While the holiday installation season slows down and your customers are enjoying the brilliant holiday lighting displays you created for them this year, start planning the next phase in holiday lighting installations—take down and clean up.
An important factor in holiday lighting services is removal; here are three tips for removing holiday lighting displays to set you up for future uses.
Start right after set up
Okay, don’t start taking down the beautiful displays right after set up, but do start thinking about it.
The first place to start when it comes to holiday lighting removal is to ask your customers when they want you to return to take down the displays.
Every customer will have different needs, so ask them early when they’d like you to remove their holiday displays and get them into your schedule. Not only will this ensure that customer will remain a customer throughout the season, but it will also help show them that you intend to finish your job, which will keep them coming back year after year.
Make a map
Before you start removing the lights, take a photograph of the entire display from the street. Print it out and label the power poles, runs and connection points. This will help you easily spot where things go for next year. Be sure to label the connection points on the photograph with the male and female plug-ins (A-A, B-B, etc.).
Ball your lights for future use
Once you’re ready to start takedown, protect the lighting strands for future use by wrapping them correctly after the season ends.
Start with the female end in your fist and then begin to wrap the wire around your hand. After a few wraps, remove the wire from your hand switch direction every few wraps, this will prevent the ball from becoming unraveled in storage.
This will also set you up for next year’s installations with the lighting strings already balled right out of the box.
Watch an example of this in our holiday lighting video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rm7f2KIwO4&t=3s
Start your installation with the beginning in mind
The items, lights or other display accessories that will be hung up last should be stored first. Pack the items you will need first, last. This will make set up simpler next year by store the things you need first on top.
Store items clearly
Store the holiday lights in a clear plastic bin and label it clearly with the customers’ names and the type of lights inside. This will help you easily find the lights next year and color match them, if necessary. You can also put any additional holiday display accessories in this bin to stay organized.
Keep your holiday lighting customers year after year with these storage and clean up tips. Are you preparing for holiday displays clean up? Share your tips for clean up and storage in the comments below.
