The short answer
Coil it, do not fold it. Garland has a wire core and the core takes a permanent set wherever it is bent hard, so a fold becomes a kink that no amount of fluffing removes. A loose circle the diameter of your container, tied in two or three places, laid flat.
Why the coil matters
Artificial garland is built around a twisted wire spine with foliage wound onto it. That spine is what lets you shape the garland along a mantel or a bannister, and it is what makes storage a problem: wire holds whatever shape you last put in it.
Fold nine feet of garland in half to make it fit a box and you have made a permanent hairpin in the middle of the spine. Next December that hairpin is still there and it will not drape. Coil the same nine feet into a large circle and every bend is a gentle curve the wire tolerates indefinitely.
The method
- 1
Shake it out
Outdoors if you can. Garland collects a surprising amount of dust along its upper edge, where nobody looks at it in December.
- 2
Lay the full length out on the floor
You are looking for bends it picked up during December, particularly where it turned a corner or hung over a bracket. Work those out by hand now, while the wire is warm and easy.
- 3
Coil it like a garden hose
A large circle, roughly the diameter of the container it is going into. Let each turn lie on the one below rather than forcing it into a smaller circle.
- 4
Tie it loosely, in two or three places
Soft twine or hook-and-loop straps. Loose is the point: a tight tie is a kink you are creating on purpose.
- 5
Lay the coil flat
Into a wreath container's interior compartment, or flat in a rigid bin. Never on edge, never with anything on top of it.
Pre-lit garland
Pre-lit garland is two problems in one object: a wire-cored strand that kinks and a light strand that tangles. The good news is that you cannot separate them, so the decision is made for you.
Coil the whole thing together as one piece. Do not attempt to unwind the lights — they are woven through the foliage and removing them damages both. The only extra care is where the ties go: keep a strap away from a bulb or a connector, because sustained pressure on a socket is how a section goes dark.
If you also have loose light strands from the same display, those want reels rather than coils. See how to store Christmas lights tangle free.
Where the coil goes
A nine-foot garland coils into a disc roughly 14 to 18 inches across and three or four inches deep. That is smaller than a wreath, which is why wreath containers with interior compartments are the standard home for it — the coil sits in the middle of the wreath ring or in a compartment beside it.
The alternative is a rigid bin, which is fine as long as the coil lies flat and nothing heavy goes on top. A 27-gallon Stacker publishing 20 1/8 by 14 1/8 inches inside takes a coiled nine-foot garland easily. Interior figures on bins by capacity.
Real garland
Fresh cedar, pine or eucalyptus garland is not stored, it is composted. Nothing on this page applies to it, and any guide telling you how to keep fresh garland for next year is selling you something.
Artificial garland with real elements attached — pine cones, dried orange slices, cinnamon — is a middle case. Remove the organic parts before storage or store the whole thing inside the conditioned house, because those elements attract pests in a garage or attic. Same rule as wreaths; see outdoor and garage storage.