The Gift of Order

Avoid panicked shopping trips and tissue-paper and tape hunts with an organized trove of wrap and presents.

Ribbon in the closet, scissors in the kitchen, tape… missing in action. It takes the joy out of wrapping a gift when the supplies are scattered around the house. Tucking them all in one place is key, but how do you organize everything from waist-high rolls of wrap to spools of ribbon? For tips, we spoke with Debby Lea of Coquitlam, B.C.’s Streamlined Solutions Professional Organizing, Karen Sencich of Havoc to Harmony in Brampton, Ont., and Christina McDowell, Holt Renfrew spokesperson and image consultant.

Gift Wrap Tissue Clear plastic bins or a drawer tower provide compact storage for flat packs of paper and tissue and other supplies. Casters make it easier to drag everything from a closet; see-through drawers allow for quick retrieval of items. Elfa has a wheeled wrapping cart that corrals a jumble of supplies into a streamlined station; for bins and totes, try Rubbermaid. When saving tissue from a gift bag, first smooth, then fold and file by colour. An accordion file or banker’s box literature sorter (found in office-supply stores) both work well. Or try scrapbooking stores or http://www.scrapbookcottage.cafor filing trays designed to sort 12-by-12-inch scrapbooking paper. In a wrapping room or wide linen closet, slide rolls paper onto wall-mounted curtain rods, dowels or tension rods. In a narrow closet, try using a wine rack. For upright storage and easy accessibility, office suppliers sell storage stands with cubbies for each roll. Or use a liquor store box with the bottle dividers intact.	Ribbon and Bows Wall-amount a short curtain rod or paper-towel holder and slide rolls of ribbon onto it so it’s easy to replace empty rolls. Or use a countertop-style paper-towel holder. For drawer storage, buy a wire basket that fits in the drawer and cut a dowel slightly wider than the basket. Slide rolls of ribbon onto the dowel and thread the dowel through the holes in the basket. Use remaining space in basket for bows. Wind loose lengths of ribbon around a cardboard tube and pin them in place.	Gifts It’s a huge time-and stress-saver to maintain a supply of gifts in the same spot where you store wrap. Look for go-anywhere choices, such as beautiful boxed soaps, fine teas, corkcrews, books about wine, fashion or interiors, blank journals**, champagne or small treasures picked up on your travels. Keep a gift journal. Record hints and ideas, purchases you’ve made but not yet given and gifts you’ve already given (to avoid duplication). Put an asterisk beside the birthday notation on your calendar or agenda to remind you that you have a gift to purchase. If there are curious children around, hide gifts among your kitchen supplies with a misleading label like ‘’cappuccino maker.’’ Write yourself a note so you’ll remember where you’ve put the cache. Then again, be cautious about stockpiling gifts for children: their interests tend to change with the weather.
	Gift Bags Flatten gift bags and store them inside the largest bag your shelf can handle (this works for tissue, too). Organize bags by celebration: one for baby gifts, another for birthdays, etc. Stow holiday bags with tree ornaments to keep them out of the way. If shelf space is minimal, hand bags on an over-the-door clothes hanger or a hook inside a closet door.

**http://coeurenfete.ca/catalog/index.php?cPath=64_147&sort=2a&page=4

Source: House & Home Magazine, October 2007, by Cathie Kryczka.