Christmas light takedown and storage in Atlanta

The close-up above shows a C9 bulb held in a gutter clip. Because the clip grips the lip of the gutter rather than being fastened into it, it slides off with the strand at takedown and leaves nothing behind. Shingle clips work the same way on edges without gutters. That is the reason we never staple, nail, or screw seasonal lights to a house: whatever goes up in November should come off in January without a trace.

On older roofs in Ansley Park and Druid Hills, where shingles or slate can be brittle, careful removal matters as much as careful installation.

In practice that means working the roofline from the ladder in the same order it went up, releasing each clip by hand instead of pulling the strand, and checking the gutter lip and shingle edges as we go. Cold January mornings make old asphalt shingles stiff, so on those houses we wait for the afternoon warmth before touching the roof edge. A takedown on a large Atlanta roofline takes a little longer done this way, and it is the part of the job that decides whether next year's install starts on a clean roof.

A tightly wrapped trunk like the one pictured has to be unwound, not pulled. We take tree wraps down from the top, keeping the spiral in order, and coil each tree's strands separately. Shrub lights are lifted off rather than dragged across the branches. The tension wraps come off with the strands, so nothing is left on the bark into spring.

This is especially important on the large oaks and magnolias common in Buckhead and Sandy Springs, where one tree can carry a long run of lights, and on the tall front-yard hardwoods of estate lots in Johns Creek and Cumming.

Wreaths and garland, like the porch pictured, come down during the same visit. Lit pieces are checked along with the strands. Hooks and hangers come off the doors and windows, and garland is removed from rails and columns without scraping paint.

If you want the same greenery next season, it is stored alongside the lights. Our wreaths and garland page covers how greenery is planned and hung.

A labeled set of strands makes the next install faster and more consistent. The brick colonial pictured has warm-white C9s on both front gables and the lower roofline. On a large two-story traditional in Alpharetta or Roswell, with a tall foyer gable, a garage wing, and several dormers, a roofline can run to a dozen separate strands, and the labels are what keep each one matched to its place. With each run labeled, the same lines go back up next year at the same spacing, and any design changes are planned from a known starting point.

If you are thinking about a system that never comes down, the permanent roofline lighting page explains how that works and when it fits. Otherwise, book early: install season runs from late October to about mid-December, and our journal post on how far ahead to book explains why earlier dates fill first.