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Tinsel Tote

Inflatable and Outdoor Decoration Storage

Volume is easy. Drying is the whole job, and a damp inflatable in a sealed bin has ten months to go wrong.

By Scooter M.Published Last verified

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The short answer

Dry it completely, deflate fully, fold loosely, and bag the blower and stakes separately with a label naming the inflatable they belong to. Then a rigid container off the floor. The drying step is the whole job; everything else is tidying.

Why drying is the whole job

An inflatable is coated polyester with seams. It has spent six weeks outdoors through rain, snow and freeze-thaw, and there is moisture in the seams and in the fabric whether the surface feels dry or not.

Seal that into a bin in January and it has ten months at whatever temperature your garage reaches. Mildew grows in the seams, and on a coated fabric it stains rather than washing out. This is the single most common way an inflatable is ruined, and it is entirely preventable.

The most effective method is to run the blower with the inflatable up, indoors or in a garage with the door open. Moving air through the inside dries the seams from both sides, which laying it flat on a floor does not.

The method

  1. 1

    Inflate it one last time and clean it

    Mud, road salt and leaf stain come off far more easily on a taut surface. Plain water and a cloth; no solvents on coated fabric.

  2. 2

    Let the blower run until it is genuinely dry

    Hours for a dry season, a day or two after snow. Check the seams and the base, which dry last.

  3. 3

    Deflate fully and detach the blower

    Press the air out from the top down. A blower left inside a folded bundle is a rigid lump that creases the fabric around it.

  4. 4

    Fold loosely

    The fewest folds you can manage, and none of them sharp. Coated fabric cracks along a hard crease over time, and a crack does not seal.

  5. 5

    Bag the blower, stakes and tethers

    One bag per inflatable, labeled with which one. Stakes are the item most reliably missing next December.

  6. 6

    Rigid container, off the floor

    Rigid so the folded fabric is not crushed, off the floor so it is not sitting in garage-floor damp.

Sizing the container

Deflated inflatables are bulkier than they look, because loose folding uses more volume than tight folding — deliberately. A single large inflatable typically wants a 25 to 27 gallon bin to itself.

The published interior figures are what tell you. The Roughneck 25 gallon publishes 21.25 by 14.75 by 16.25 inches inside; the 27-gallon Stacker publishes 20 1/8 by 14 1/8 by 18 7/8. Both take a large loosely folded inflatable with the accessory bag beside it. Full figures on bins by capacity.

The rest of the outdoor set

Lit wireframe figures. These are rigid and awkward and do not fit anything. Wrap the bulbs in a towel or bubble wrap, keep the frame flat, and store them standing against a garage wall rather than trying to bin them. Nothing on the market fits a five-foot wireframe reindeer.

Stakes, tethers and sandbags. One bag per decoration, labeled. These are small, look identical and are universally lost, and the entire fix is a label.

Extension leads and timers. Coil each lead the way you would a light strand, and keep the outdoor-rated ones separate from indoor ones so you never accidentally use the wrong one outside. The winding method is on tangle-free light storage, and the exterior strands themselves are covered on outdoor light storage.

Where it goes

A garage is the natural home, and it is fine for coated fabric and plastic once dry. A shed is worse on every axis: less stable temperature, more moisture and more ways in for pests. An attic is workable but you are carrying a bulky bin up a ladder for no benefit.

Whichever it is, off the floor. Concrete wicks moisture and a bin sitting directly on it is the coldest, dampest spot in the room. The comparison is on attic versus garage versus basement.

What to buy for this

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

Rubbermaid Roughneck Storage Tote, 25 Gal

28.875 inches outside, 21.25 inches inside. Rubbermaid publishes both, and the four-inch gap is the honest cost of thick walls.

Published specifications

Capacity
25 gallonsRubbermaid Roughneck listing, Ace Hardware
Outside dimensions
28.875" L x 19.875" W x 16.75" HRubbermaid Roughneck listing, Ace Hardware
Inside dimensions
21.25" L x 14.75" W x 16.25" HRubbermaid Roughneck listing, Ace Hardware

What it gets right

  • Published inside dimensions, so a 13-inch ornament box is a checkable yes rather than a hopeful maybe
  • Opaque walls keep light off ribbon and plastic through ten months of storage

What it costs you

  • Seven and a half inches of the outside length is wall and taper. That is the price of the rigidity
  • Opaque means labeling is not optional

Do not buy it if: You want to see what is inside without opening it. Buy the ClearView instead and accept the thinner wall.

Sterilite 27 Gal. Stacker Tote

Sterilite publishes the inside dimensions as well as the outside: 20 1/8 by 14 1/8 by 18 7/8 inches. Interior height is the only figure that tells you whether a wreath box stands up in it.

Published specifications

Capacity
27 gallons (108 quarts)Sterilite product page
Outside dimensions
25 3/4" L x 18 3/8" W x 19 3/8" HSterilite product page
Inside dimensions
20 1/8" L x 14 1/8" W x 18 7/8" H at the bottomSterilite product page
Stacking
Deep recessed lid for secure stacking; the 10, 19 and 27 Gal bins share a lid size and stack in the same footprintSterilite product page

What it gets right

  • Published inside dimensions, which almost no bin maker gives you and which is the only number that answers 'will my ornament box fit'
  • Shared lid size across three capacities means a mixed stack keeps one footprint
  • 18 7/8 inches of interior height stands a 13-inch ornament box upright with room over it

What it costs you

  • The 5.5-inch gap between outside and inside length is real: 25 3/4 inches of shelf buys you 20 1/8 inches of usable space
  • 27 gallons of holiday decorations is heavier than most people should carry down a ladder

Do not buy it if: You are storing one category per bin and want to lift it alone. A 66 qt box is about two thirds the volume and a great deal easier to handle.

Questions people ask

How do you store a Christmas inflatable?
Dry it completely first, then deflate fully, fold it loosely rather than tightly, and put it in a rigid container with the blower and stakes in a labeled bag alongside. The drying is not optional: a damp inflatable sealed in a bin for ten months is how mildew gets into the fabric, and mildew on coated polyester does not come out.
How long should an inflatable dry before storage?
Until it is genuinely dry to the touch inside and out, which for a large inflatable that has been through snow can be a day or two. Inflate it indoors or in a garage with the door open and let the blower run: air moving through the inside is far more effective than laying it out flat.
Can outdoor decorations be stored in a shed?
A shed is generally worse than a garage: less temperature stability, more moisture, and more likely to have gaps that let pests in. If a shed is what you have, use rigid latching containers off the floor and accept that anything with fabric or natural material is at higher risk.
Should the blower stay attached to the inflatable?
Detach it if it detaches. A blower is a rigid lump inside a folded fabric bundle, and it presses a permanent crease into whatever it sits against. Bag it with the stakes and the power lead and label the bag with the inflatable it belongs to.

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