Save the Paper!

I don't know about you, but for me organizing my wrapping paper, gift bags and tissue paper is a royal pain. I keep a lot on hand because, well, there's always a birthday coming up - and if I shop the sales, I don't have to pay top dollar for a beautiful wrapping job.

Anyway, the wrapping stuff always gets in the way and usually ends up trampled, torn and eventually goes the way of all garbage. Sad story. But now that I keep them organized, I don't have to worry about it.

Let's start with gift bags. They're the easiest. Simply get the biggest bag and stuff all the littler bags into it. And if your bag isn't big enough to fit all of them in, just fit in the biggest stuff (or whatever you can) and grab another bag for the rest.

Now what to do with the tissue paper? Same as the bags - fold up the paper and put it in the larger gift bag.

I do this for my ribbons too. Any beautiful scrap ribbons that are big enough to reuse are rolled up, paper-clipped, and put in a bag with my other spools of curling ribbon.

Organizing my wrapping paper rolls was the most difficult project for me. I tried all kinds of ideas. I put them in a gift bag, but the bag tore. I put them in a large box, but that kept falling over. I tried a tall plastic clothes hamper. That worked, but then I couldn't see at a glance which roll I wanted.

Finally, I found my solution - the magazine storage box. Magazine holders are made to hold heavy stacks of paper, so they work perfectly. The cheap dollar store boxes are fine although a bit more prone to tipping when packed all the way full. I haven't had any trouble with the heavier and higher quality magaine holders.

The nice thing about this little organization idea is that it not only keeps my gift wrap neat and tidy, but it also looks good - so I'm not embarrassed when I store them where people can see them. :)