Sunday, February 20

Gift Wrap Organization

So one of my favorite magazine subscriptions is to Better Homes and Gardens (Along with  Real Simple, and House Beautiful). In their February 2011 issue (Pg. 79), they showed an over-the-door gift wrap station.  I love to organize things, but I had yet to create a gift wrap center (although I've always wanted to).  For the last few years, all gift wrap supplies (tape, ribbon, gift bags, tissue paper, etc.) were stuffed into a large under-the-bed box in our foyer closet (excuse the closet, it has not received a facelift since we've moved in). 


and the gift wrap was balanced against the wall in a clost in the den. I'm pretty petite, so I couldn't always bring the box down very easily to go through the items to find the one I wanted.  Needless to say, I needed an upgrade but wasn't sure what to do yet and I definitely wasn't ready to spend money on something new for it (I have other things I'm saving up for first).

Well, once I saw the picture in the magazine (along with steps!), I knew I could do this in my own home in the foyer closet.  The best news of all was that I had one of those wire-rack organizers already from my college apartment days (used to have it in the bathroom closet for all my hair products/blowdryer/flat iron/makeup/etc.).  So I took it out of storage, cleaned it off and hung it up.  If you compare the picture from the magazine (I can't seem to find a link - anyone know of one?) to my actual closet you notice that I still need to find a few glass jars for small items and that my last bin (at the bottom) is not quite as deep, but it works. 



The only issue I've had with it so far is that if I open the door too quickly, the entire rack swings away from the door a little and then slams into it.  My husband plans on putting two small screws at the bottom to secure it and prevent any further swinging.  This is an easy afternoon project once you have the supplies.  I found this over the door wire rack for a good price at Walmart in the pantry organization area about 5 years ago, but I can't seem to find it on their website now (discontinued maybe?).  However, they have a few similar products here:




The important part is that you choose one where you can adjust the shelves to different places so they can accommodate gift wrap rolls, smaller ribbon spools, etc. If you don't have lots of wrapping supplies, you might be able to get away with the 2 or 4 basket unit instead, and I'm sure there are some super shoppers out there that could find something similar at a TJ Maxx, SteinMart, Big Lots, or Marshall's.

Not bad, eh?

What do you do for your gift wrap organization?  I know there are more elaborate systems out there, share yours!

9 comments:

  1. Love it!!! :) I have mine all sitting in a tall box in a closet in my office/sewing room. You have such great ideas Brandi! :)

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  2. Thanks! I got the idea from an issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

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  3. Where can I find one of the over the door organizers, I have looked in all of our craft stores, Lowes and Home Depot with no luck?

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  4. Sue, I purchased mine at Walmart many years ago in the closet/kitchen organizing section. I haven't looked for one again recently, but I would start by looking there. It was orginally sold as a pantry organizer. I hope this helps. Good luck with your search!

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  5. I found this organizer at Bed Bath and Beyond today - it is $29.99 and has adjustable shelves and all. It can be mounted on the door or hung over the door.

    What did you use to secure your wrapping paper rolls from falling out of the organizer?

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  6. Elizabeth - At first, I tied a piece of string from one end of the hanger to the other and then paperclipped each roll of paper to the string, but I eventually found a large enough rubberband to go around all the rolls of paper and the hanger itself. Both systems worked just fine to hold the paper in place. Good luck with your gift wrap center! :)

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  7. Elastic about 1 inch width would hold wrapping paper in place perfectly. I'm definitely making a trip to Walmart this weekend. I NEED this solution! Thanks!!!

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  8. Elastic sounds like a perfect solution!

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  9. I found the BHG link you were looking for on Pinterest & a comment led me to you! Thanks for the clarification on what the wire rack actually was. Can't wait to try this.
    http://www.bhg.com/decorating/storage/organization-basics/declutter-and-stress-less/?sssdmh=dm17.542501&esrc=nwdc081011&email=3625239575#page=9

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