What is the best way to store Christmas lights?

If you have the original boxes and packaging that is one way to store them but if you are like me I couldn’t repackage the lights the way they were done at the factory since I am not a machine, so I found a better way to store them. I use either thin wood or pieces of cardboard for winding the strands of lights around. I use the box thickness of cardboard like the kind brown or white packing boxes are made out of, not the thin stuff like the backs of pads of paper. Then I tuck the ends of the Christmas lights under the last bit of wound wiring so they won’t come off of the wood or cardboard. Winding the Christmas around something keeps them from tangling together. It is like winding thread around a spool. Do a separate board for each large strand. You can make smaller boards for smaller strands of Christmas lights. Then store them standing up on their sides like a filing cabinet inside a box with a lid. The best ones to use are the large stackable plastic storage bins that will protect them and keep them dry but cardboard packing boxes will work too. The nest year you will be really glad you stored all your lights this way. All you have to do is carefully unwind the strands of Christmas lights from the bases to use them and they aren’t in a big mess that will drive you berserk trying to untangle It is a neat and easy way to store your Christmas lights. Mama Nono