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sweeby

Hubby's brilliant idea -

16 years ago

Thought I'd share this in case it helps anyone else...

I love beautifully wrapped packages -- nice boxes, lovely paper, big bows! So I have a pretty good collection of wrapping supplies, and of course, no place big enough to store them all where they're instantly accessible. But I'm organized, and have the 'box of boxes', the 'bag of bags', the 'bag of ribbons' and the big old tub of wrapping paper.

Hubby's answer (last year) was to store them in the attic, then fetch them down for me whenever I needed them. I knew this wouldn't work, since I wrap gifts an average of twice per month -- but I agreed to try it. Thing is, they're so darned big, and so darned heavy... Predictably, he got tired of lugging, and I got tired of dashing to the attic when he wasn't around.

Well This Year, Hubby had the brilliant idea to just buy another (smaller) set of storage pieces so I can split my wrappings into 'Christmas' and 'Non-Christmas' -- then store only the Christmas set in the attic, leaving the much smaller and much more frequently used 'Non Christmas' set downstairs.

Simply brilliant!

Comments (11)

  • 16 years ago

    Oooh, I love good organizing ideas -- especially since I can't come up with them myself :) Thanks for the tip!

  • 16 years ago

    Hi Sweeby! We keep all of our Christmas wrap in the attic too, and it comes down with the decorations after Thanksgiving. Two years ago I bought a terrific under-bed gift-wrap rubbermaid type thing at Target. It actually came filled with paper, bows and tags, which of course are long gone. But now I keep it under my bed with my stash of wrapping supplies, including scissors, tape, tags, etc. It is good sized and has slots for everything so stays fairly well organized. It also has a handle on one long-side, so in one easy step I can pull it out, take it out to the family room and wrap away in front of tv. Happy New Year!

  • 16 years ago

    Another under-the-bed keeper of wrapping supplies here. I just got a very low but long rubbermaid-type box for the paper, and another for the bows and labels. A very convenient place for me.

  • 16 years ago

    I love to wrap beautiful presents although I can't always promise a beautiful bow. I usually cheat and use French wire ribbons. Now that the kids are adults I can wrap my presents as I buy them and place them under the tree as part of the decor.

    But two years ago it finally dawned on me to stop buying Christmas wrapping paper- at least the printed ones that scream "I'm Christmas, I'm Christmas and nothing else!" So after the holidays I look for wrapping paper that could be used year around especially solid colors or subtle prints that won't overwhelm the bows and ribbons.

    Today I bought 3 rolls from the 1/2 price Christmas wrap- one was a two tone green pinstripe, one was an embossed white leaf on white and the last was a pretty foil. Now I can keep all my paper together and use whatever I happen to have on hand. It reduced the number of rolls I was storing and by keeping lots of solids I can do everything from baby gifts to weddings.

  • 16 years ago

    I'm an organizational freak and last year I bought a bunch of 2 quart plastic tubs and sorted out my holiday from non-holiday wrap. I have a neat round tube thing that holds the holiday paper, and on top is a zippered compartment that I put tape & scissors in. Another Rubbermaid container holds tags, gift bags, flattened boxes and holiday tissue.

    Then I packed my 2 qt tubs with non-holiday stuff...one holds bags, one tissue & bag stuffings. Another holds ribbon, and one with bows. In one of the boxes I have tape & scissors too. I keep my greeting cards in a big box, too. I'm lucky to have a hall closet where I keep this stuff. And I used my lable maker (my favorite gift ever!) to lable everything, and now wrapping is a piece of cake.

    Organizing has a bit of an up front cost (tubs, extra tape, scissors, lables) but it's sure saved me a ton of headache. Now if I could just get MY DH to put my holiday boxes in the attic to save me room...

  • 16 years ago

    I keep Christmas wrap, bows, tags, the whole deal in the crawl space under the stairs with other Christmas things.

    Regular gift wrap I store in a stand-up rubbermaid or sterilite container. (Probably got it at Target or somewhere like that.) It's tucked in the back of a guest room closet. About 4' tall, maybe 18" square, large domed top that is not round but squared (dumb description, best I can offer ;). Rolls stand up in bottom, then there's a little shelf/box compartment on top for tags, bows, whatever. Easy to get to for year round use.

  • 16 years ago

    I've been keeping wrapping supplies in an oak dresser for the past 20 years. It's been in the breakfast and top of stairs (last house) and in the lower level hall (this house), but will be moved to the main level laundry room when DD2 takes her dresser that's currently there.

    The one top drawer hold scissors, tape, name tags and other small items. The other drawer hold rolls of curling ribbon, on their side. I don't have to remove to wrap - just pull up and cut what I need.

    One bottom drawer holds tissue paper and bows. The bottom drawer, rolls of paper. For paper that's too long to fit in the drawer, I store in a cardboard box (up on end, top folded inside) just inside a storage closet. Everything is easy to get to.

    I am an overly organized person. Always great to hear new ideas.

  • 16 years ago

    I keep my rolls of wrapping paper in a tall narrow plastic laundry basket in a closet.

    It has become tradition in our family to wrap birthday gifts to each other with leftover Christmas wrap! I do buy nice paper for gifts to others, but just use up the old Xmas wrap on ourselves.

    I shared a photo from my Birthday last year (in Feb) and my friend was shocked my gifts were wrapped in Santa red and green.

    By the time Christmas time arrives, we've usually used up all our paper and I buy more.

  • 16 years ago

    Wrap is separated Holiday/Birthday & other occasions in the standup rolling bins from BBB. Flat papers, ribbons, tape scissors, etc. are contained in a plastic milk crate type container. All wrap stored in attic with easy access. Makes life easier. Reminds me that my holiday paper still needs to be organized and put away till next year.

  • 16 years ago

    All my gift wrap is in a wine carton, with the dividers for bottles. Each square compartment holds 2-3 rolls of wrap, depending on the diameter. It lives in a closet. Ribbon is kind of everywhere, depending on size. I have kept folded tissue paper in one of those hanging shoe bags but don't have a spot for it right now.

    Here is a link that might be useful: A shoe bag like this...

  • 16 years ago

    It is a great idea; that's exactly how we've done it for over twenty years.
    The Christmas containers go in the attic, with scissors, ribbon, tags, and remain there until the holiday season.

    I keep wrapping paper and bags for other occasions during the year in a separate place in the house. The rolls are stored in a tall, narrow trash can in a rather messy "craft" closet in the laundry room right now, but I hope to have my craft island built this year with special drawers for wrapping supplies.

    I'm considering two rolls hung on the wall over the island--one with brown paper and one with white paper. I'm trying to simplify!