Look, I’m going to be honest with you. I used to be one of those people who rolled their eyes at artificial plants. I was like, “Just get a real one, it’s not that hard.” Then I killed a cactus. A CACTUS. You literally have to try to kill those things and I managed it. So I gave up and bought a fake monstera from Target and guess what? It actually looks pretty good.
But here’s the thing nobody tells you when you’re standing in the home decor aisle feeling smug about your low-maintenance life choice. These things are annoying to store. Like, really annoying. And I learned that the hard way when I pulled my “winter wreath” out of a garbage bag last December and it looked like a squirrel had used it as a bed for six months.
So let me save you from making the same dumb mistakes I made.
First Thing First – Clean It or Regret It
Okay so you’ve decided to pack up your fake plants. Maybe it’s spring and you’re swapping out the dark evergreen stuff for bright florals. Maybe you’re moving. Maybe you just realized your living room looks like a jungle and you need to dial it back. Whatever the reason, you’re looking at these dusty plastic leaves and thinking “eh, good enough.”
Nope. Stop right there.
I’m telling you from experience – if you pack a dusty fake plant, that dust becomes like… cemented on. It’s gross. And the longer it sits there in a box, the more it settles into the little grooves and veins of the leaves. When you take it out months later, you’re going to be scrubbing each individual leaf with a damp cloth and questioning all your life choices.
Here’s what actually works:
- Take that thing outside. I don’t care if your neighbors judge you.
- Spray it down with a mixture of water and a tiny drop of dish soap.
- Rinse it with a hose.
- Now here’s the important part – shake the heck out of it. Like really go crazy. Get that water off.
For silk ones? Don’t get them wet. I ruined a really pretty silk peony arrangement once because I got it soaked and the colors bled. Just use a hair dryer on cool and blow the dust off. Or use a makeup brush. I’m not joking. Those big fluffy powder brushes are perfect for getting into the little crevices.
The Container Situation
Okay so now your plants are clean and dry. You need something to put them in.
Here’s my unpopular opinion – cardboard boxes suck for this. They really do. They attract bugs, they get mushy if there’s any moisture at all, and they crush easily. I used cardboard once and found a silverfish in my fake ivy. Never again.
Go to Walmart or Home Depot and grab those clear plastic bins with the yellow lids. They’re like fifteen bucks. Worth every penny.
But whatever you do, don’t just toss everything in there like you’re throwing laundry into a hamper. That’s how leaves get bent and stems get snapped.
If you have tall plants, this is where it gets tricky. I have this giant fake palm that’s like five feet tall and I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do with it when I redecorate. You can try laying it down diagonally in a long bin, or you can get one of those Christmas tree storage bags. Those are actually genius for tall stuff.
The Wrapping Method That Actually Works
So I’m gonna tell you what works and what doesn’t work, because I’ve tried both.
- What doesn’t work – plastic wrap. I saw some blogger recommend wrapping leaves in Saran wrap and I tried it and it was a disaster. The leaves stuck to the plastic and ripped.
- What does work – pillowcases. I know it sounds weird but hear me out. Slip a pillowcase over the top of a bushy plant and tie it at the base. The fabric breathes, it protects the leaves, and it’s soft so nothing bends.
For individual stems, group them together like you’re making a bouquet. Put a rubber band around the stems, not too tight, and wrap a paper towel around the leaves.
And if you have those really expensive “real touch” plants that feel like actual leaves? Those are so fragile. I literally wrap each one individually in tissue paper. Yes it takes forever. Yes it’s annoying. But those things are like forty bucks a pop and I’m not replacing them.
Where Are You Even Putting All This Stuff
This is the part nobody wants to talk about.
You can clean them. You can wrap them. You can pack them perfectly. But if you shove them in a hot attic or a damp basement, you’re screwed.
Attics in summer get so hot that plastic stuff just warps. I had a fake fern that sat in my mom’s attic for a year and when I got it back, the leaves were all curled up and crispy. Not crispy like dead plant crispy, crispy like melted plastic crispy. Gross.
Basements are bad too but for different reasons. They get musty. Your fake plants will start to smell weird. And that smell doesn’t come out.
If you have a spare closet, that’s your best bet.
But if you don’t? And let’s be real, most of us don’t have a spare closet just sitting around empty – that’s where you start thinking about a storage unit.
We have spaces that are climate controlled specifically so stuff like this doesn’t get destroyed. You don’t want your expensive faux fiddle leaf fig to come out looking like something from a horror movie, right? Our units stay cool and dry. No melting, no mildew, no bugs.
The Unboxing Process (The Scary Part)
Okay so you’ve stored your plants for months. Now you’re pulling them out. And they look terrible.
Don’t panic.
I have literally cried over a squished artificial plant before. It’s embarrassing but true. Then I learned about the steam trick and it changed everything.
Take the sad looking plant into your bathroom, turn on the shower as hot as it goes, and close the door. Leave it in there for like ten minutes. The steam loosens everything up. You can literally reshape the leaves with your fingers.
For plastic ones, use a blow dryer on medium heat. Warm it up, bend it how you want it, hold it there until it cools.
I saved a completely flattened fern this way. It looked like roadkill and now it looks perfectly normal again.
One Last Weird Tip
This is something I figured out by accident. Before you pack your plants, take a photo of them. Like a close up.
I know that sounds ridiculous but here’s why – when you go to unpack them months later, you forget how the leaves were supposed to angle or how the stems curved. You’ll have that photo on your phone to reference and you can reshape them exactly how they were before.
Saved me so much frustration when I was trying to arrange my dining table centerpiece.
So Here’s the Deal
Look, I’m not gonna tell you that storing fake plants is fun. It’s not. It’s tedious and it takes time and honestly, sometimes you just want to throw them all in a trash bag and deal with it later. But if you care about your stuff – and I’m guessing you do since you bought them in the first place – taking an extra thirty minutes to do it right is worth it.
Your future self will thank you.
And if you’re dealing with a ton of seasonal decor and you just don’t have the space to do all this properly, that’s what we’re here for. Rent a unit from us, store it right, and when you pull your decorations out next season they’ll look just as good as the day you put them away.
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