UHeart Organizing: The "Gift" of Beautiful Storage

Raise your hand if you find joy in wrapping up a darling little package and bringing extra joy to someones day.  Whether it is for a birthday, a holiday, or "just because", the act of gift giving never gets old.  It doesn't take much to make a package special, but a few key items tend to go along way.  Ever since organizing my own gift wrapping station, I have found I am much more prepared to gift at a moment's notice.  I love having a few special giftable items on hand at all times, as well as a stock of blank cards, versatile papers, scissors, tape and decorative embellishments.

Courtney, my wonderful friend from A Thoughtful Place Blog, combined her love for wrapping up a pretty package with her organizational talents to give her wrapping hot spot a little update.  I love how a few small changes completely refreshed her beautiful space.  Take it away Courtney!

Hi, all! I’m so excited to be hanging out here today. I feel like it’s been too long. I have been soaking in all of the kitchen inspiration from Jen and hinting to my husband that we should panel the ceiling. Not sure he is picking up on my hints. But today I am talking about gift wrapping. My very first job {when I was just 11} was helping to wrap gifts during the holiday season at a quaint little book cottage. Sad to say the book cottage no longer exists, but my love for wrapping does. We have an upstairs laundry room and I have always stored gift wrapping supplies in it. But like with so many spaces, over time it began to fail me and it was high time I did something about it. I kept it very simple and love how convenient it’s been. Hoping you can take away some easy ideas to incorporate into your own space.

Here is the finished outcome. It’s not a major overhaul, bit it is like I have stepped into a whole new room. Don’t you love when little changes have such a huge impact. To fully appreciate how I organized this room, we need to take a step back to the before.

First and foremost, over the years, this cabinet had become a catch all and was years of unused ribbon. I even spy a music box from when I was little. Can anyone tell my why it’s in my wrapping cabinet? So random!

So here is a better breakdown of why this space was no longer working for me. You can see from above I couldn’t even open the dryer door all the way because of the way the cabinet was situated. I shake my head at why I lived with it like that for so long! Scary. By the way, the white cabinet was a target purchase made over 12 years ago when we first got married. Our home had no bathroom storage and I had it in our first master bath to store towels. It’s an expensive piece, but when mom is the only one opening and closing it, it holds up very nicely! To start this overhaul, I took absolutely everything out and purged. Boy did I purge. If I didn’t love it . . . it was gone.

By simply rethinking things, I was left with so much more space in this room. I turned the cabinet {long overdue} and now I can open my dryer door. Yes, I am laughing at how silly it seems, too. But more importantly, I was able to get rid of the basket that was overflowing on the floor. I moved the wrapping paper to a plastic bin in the cabinet after removing the shelves.

Because I purged so many things I hadn’t touched in years, I was able to relocate the ribbons to one drawer and extra tote bags to the other.

I think I purchased this Ikea rod and plastic bin system over five years ago and never used it. It was hiding in this room, too! So I hung this baby up and things are so much more organized. I love that I can grab gift tags, scissors, and tape so easily.

And a little shopping hint. When you pop into your local Michael's next time, look at the bins that hold $1 ribbon. Such cute finds. I love to use patterned ribbon on my brown craft paper.

Keeping tags and pens handy is such a treat. I just wrapped up my dear friend’s birthday gift and it was actually a pleasure to walk in and grab what I needed and have a place to put it back.

I added two removable hooks to the wall so I could hang the totes I used the most. I also love that I can easily spot if I am getting low. I choose to pick these up on sale when I see them, too.

The flowers on top of the cabinet are actually part of my wrapping supplies, too. You can see here how I use them for wrapping.

I honestly want to just hang out in here. Isn’t it funny how powerful a little rearranging can be. It’s a breath of fresh air to get rid of all the items I didn’t need and truly start over. What about you? Are you a big fan of wrapping? Do you have a designated spot for all of your goodies?

_______________

"Do you believe in love at first sight? I sure do because when I first stumbled upon I Heart Organizing I immediately fell in love with Jen's mad organizational skills. I think we all long for a calm, organized, well styled life. I am the author of A Thoughtful Place blog where I dish on all things related to decorating, organizing, entertaining, and of course DIY-ing! To be quite honest, working on making my house a home is my happy place. It fulfills my need to be creative and I love sharing ideas {both big and small} with my readers. Along with my blog, I am a contributing writer to House of Fifty and have recently started my own decorating firm, Casey Grace Design, LLC, with my talented sister. I call Orange County, California home where I live with amazing husband and two children. At the end of a busy day, I love to enjoy an ice cold beer on the front porch with my hubby while we watch our children ride their bikes or run around. Life is sweet and I am thrilled to be a part of the IHeart Organizing Team."