wire. Test it while it is up and powered.

  3. 3

    Dry indoors overnight

    Draped where air moves. This is the step that separates strands that last from strands that do not.

  4. 4

    Take the bulbs off C7 and C9 sets

    The strand reels far more easily, the bulbs stop knocking against each other, and a broken bulb in a reel is a hazard when you unwind it. Keep them in a small rigid box with dividers.

  5. 5

    Wind indoors

    PVC insulation stiffens in cold and can crack at a hard bend. A warm strand coils without complaint.

  6. 6

    One strand per reel, and use the metal ones for the heavy runs

    A 100 ft C9 strand puts real load on a reel flange. The published metal-reel bag is the sensible choice for those.

Weight changes the reel choice

An indoor mini-light strand weighs very little. A 100-foot C9 run with 100 large bulbs is a different object, and the flange of a plastic reel is carrying that weight in a bag that gets moved.

The Zober three-reel bag publishes metal reels and 80 feet per reel; the four-reel version publishes plastic reels and 60 feet. For exterior runs the metal version is the one to buy, and that is the reason it ranks first on our light storage page despite offering fewer separate spaces.

Storing them in a garage

Perfectly reasonable, and the natural place for exterior lights since that is where the ladder is. Two conditions: the strands are dry when they go in, and the container is rigid if anything might be stacked on it.

A rigid box also solves the second garage problem, which is that fabric containers on a concrete floor wick moisture. Keep containers off the floor on a shelf or a pallet regardless of material. General garage guidance is on attic versus garage versus basement.

The clips and stakes

Gutter clips, shingle tabs and lawn stakes are small, numerous and universally lost. They belong in a labeled bag inside the same container as the strands they belong to, not loose in a drawer.

Count them when you pack them and write the number on the bag. Next December you will know immediately whether you need more, rather than finding out halfway along the gutter. The same principle runs through labeling so you find it next year.

What to buy for this

The products that answer the question above, with the manufacturer's published numbers and what each one costs you.

Zober Christmas Light Storage Bag with 3 Metal Reels

240 feet of published strand capacity across three reels, in a 12.5 by 15 inch bag. Three reels is the number that matters, because one strand per reel is the only arrangement that never tangles.

Published specifications

Strand capacity
240 ft of light strand across three reelsZober listing, Amazon
Bulb capacity
Each reel holds a minimum of 300 mini bulbs (900 per bag); 240 C-size per bag (720 total is stated for the larger format); 80 D-size per reelZober listing, Amazon
Bag dimensions
12.5" x 15"Zober listing, Amazon
Material
600 denier Oxford fabricZober listing, Amazon

What it gets right

  • Metal reels rather than plastic, which is what stops the flanges splitting when a strand is wound tight
  • Published bulb counts by bulb size, which is a genuinely useful number nobody else prints
  • 12.5 by 15 inches is small enough to hang rather than shelve

What it costs you

  • Three reels means three strands. A house with six runs needs two bags
  • The published capacities assume a strand wound neatly, not one shoved in

Do not buy it if: You run more than about 240 feet of lights. Count your strand lengths first -- the arithmetic is on the strand-count page.

Sterilite Christmas Light and Garland Storage Box

A rigid box, 18.38 by 14.88 by 12.38 inches, with four removable reels each rated for up to 400 lights. Rigid is the difference when the box goes on the bottom of a stack.

Published specifications

Box dimensions
18.38" L x 14.88" W x 12.38" HSterilite listing, Amazon
Reels
4 removable reels, each stated to take up to 400 lightsSterilite listing, Amazon
Construction
Clear plastic base with a red lid and reel slatsSterilite listing, Amazon

What it gets right

  • Rigid walls, so it takes weight on top without crushing the reels
  • A published per-reel figure in bulbs rather than feet, which suits mini-light strands
  • Clear base means you can see it is the light box without opening it

What it costs you

  • Bulkier than a fabric bag for the same capacity
  • Rated in lights rather than feet, so you have to convert if your strands are sold by length

Do not buy it if: Your storage is a hook on a garage wall. A rigid box will not hang, and the fabric bags will.

Questions people ask

Should outdoor Christmas lights be dried before storage?
Yes, and it is the step most guides skip. A strand that comes down wet and goes straight into a sealed container spends ten months with moisture around the sockets, which is where corrosion starts. A night indoors on a garage floor with the door open, or over a rail, is enough.
Can Christmas lights be stored in a cold garage?
Yes. Cold does not harm a light strand in storage. What harms it is being bent hard while cold, because insulation stiffens, and being stored damp. Wind the reels indoors where the wire is flexible, then carry the container out.
Do C9 bulbs need different storage from mini lights?
Same principle, more weight. C9 and C7 strands are heavier and the bulbs are larger, so a reel holds noticeably less length than its mini-light figure suggests, and the flange carries more load. That is the case for the published metal reels rather than plastic ones.
Should I remove the bulbs from outdoor strands?
On replaceable-bulb C7 and C9 sets, taking the bulbs off makes the strand far easier to reel and stops bulbs breaking against each other. Keep them in a small rigid box. On sealed mini-light strands there is nothing to remove.

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