Most Americans start prepping home for holidays as early as September

For nearly a third of Americans, how tidy their home looks to others is the most important factor to consider during the holidays (31%), according to new research.

A survey of 2,000 adults who celebrate a winter holiday examined the pain points of preparing your home for the holiday season and found that looks matter.

The holidays are a merry, but daunting time, causing 55% to already think about holiday home prep back in September.

Conducted by Talker Research for The Container Store, the survey found that respondents have gotten a head start on putting up decor (59%), gift shopping (56%) and organizing their home (42%).

With all of the holiday to-do tasks, 47% expressed feeling overwhelmed or crunched for time (48%), with these respondents wishing they could spend an average of nearly 50 hours prepping their home for the holidays.

Those surveyed take their home’s appearance seriously, with six in 10 ranking it one of the top three factors to consider when having guests over (58%).

As a result, almost a third would opt to pay someone to take care of the pre-holiday organization and declutter for them (31%).

This is especially desirable to the 32% who feel stressed at the thought of organizing and clearing clutter in their home.

Fifty-five percent said that when preparing their home for guests during the holiday season, they often don’t know where to store things they usually have out.

“Effective organization is the foundation of productivity at home, and we know that the holidays are a time where our customers need to be most productive,” said Satish Malhotra, CEO and president of The Container Store. “Our specialists can help provide a fresh perspective that can unlock the potential in their homes that they didn’t know they had.”

The living room (40%), kitchen (25%) and dining room (14%) are particularly hard to get a handle on organizing.

When it’s time to break out the festive decor, 68% turn to their storage areas dedicated solely to holiday decor.

A quarter of respondents dread the thought of getting their hands on their decor, though — so much so that one in six would pay someone else to do so or put it up.
According to those surveyed, Christmas trees (41%), string lights (24%) and ornaments (17%) are the hardest to retrieve.

Two in five have even considered the easy way out: purchasing new decor entirely (43%).

And some just may need to invest in some new decor, as 55% have ended up with broken holiday items as a result of difficulty storing them with these respondents losing an average of $100.

After all is said and done, a third of those surveyed are still trying to figure out the best way to store their holiday decor (32%).

Thirty-six percent would even go as far as leaving their decor up after the holiday season due to not wanting to deal with storing it, with 48% of these respondents saying it would be left up for at least a month.

“Storing holiday decor properly is key to enjoying it year after year,” Malhotra said. “Our goal is to help our customers find solutions that fit their exact needs — whether that be sturdy labeled containers for storing their holiday items, wrapping fragile items carefully or simply needing advice from professional organizers to help find a dedicated space for everything.”

ADVICE TO AVOID STORAGE MISHAPS FOR NEXT HOLIDAY SEASON

-Triple-wrap everything individually and put as much protective cushioning in storage bins
-Have a dedicated space a little bigger than you need, if possible
-Wrap delicate ornaments and store them separately
-Be sure to mark all boxes with specific items inside so you don’t have to pull out more than needed
-Rotate your stuff so that the upcoming holiday is on top and most accessible
-Give yourself twice as much time as you think you have
-Make sure that the items that are easy to break are put in last
-Get sectional insert for storage boxes
-Make sure you know what your stuff is made of so you know how to properly store it. Ex. Ceramic and plastic could be treated very differently in storage
-Use clear bins: This makes it easier to see what’s inside and reduces the chance of damage from overcrowding

MOST DIFFICULT HOLIDAY DECOR TO TAKE OUT OF STORAGE

1. Christmas tree — 41%
2. String lights — 24%
3. Ornaments — 17%
4. Oddly shaped decorations — 13%
5. Christmas villages — 11%

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans who celebrate a winter holiday; the survey was commissioned by The Container Store and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Sep. 11 and Sep. 17, 2024.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

● Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
● Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

● Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
● Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
● Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
● Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.