“The bells are all ringing the children are singing of Christmases long, long ago!  It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!”

Is it?  Is it really?  By now, you are probably worn out from “Shopping Frenzy”.  It’s a medical condition that is caused by endless hours of shopping in stores & on line for the perfect gift at the perfect price.  Or maybe, you’re in north Texas & have cabin fever from Icemageddon 2013.  Either way, taking control of your holiday gift wrap situation will help alleviate the stress from either condition.

Here’s the idea.  Why should your Chanukah, Kwanza, Christmas, Holiday gift wrap be relegated to a cramped, dark corner, closet or drawer making it incredibly difficult to access. We are too busy & hurried this holiday season to cause any extra stress on ourselves.  And, it’s beautiful so why hid it?  Why not “decorate” with your seasonal gift wrap?  What do I mean?   It’s really quite simple.  In a nut shell with bow on top, use your holiday gift wrap as another source of holiday decor in your home.  Don’t know how to make that happen?  Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

1. Baskets, Baskets, Baskets Or any type of bin will work to hold bows, ribbon, gift tags, greeting cards, taps/scissors, did I mention ribbon.  We all have extra baskets, bins, decorative containers around the home.  Gather up the best looking & most complimentary to store these items.  The containers should be open so you can easily see what is inside then the items become decor themselves. Don’t have any extra containers?  Steal from other areas in your home.  These are desperate times people!

2.Gift Wrap   These unruly rolls of paper can cause mayhem.  Always falling over, paper unraveling, different lengths of rolls…..What’s a person to do?  Find a small trash can, bucket, bucket shaped bin or tall laundry hamper to store these rolls upright.  To keep paper secure, use ponytail holders.  They now become the design anchor to your gift wrap station decor.

3.Gift Bags   Select an attractive, large gift bag & stand upright all other gift bags inside.  Now you have a bag o’bags!  For the super small gift bags, give them the gift of their own storage gift bag.  You can still store the small bag o’bags inside the large bag o’bags if you are short on decor space. Now finding the right gift bag is easier than double sided tape.

4.Hooks  If you are worried you won’t be able to find the tape, scissors or your favorite ribbon quickly, use an over the door hook on any of your bins & hang those items on the hooks.  It will look cute too!

5.Location, Location, Location  You want your wrapping station to be out of the main thoroughfare but easy to access & close to a hard, flat surface for wrapping.  A chair in a corner next to a table can make a great location.  The gift wrap station can be stacked on & around the chair & the table can be used for wrapping.  If you have hardwood floors, you can have your station just about anywhere as long as you can get up off the floor when finished wrapping.

Now take a look around your home for fun, clever tools, gather your gift wrap & determine the best location.  Then get to “decorating” with your holiday gift wrap station.

I’m here to help you by disclosing my knowledge of how to organize & be prepared for any situation.  I will show you tips & tricks through posts on the Styled & Organized Living Facebook page, @StyledOrganized on Twitter & the Styled & Organized Living Pinterest page.  Some posts will be simple tools while others will be ideas to consider.   But all will show you how to gain a little more control over your life through organization because Life is Better Organized!