How to Organize Gift Wrap Supplies

Whether it’s a birthday, holiday or any other special occasion, we traditionally wrap gifts or put them in a nice gift bag. Our gift-wrapping essentials are always around … somewhere. They are most likely spread out in different places all over the house, sometimes in tattered condition.

Instead of storing gift wrap in the garage, ribbons in a dresser drawer, tape in the kitchen and gift bags in a hall closet, consider creating a central wrapping station. The ideal place for a gift wrap station would be in a craft room or dedicated craft space in your home.

Corralling your gift-wrapping supplies will:

• Save space by reducing clutter

• Save time by having everything you need in one place

• Save money since you’ll know what you have and won’t buy duplicates

Here are a few steps to creating an efficient gift-wrapping station in your craft room.

1. Purge

The foundation of every cleaning and organization project is purging. Get all your wrapping supplies out of their various hiding places around your home and assess them. Throw away wrapping paper and tissue paper that is torn or has holes. Take a good look at your ribbons and trash any that are unraveling or faded. Get rid of empty tape dispensers, dried out markers and pens and any items you’d planned to reuse but are now past their prime.

2. Take Stock

After purging, review what you have. Do you have everything you need to wrap gifts at any time? The basics include:

• Rolls of wrapping paper—seasonal, occasional and generic

• Ribbons and bows

• Clear cellophane tape

• Gift bags, various sizes

• Gift boxes, various sizes

• Tissue paper, white

• Scissors

• Pens and markers

• Gift tags

• All-occasion greeting cards

If you are low or don’t have any of these items, make a list and stock up when they go on sale.

3. Sort

Sort your items. Put all of your wrapping paper together and organize it by occasion. Put all the bows together organized by color; same with ribbons. Put all your peripheral supplies such as tape, scissors and pens together.

4. Find a Spot

Identify an area in your craft room that you would like to designate as a wrapping station. You could dedicate an entire wall, create a hanging gift-wrap center behind a door, or simply organize everything in a large clear container and hide it away.

5. Select Storage Methods

Once you decide how much space you’re going to dedicate to your wrapping station, you can begin selecting storage containers for your supplies.