Christmas de-lights caddy

Abstract

A Christmas De-Lights Caddy that provides easy storage and retrieval of strings of lights and decorations such as Christmas ornaments. A small chest with drawers on two opposite sides is provided. The drawers of the chest are lined with cushioning material to provide protection of delicate decorations during storage. A spool is supported above the chest by two support arms. The arms extend upward from two opposite sides of the chest. The user attaches an end of the string of lights to a clip provided in the core of the spool and uses a hand crank to turn the spool and wind strings of lights around the spool. A terminal end of the last string of lights is attached to a clip provided on the carrying handle located above the spool. The carrying handle connects the tops of the support arms and is used for moving the caddy to and from storage.

I claim:  
     
         1 . An apparatus for storing and retrieving strings of lights and other decorative items, the apparatus comprising: 
 a chest with at least one drawer in a front side and at least one drawer in a back side of the chest, the drawers of the chest providing for storage of decorations such as Christmas ornaments;    a spool that is used to store the strings of lights wherein the spool is in a horizontal alignment and is supported above the chest by two support arms that extend upward from opposite sides of a top of the chest, each of the support arms supporting opposite ends of the spool via a shaft that extends horizontally from a core of the spool wherein the support arms allow for rotation of the spool about an axis defined by the shaft;    a hand crank that is attached to an end of the shaft that allows a person to rotate the spool; and,    a handle for carrying the apparatus, the handle comprising a bar that has one end connected to a top of one of the support arms and another end connected to a top of the other support arm;    wherein a first clip is provided on the core of the spool for holding an end of the string of lights so that that string of lights can be wound around the spool and a second clip is provided on the handle for holding an opposite end of the string of lights after the lights have been wound around the spool for storage.    
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein there are six drawers in the front side of the chest and one large drawer in the back side of the chest.  
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a cover that can be placed over the apparatus during storage.    
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the drawers are lined with a soft material, such as felt, that provides protection and cushioning to the decorative items stored therein.  
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is made from wood, wood by products, plastic, plastic by products or a combination of these materials.  
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a total height of the apparatus is less than three feet.  
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the hand crank includes a handle that allows free rotation around the hand crank thereby providing frictionless hand cranking by the user during winding and unwinding of the strings of lights.  
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus has been finished with a varnish, stain, lacquer, paint or similar finishing material.  
     
     
         9 . A method of storing and retrieving strings of lights and decorative items involving the use of a chest with a spool supported above the chest by two support arms, the chest having drawers in two opposite sides of the chest, the method comprising the steps of: 
 attaching an end of the strings of lights to a clip on a core of the spool;    turning a hand crank attached to the spool so that the strings of lights wind around the spool and clipping an opposite end of the strings of lights to a second clip on a carrying handle located above the spool upon completion of winding; and,    storing decorative items, such as Christmas ornaments, inside the drawers of the chest;    wherein bottoms of the two support arms are attached to opposite sides of the chest and tops of the support arms are connected to the carrying handle.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein there are six drawers in a front side of the chest and one large drawer in a back side of the chest.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising the step of: 
 placing a cover over the apparatus during storage.    
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the drawers are lined with a soft material, such as felt, that provides protection and cushioning to the decorative items stored therein.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the chest, spool, support arms and carrying handle are made from wood, a wood product, plastic, a plastic product or a combination of these materials.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein a total height of the apparatus is less than three feet.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the hand crank includes a handle that allows free rotation around the hand crank thereby providing frictionless hand cranking by a user during storage and retrieval of the strings of lights.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the chest, spool, support arms and carrying handle are finished with a stain, varnish, lacquer, paint or other finishing material.