Wrapping Paper, Etc.

A week or so ago I run into Hobby Lobby for a quick errand.  The short walk into the store from my car in the 110 degree summer has me soaking wet with sweat.  I enter the double doors and am instantly hit with the glorious chill of air conditioning.  Ahhhh.  I then take two steps into the store and am instantly hit with 100 aisles of Christmas decorations.  What????  It's still summer for goodness sakes! 

After my initial disgust and irritation with what I am witnessing, I roam the aisle with Christmas wrapping paper.  I'm not a big Christmas decorator.  I have a modestly decorated tree and the mandatory wreath on the door, but other than that, not much.  My OCD doesn't allow for trinkets and knick knacks to sit around the house, even if it is for just a month or so.  However, I do love Christmas wrapping paper.  Well, most all wrapping paper.  I feel that the presentation of the gift is just as important as the gift itself.  Tell that to my fiance who hands me my Christmas and birthday gifts in the plastic bag they left the store in.  Usually as soon as he walks in the house from purchasing them.  (Although he is an excellent gift giver.  I'm not complaining, just saying his presentation skills could use a little honing).  In addition, I feel that you can't really have too much ribbon on your gift.  It's a known fact at the Starkey house during the holidays, you will need a trusty pair of scissors to get into one of my wrapped gifts. 

Needless to say, I have a good bit of wrapping paper supplies.  Seeing as how I'm no Candy Spelling, I don't have the luxury of having a gift wrapping room in one of the wings of my home.  I have an empty shelf in a closet in a spare bedroom.  When wrapping gifts I may have to go in another room to either (A) hide the gift from my fiance, or (B) keep the dog from eating the ribbon and stealing the tape.  So my wrapping supplies need to be easily transported from area to area.  The solution I discovered were these handy boxes from Snapware.

I have ribbon in one compartment, tissue paper in another compartment along with supplies such as scissors and tape, bows in the third compartment, and gift bags in the fourth compartment.  You can divide up your supplies as you see fit, however each box snaps to the other.  So when you are transporting them from area to area, you only have the one box to tote.  Brilliant.  My wrapping paper I keep in a long Sterilite bin that is flat enough to take up minimal room in the storage closet.

Also, I keep my Christmas wrapping paper and supplies separate from my all-occasion supplies.  For Christmas supplies, I keep the paper in one of the stand up organizers.  This way I can keep all the Christmas paper stored out of the way in the attic and the stand up organizer takes up only a small amount of attic floor space.  In addition, I keep any Christmas themed ribbon and cards in a small Snapware box and Christmas gift bags in a larger Snapware box - in Christmas colors of course.  (I religiously store all holiday items in color appropriate bins.  No need for labels, no one asking questions, and no additional trips to the attic to retrieve or replace a bin.  Even the fiance can distinguish that the red and green bins need to come down for Christmas and the orange and black for Halloween.  I will post more details on this when we actually get closer to the holidays.) 

Please let me know of ways in which you have organized your wrapping supplies. And if you live in the Birmingham, Alabama area and could use my help in taming any organizational issue in your home, email me at TheNeatFreakOrganizer@gmail.com.