Reader Space: Great Gift Wrap Organization!

Today's story makes me smile.  Not only because a reader now has the sweetest gift wrap organization imaginable, but because it is real.  Sure, we see the loveliest of organizing pictures in magazines, which I even feature  here from time to time.  Why?  Because they are inspirational.  They give us a happy feeling and inspire us to be creative.  And that's exactly what happened with today's reader, Kelly.  She was definitely feeling inspired by a pretty project and I love her results!

Kelly wrote:

Jen,

I discovered your blog a few months ago and I love it! I have always been an organized person, but lacked the ideas and inspiration that your blog provides. Your blog has really motivated me! My husband is in the military and we are gearing up for a big move this year, which has prompted me to get purging and organizing as much as possible before we must pack up everything once again. I've been taking it one space at a time, and one area that really needed attention was our gift wrap supplies. Last week I reorganized my gift wrap using an over-the-door Elfa organizer from the Container Store. A few days later, I noticed your Organized Dream Home post and saw that we were both inspired by the same photo of gift wrap supplies organized on the back of a door in an office. I just thought you might like to see what I was able to come up with. I've attached some pictures of my "before" pile and how it turned out, nice and neat on the back of a door. I also blogged about it here.

 

Since we are a military family, we move a lot and usually don't own the houses we live in, which means we need our storage solutions to be semi-permanent and hopefully don't need to be drilled into anything, like a door, cabinet or wall. We have 2 small children which means every inch matters, so the Elfa Over-door System is perfect for this project because it makes use of space that usually does nothing. The Elfa rack didn't need to be drilled into the door, so when we are packing up, it will be easy to empty out and take down. No repairs needed and we can use it for anything we want in any room with a door in any house in the future. I can think of lots of uses for this over-door rack and it is very high-quality so I think my investment of about $70 will be worth it in the long run.  

 

My first step was to gather up all my gift wrap supplies into one place and then purge. I tend to keep all gift bags thinking I will reuse them so my collection had become a bit out of control. I got rid of anything in bad shape, or things that I would never reuse. I asked myself: what do I tend to buy for gifts and how do I usually wrap them? Since we are military and most of our friends and family live far away, I tend to buy small gifts or gift cards since everything must be mailed. I kept this in mind as I sorted and purged. I also made sure to keep a few bags from every occasion category, such as weddings, birthdays, baby, holiday, etc. That way I would always have something on hand. Now I am able to "shop" from my own collection of gift wrap supplies instead of running out to a big box store thinking I need to buy something. And space in our home that had not functioned as anything but a door before, now functions as smart storage. I hope this provides a little bit of inspiration for you as I am inspired daily by your blog!

 

Kelly

 
The popular inspiration photo is this one from Better Homes and Gardens:

{source}

"Here is how my wrapping stuff looked before. Shoved under the bed in my daughter's room or in her closet, not ideal locations now that she is getting bigger and needing more of her bedroom space for herself. Plus the wrapping paper roll holder is too short for many of my rolls and so the lid would just sit awkwardly on top. The under-the-bed storage container was all wonky from our last move and the lid wouldn't fit right, plus it was overflowing with way too many bags.

I decided I needed to purge, purge, and purge some more until I could fit all of my supplies on this over-the-door Elfa rack. This rack worked perfectly for us since we are a military family and we move alot, we need something that does not get drilled into walls/doors and can go with us when we move. This organizer would also be great for a pantry or bathroom or laundry room or garage, so we will always be able to use it for something. Or at least that is how I justified the cost because Elfa is not cheap, even on sale.

Here is what I needed to purchase to create this storage:

• 77-3/4in Mounted Standard
• Set of Two Residential Overdoor Hooks
• 3 Deep Baskets
• 1 Shallow Basket
• 1 Media Rack

Here is a link to all of the over-door Elfa components

A deep basket holds about 15 paper rolls {with room for more} and the media rack holds them in place

A shallow basket on top fits all of my curling ribbons:

Another deep basket holds my gift tags and stickers, a handful of gift boxes, wrapping tissue, and some more ribbon:

And yet another deep basket holds all the gift bags I kept:

I purged and tossed anything ripped, torn, old looking or just plain ugly. I made sure to keep a handful in each category: holiday, baby, wedding, birthdays, etc. I probably still have 40 or so bags and they all fit in this rack.

So, now all my gift wrap is in one convenient space on a door that was doing nothing to help me organize before. It kinda just stood there doing nothing. But Elfa and I put this door to work and we didn't even need to drill one hole! The whole set up of the rack took literally 3 minutes and sorting and organizing took about an hour total."

I can't express how smitten I am with her project!

 

• She found inspiration and made it her own.  
• She sorted all of the gift wrap supplies, analyzed what made sense to keep based on her personal situation and purged the rest!
• She found a solution that best fits her family needs.  Since they move frequently and rent, no drilling required and it can be reused anywhere they go to next!  
• The piece she used is so versatile in regards to what it can store and how it can be used and because of it's quality it will last for an eternity so it will be well worth her investment.
• She is now freeing up floor and closet space by taking advantage of previously unused door space.
• She is inspiring others.  Yes, her before picture is almost identical to my current gift wrap storage.  I am motivated!
• She made it easier to shop her own home and reduce over purchasing wrapping supplies at the store, no more rummaging through multiple bins!

 

Who else is totally in love?  Anyone else been organizing their gift wrapping essentials?  What additional ideas/tips and tricks can you share?  Who else has checked an organizing project off of their "pinned" list?

ATTENTION!!  Want to be featured in a Reader Space edition?  Have an awesome organizing story to share?  I am looking for projects that have made a positive impact to your life.  Please send your story and photos to iheartorganizing@gmail.com and I would heart to feature them right here, on the blog!!  Photos should be high resolution and unedited.  Please include a description of the project, including any costs, inspiration, and how it has changed your life and routine for the better!  Oh, and no worries my friends, we will NEVER judge "before" pictures because that just wouldn't be nice!  Only love goes on at this blog!  More info HERE.