Putting Halloween away in one evening

November 1 is when Halloween gets put away, or it is when Halloween moves to the corner of the dining room until Thanksgiving.

The trouble is not the work. It is that taking it all down feels like a weekend project, so it waits for a weekend, and then for the next one. Meanwhile, the skeleton on the porch becomes part of the house.

Done in order, it is one evening. Here is the order.

Take photos before anything comes down

Walk around with your phone and photograph every display: the porch, the mantel, the front window, the table. Next October, those photos tell you exactly what went where and which hooks you used.

Then take one more photo of anything broken, missing, or due for replacing. That becomes next year’s shopping list.

Batteries out of everything

Before any decoration goes in a bin, take the batteries out. Batteries left in a decoration for eleven months can leak and corrode the contacts, and a light that worked this year may not turn on next October.

Test the batteries as you pull them. Put the good ones in a battery organizer, and recycle the dead ones wherever your area accepts them.

Costumes: wash, sort, store

Every costume goes through three questions:

1. Will it fit someone next year? If not, donate it, pass it to a younger cousin, or move it to the dress-up box.
2. Is it clean? Wash or spot-clean everything before it goes away. Face paint and spilled candy set in over time, and sugar draws pests.
3. Where will it live? Store the keepers in large zip bags, one costume per bag, with a note of the size and who wore it.

Keep costumes out of a hot attic. Latex masks and foam pieces break down in heat.

Decide what not to keep

Putting things away is the moment to let a few go. Before anything is wrapped, pull out:

• Anything broken that you have meant to fix for more than a year.
• Decorations nobody put out this year or last.
• Single-use party goods that will not survive another October.
• Duplicates. Three fog machines is two too many.

Donate what still works, and toss what does not. Every item you skip packing is one less to unpack next year.

The real pumpkins and the hay

Carved pumpkins go first, since they are already turning. Compost them, or put them out with yard waste if your town collects it. Uncarved pumpkins can go the same way, or into the kitchen if they are still firm and were never painted, glittered or sprayed. Decorative gourds are for display, not eating, so they go in the compost.

Hay bales and corn stalks count as yard waste in many towns. Check your local rules, and get them off the porch before the first rain soaks them through.

Wrap the fragile, wind the lights

Wrap ceramic, glass and anything with a delicate edge in bubble wrap. Heavy things go at the bottom of the bin, fragile things on top.

Test string lights before they go away, so a dead strand gets replaced now instead of discovered next year. Then wind each strand around a piece of cardboard and tape the plug end down, so it comes out untangled.

Inflatables and outdoor fabric decorations need to dry completely before they are packed, or they come out mildewed.

Bins that tell you what is inside

Use matching clear bins with latching lids, and number them: Halloween 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3. Tape a list of the contents inside each lid.

Keep the bins together on one shelf or in one corner, somewhere the temperature stays steady. Wax candles, latex and some plastics can warp or melt in a hot attic or a summer garage.

The note for next year

Before the last lid closes, tape a note inside bin 1:

• What you need to buy or replace.
• What you are getting tired of, so you can skip it or let it go next year.
• The date the decorations went up this year, so you know when to start next time.

Next October, you open bin 1, read the note, and the planning is half done.

Make it a family job

An evening goes faster with help, and every job here has a natural owner. Older kids pull batteries and test them, while an adult handles coin cells and anything with crusty residue from a leak. Teenagers wind the lights and take the photos. One adult packs the bins, because packing is a puzzle and puzzles go better with one person in charge.

Put on music, order dinner, and call it the last Halloween event of the year.

What to actually buy

The bins. A six-pack of 32-quart latching boxes, about 24 by 16 inches and 7 inches tall, a shape that slides onto a closet shelf or under a bed.

The battery organizer. A double-sided battery case with a built-in tester that holds up to 180 batteries, from AAA to D, plus 9-volt and coin cells.

The costume bags. A box of ten 5-gallon reusable storage bags with zippers and handles, one per costume.

The bubble wrap. A 60-foot roll of large-bubble cushioning wrap for ceramic pumpkins, glass, and anything with an edge that chips.

Who this is not for

• If your decorations fit in one box, skip the numbering and keep the photos and the note.
• If you go big outdoors with inflatables and props, give the yard its own bins and do it on a dry day.
• If you are short on storage, cut down to what fits in one or two bins and donate the rest on November 1.

Start on any Monday

Put “Halloween comes down” on your calendar for the evening of November 1, or the first free evening after it.

That evening: photos, batteries, costumes, wrapping, bins, and the note in bin 1. Lids latched, bins on the shelf, done before bedtime.