If you’re anything like us, you’ll have one or two (or three, or four!) empty sweet tubs after Christmas. But don’t bin them – upcycle them! I’m not talking about DIYing them into something lovely, I simply mean use them for storing your Christmas decorations. Here’s how…
It was last year that I discovered just how handy those empty tubs of chocolate can be after Christmas, especially if you have lots of fairy lights to put away like we do. The tubs are ideal for storing LED fairy lights and other decorations and all it takes is a little snip on the top of the tub.
It’s a good idea to wind your fairy lights around something when you put them away so that the wires don’t become tangled. This means they’ll be easier to use the following year and hopefully won’t be damaged in storage. The size and shape of sweet tubs are great for storing fairy lights like this, and it keeps the tubs out of the recycling bin too.
The first step in repurposing the tub is to cut a little ‘nick’ out of the top rim so that you can store the plug and lead inside and put the lid back on. This gives a space for the lead to exit the tub and for the string of fairy lights to wind around the outside of the tub.
This technique is great for LED bulbs but, if you have glass fairy lights, being on the outside of the tub isn’t ideal as they may break. Of course, you could loop up the fairy lights and pop them inside the tub to store them during the year, but the wires still may become tangled when you get them out, so take care.
By wrapping the string of LED lights around the outside of the repurposed tub, you can easily see at a glance which lights you’re getting out. You can even use a bit of masking tape to attach the end of the fairy lights to the tub and keep it securely in place.
Empty chocolate tubs can also be reused for storing baubles and decorations. If you’ve got particularly precious baubles, be sure to wrap them in leftover wrapping paper to cushion them while they’re stored inside the tubs. Puffy tinsel is also good for providing padding around baubles inside your recycled sweetie tub.
If you’ve wrapped LED fairy lights around the outside of the tub, you may find that you have space inside for baubles and bells alongside the plug – so feel free to make use of that storage space too.
Finally, label the tops of the tubs with the fairy light length/colour or what kind of decorations are inside, and then put them into your usual Christmas storage boxes or bags to go back into the attic. By the way, if you’re using the same size/shape of tubs, they’ll be stackable too!
Such an easy way to keep fairy light cables tidy and to keep baubles safe in storage. Plus, it keeps those plastic tubs out of the recycling bin too! I hope this helps and I hope you’ve had a lovely Christmas 🙂
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