You don’t have to spend a lot of money to be organized. In fact you can often use items that you already have around your house to organize with. All it takes is a little thinking outside the box. Here are a some ideas that I found around the net and a few that I’ve come up with myself.

Under the bed boxes – I use these to store my gift wrap. I had looked around for an organizer at the store and didn’t really find one that I liked so I decided to use 2 boxes I already had at home. I use one for Christmas bags and gift wrap, and I use the other one for Birthday and other occasion wrap. These are great because they are long enough to hold any size gift wrap as well as other supplies, and you can conveniently hide your wrapping supplies away and get them out when you need them.

Small rubbermaid containers and file boxes – Use file boxes to store bows and ribbons and smaller containers for gift tags and other small supplies.

Ziplok bags – Use these to hold name tags, tape, ribbons, small bows, and small gift bags.

Shoe boxes – Shoe boxes can be used for scissors, bows, tags, gift bags, tissue paper, and just about all your gift wrapping supplies. You can also use shoe boxes to make a ribbon dispenser, as show below.

Paper towel holders – These also make good ribbon holders.

Garbage cans & laundry hampers – These are perfect for holding long rolls of gift wrap.

Large boxes – Whenever I buy something, I generally keep the box if I think I can use it or just in case something needs to be returned. This year I moved, and I still have a lot of my stuff in storage at my dad’s house, including my gift wrap containers. Well, a few days ago I bought a new vacuum cleaner, and rather than leaving my wrapping supplies in the middle of the floor, I decided to put them in the vacuum cleaner box for the time being. The box was the perfect size for the rolls I had. You could also use your Christmas tree box to put your gift wrapping supplies in and purchase a plastic storage container for your tree. (I always find it difficult to get the tree back in its box anyway, and it will be safer in a plastic container.) And if you’re partial to things looking good, you could always use some spare wrapping paper to make the box look festive.

Shoe rack – In the picture above a shoe rack was used to store bows, tages, scissors, tissue, and other supplies.

Coat Hangers – Use a tie/belt hanger for ribbons, or attach a shopping bag to a regular coat hanger to store paper.

Baskets – If you have any spare wicker baskets around the house, they would be useful to store gift tages, ribbons, and bows. Baskets are great because there are so many kinds to fit your needs. You can use baskets with or without handles, and you could also consider sewing baskets and picnic baskets. These are also relatively cheap at the craft store or dollar store.

More Ideas

Create your own gift wrap center. Use a spare closet, or create a gift wrapping table/area in a corner of your office or craft/sewing room. This could be used just for the holidays, or you could use it year round if you wrap a lot of presents throughout the year. You could also use a spare bedroom or other room in your house that’s not currently in use as a a temporary gift wrap station for the holidays.

Organize Magazine has a lot of great ideas for organizing giftwrap, using items in your home.

Country Living has a great article this month that shows you how to create a gift wrap station in your home.

Improvements Catalog has a very cool portable gift wrap organizer/table for $79.99 (pictured below).

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Every year I buy new gift wrap, no matter how much I have left over from the year before. Usually I’ll buy a couple of traditional rolls and a couple of Disney rolls or some other cartoon wrap, and then I’ll use some of the new paper and some of the old paper for my presents. But no matter how much paper I buy or how many presents we have, we always have left over paper. And just like in other things, I like to have my wrapping paper neat and orderly, or at the very least, all in one place together.

There are several benefits to have a gift wrap organizer. First of all, an organizer will prevent your paper from getting wet, crumpled, or otherwise destroyed. Secondly, by placing your gift wrap supplies in an organizer, it will save you time because when you get ready to gift wrap, all your supplies will in one place. You won’t have to search for extra tape or wonder, “where did I put that bag of bows?” And finally it prevents you from having excess clutter, and it just looks a lot more neat and clean.

Here are a few organizers that I found for sale on amazon. I’ve provided pictures and highlighted some of their features for you. In one of my next posts, I’ll have some more ideas on how you can organize your gift wrap using items in your home & how you can create a gift wrapping station.

This organizer is primarily for wrapping paper, although you could place some gift bags or bows in it as well, if you don’t have a more than a few rolls of paper. This is a simple and inexpensive tote if you are someone who doesn’t really wrap a lot of packages. This container has wheels and would easily store away in a closet or attic, and it will protect your paper from moisture and prevent it from getting crumpled.

This is a great organizer if you wrap a lot of packages throughout the year. It’s also great if you have a limited amount of space because it hangs right over the door. It has spaces for everything you need. There’s room for several rolls of paper, bows, ribbon, scissors, tape, and gift bags. It’s also very convenient. You can store your gift wrapping supplies in a “hidden” spot, and yet whenever you need them they are right there. You don’t have to pull out a big container, and you only get out the items you need. I would definitely recommend this one if you are somebody who does a lot of present wrapping.

This is another great organizer that hangs inside a closet. You can store several rolls of paper, as well as ribbons, bows, name tags, and other supplies.

This gift wrap organizer is made by Rubbermaid. It has a carrying handle and would conveniently fit in a closet, under a bed, or in a corner of your office or craft room. It will also protect your gift wrapping supplies if you store them in the attic. It holds several rolls of paper and has a space at the top for storing bows & other supplies.