Organize Wrapping Supplies

I’m excited to share a guest post with you from another organizing guru! Maggie is going to share her three tips with you on how to organize your gift wrapping supplies, just in time for the season! (Also, if you need some extra resources to help with your planning this season, be sure to check out my shop.) I also wanted to share this great article on Clutter Keeper that shares some great ideas for small spaces. Small spaces can create unique organizing challenges! Ok, now let’s get to Maggie’s tips and tricks!

The holidays are approaching quickly, which means gift buying. And when there are gifts, there is gift wrapping. I imagine we all have (at least) one area of our house that has an assortment of wrapping supplies, and have, over the years, accumulated our fair share of gift bags and wrapping paper. But ultimately, when I need to wrap something, I find myself running around the house gathering items from various drawers and closets. For me, buying unnecessary wrapping supplies is a huge waste of both time and money. Unfortunately, my disorganization has caused me to do this more than once.

So, in the spirit of the holidays I decided I needed tackle the task of organizing my wrapping supplies and I’m here to help you do the same, with these top three tips.

De-Clutter

When organizing gift-wrapping supplies, the first thing to think about is de-cluttering what you already have. Make sure you are only working with gift wrapping supplies and eliminate anything that does not fall into that category. For me, that meant finding a new home for some errant party supplies. This also means gathering all the supplies you have scattered around your house to one designated location.

As I was de-cluttering, I spotted a Starbucks bag that I knew I wasn’t going to use for wrapping anyone’s gift, so I decided to recycle it. Same goes for wrapping paper scraps or old tissue paper you thought you would use. Be honest with yourself and keep only what is useful and recycle the rest. This stage is a bit messy, but it will eventually come together.

Categorize

After de-cluttering, you’re going to want to categorize. Sort through all your gift bags and group them based on their occasion. Recent events in your life may give you an abundance of a specific occasion. For me, we recently had a baby and there were plenty of bags left over from our baby shower. I like to keep my occasion categories general; here are the ones I used:

Holiday
Birthday
Neutral/General
Baby Shower

Once you have the bags sorted, stack them and place them inside the largest bag of each category. Do the same categorization with your wrapping paper, gift boxes, and ribbon. I’m more of a bag gal, so I didn’t have a lot of wrapping paper to group. I nested the boxes that would fit well together, and then I used some boxes that didn’t nest well to help me organize ribbon.

Often, people think that they must go out and buy new bins to have any kind of organizational system, but that is not true. Many things you already own can be used for organization. Which leads me to my last tip: storage.

Storage

Once you have everything categorized, you are going to want to store everything. The most important part of this step is you want to make it work for you and your family. It’s best not to put things where they are difficult to access because that’s how items get separated or unused. Putting your large storage bin away in the basement on the top shelf might look good in theory, but when it comes time to use the supplies it might feel easier for you to just go pick up a new bag when you get the gift. This doesn’t save us time or money.

Put your supplies in an area where everyone can access it. If that means a large storage bin in a coat closet or a few drawers in your office, then do what works for you. For me, the dresser in our guest room was the just spot. The top of the dresser is a perfect place to wrap a gift and because of my de-cluttering and categorizing, I didn’t even use all the drawers!

After today, I feel more prepared for the holidays than I have in the past! Following these tips will hopefully help ease the stress of this season and seasons throughout the year!