Organizing 101: Holiday wrap-up

Gift wrap
How you store supplies depends on what kind of wrapper you are (elaborate or minimalist), how many supplies you have, and whether you use a designated wrapping area (a corner of a room) or your dining table.

• Choose a spot for supplies -- ideally, as close as possible to where you wrap. If the only space you have is a basement corner, consider setting up a work surface nearby.

• Store holiday papers separate from other papers, if possible.

• Rolls of wrapping paper can be stored in a variety of ways, such as Rubbermaid wrapping storage containers, which come in horizontal and vertical models. Slide a horizontal one under a guest bed, if possible, so that you have space for off-season clothes storage under the beds in your family's rooms. Tall baskets, laundry hampers, wastebaskets or umbrella stands are other options.

• Storage boxes are excellent for ribbon, scissors, tape, embellishments like dried flowers, and tissue paper; shoeboxes work well if stored out of sight. Place them under the same bed as rolls, or stack them on shelves near your wrapping area.

• Spools of ribbon can also be hung on the wall in a designated wrapping area. Thread the spools onto a piece of string hung between two wall-mounted hooks. Other options for: hang dowels on the wall, or hooks on a pegboard. Even paper towel holders (wall mounted or countertop) do the trick.

• For flat paper, if you have space, mimic store displays by slipping single sheets over towel bars wall mounted vertically about one foot apart, so you can see the patterns at a glance. If you don't have space, you can layer the sheets. Keep square packages of wrapping paper under rolls in a Rubbermaid horizontal wrap container or any sweater storage box.

• In a closet, a canvas zippered wardrobe can hide a wealth of rolls; stand them in wastebaskets at the bottom of the wardrobe. Canvas shoe organizers make great cubbies for smaller supplies like ribbon; larger canvas sweater organizers provide shelving for bows and gift boxes.

• Keep folded gift bags in one large gift bag or fold flat and store in a large plastic storage container or drawer.

• Custom built-ins offer premier storage. Gail Johnston Habs, editor of Style at Home, included a drawer in her home office renovation for gift bags and ribbon. When planning built-ins, ensure drawers are at least 32 inches wide to accommodate 30-inch rolls of paper. Use dividers to separate rolls of paper from smaller supplies. If drawers are deep, stack storage boxes (the size of photo storage boxes) and organize bows, ribbons, tape and scissors.