One bag per garland
The single most useful habit is refusing to press several garlands into one box. Fabric heads crush permanently under weight over a year, and a crushed head does not recover the way a freshly unpacked one does. One garland, one bag, coiled loosely.
Roll backdrops, never fold
A fold across a printed backdrop leaves a line that shows in every photograph taken in front of it, and it does not iron out. Roll the backdrop around a cardboard tube with the printed side outward and stand the tube upright.
Keep it dry, keep it dark
Damp is what ruins cotton torans and woollen garlands — not use. Store them off the floor, away from an outside wall, with a silica sachet in the bag if you have one. Sunlight fades dyed fabric faster in storage than in use, because storage lasts eleven months and the festival lasts three days.
Metal, glass and lights
Lanterns and glass ornaments go back into their moulded inserts if you kept them; if not, wrap each piece separately. Take batteries out of light strings before storing — a leaking cell ruins the string and the box it sits in.
Check the list before you order again
Write down what survived and what did not before packing it away. Next year that note is worth more than any product page, because it is about your door, your balcony and your weather.