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:

Walmart 2 Basket Unit

Walmart 4 Basket Unit

Walmart 6 Basket Unit

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!

Hello Sun!

Warmer weather is finally here and I'm soaking up every minute of it that I can get.  Yesterday was normal lawn care (cut the grass, raked leaves, etc.) and today is the beginning of re-starting the garden, flowerboxes, and general landscaping.  I'm no garden pro, but we did not buy a single tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, or leaf of basil last summer.  Here's to the hope that this summer our skills continue to improve.  Pics and more posts will follow, but for today, I'm off to soak in some sun and spruce up my yard. :)