A gift wrapping station. Probably one of my favorite projects of all time. I think that I like it so much, because despite constant use, and with just minimal tidying, it looks the like the day I created the station, nine years ago!
Of course, I can’t take all the credit. When we first moved into our home, my husband installed IKEA cabinets all around the perimeter of our garage. It was hard work (for him) but oh so worth it! That project gave us so much storage, and I immediately knew that I wanted to dedicate one cabinet to gift wrapping. It turned out, I only needed half a cabinet, and here it is:
Half of the cabinet (along with the rest of the wall of cabinets) is dedicated to party planning and entertaining items. We used to host a lot of backyard parties when we first moved into our home and acquired quite a few platters, chaffing dishes and large sets of plates. Well, then we had two kids and the parties were more frequent but smaller. I still didn’t want to get rid of them, so I store them in the garage (the chaffing dishes, not the kids. We keep the kids inside).
The bottom half of the cabinet, is the gift wrap station that I want to share with you today. Here is a closer look.
And here is an even closer look at the drawers. My husband installed two plastic drawers and a metal one, to help me contain all the small items involved with gift wrapping. Here is the first drawer that holds the bows and ribbon.
I use inexpensive clear shoe boxes to separate all the different color bows. Separating the bows by color, is an added step, that makes wrapping fast and keeps the drawer organized. When everything is visible, you won’t rummage through the drawers looking for the perfect bow, and everything stays tidy.
I removed the boxes in the front of the drawer so that you see the ribbon storage. I keep the ribbon in similar clear plastic boxes and they not only look pretty, they are practical.
More ribbon, along with my favorite pair of scissors (Target, in case you are wondering). Notice this box is smaller, but it still works.
I also keep colored pens nearby so that I can write quick notes on the gifts, while I am in the garage wrapping.
I only do quick gift wrapping in the garage. If it’s during the holidays, I bring all my supplies inside. Because it’s a garage and because it’s hot and because I would hate to pass out from heat exhaustion while wrapping (or ever). Although should that happen, I have a first aid station in the following cabinet. My thought process amazes me…but mostly, it scares me.
The next drawer is also plastic, and it holds all my gift bags and tissue. The gift bags are in size-order and the really small ones are towards the back. Of course, they are not sorted by color because only a crazy person would do that.
Yup, I’m probably doing that tomorrow.
On the other side, I keep all the tissue. The larger tissue is on its side so that I can see all the colors, and it’s bookended by two shoe boxes. One holds smaller packs of tissue, and the other small cards to include inside the gift bags.
Here is a picture without the lid.
The last drawer is the metal one. I keep all my rolls in here and I love how it looks. There are a ton of rolls in there and most of them are visible without having to move them around.
In the very bottom of the cabinet, I keep three stackable plastic boxes that hold extra gifts. I only store clothing in these boxes so that they stay clean. I keep extra toys visible, on the on the other side of the shelf.
Throughout the year, I pick up toys that are on sale to create my gift stash, for last minute gifts.
In the middle of this shelf, I keep two boxes full of cards. They are sorted by categories such as birthdays, thank you, weddings, etc. I love buying personalized cards that are especially for the recipient, but sometimes there is just no time and having a box like this is a life saver. I also keep a list in here with all the birthdays, as a quick reference.
Here is one last look at the gift wrap station.
I hope that you can take some ideas from this even if you don’t have a cabinet like this one. You can do a similar arrangement in a dresser, or any small closet. No matter how you configure your gift wrap station, it will be worth it and it will save you so much more time than what it took to put together.
Please let me know in the comments how you currently store your gift wrap and does it work for you. For more organizational tips and ideas, please visit me at my blog, Graceful Order.
-Maria (blogger and rapper wrapper)
Maria Gonzalez
Maria Gonzalez is the talented blogger behind Graceful Order, where she blogs about organizing, cleaning and entertaining. She lives in sunny Florida with her husband and two boys. She's passionate about living a healthy, balanced life. A life where she is in charge of her home and not the other way around. A life with a little bit of order, and a whole lot of grace! Visit her at http://gracefulorder.com.
Tags: gift wrapping, ikea, organization
Blog, contributors, gift wrap station, June 2014 Posted in
29 comments
29 comments on “Gift Wrap Station”
Precious post…. Nicely done!! I keep my wrapping supplies in a chest of drawers in our guest bedroom. I have one drawer for bags and tissue paper, one for everything else (ribbon, scissors, tape, tags, etc)….and rolls in a corner in the closet. It’s “meh” in functionality…for now. My one great tip, though, is that I use a nice, wide ironing board on which to wrap/bag. It’s the kind that you can make it go up pretty high….so there is never any back-breaking….which, during wrapping marathons, i.e. CHRISTMAS…it’s painless! I store it under the bed and pulling it out is a quick, easy job!
Robin, thank you and I love the ironing board idea!
I love this idea! Wrapping gifts always seems like a chore to me, but I think with a set up like this, I would get excited!
Glad you liked it Amy!
I can’t stand how gorgeous this is. I went through the pictures several times. haha! I’m crazy, too! I LOVE IT!
Thank you so much! Good to know I’m not the only one! 😉
This is a great idea! What IKEA cabinets are those?
Deborah, I believe they are the PAX wardrobe cabinets which are customizable on the inside. We ordered them online 9 years ago before we had a local IKEA store. Glad you enjoyed the post!
This would inspire me to wrap beautiful packages! I keep all my wrapping supplies in an easily accessible trunk, but need to frequently reorganize it as things never get put back quite right! I love how you have separated the various supplies!
Thank you Susan! I had to separate the supplies into bins (by color) so that it would stay tidy.
OMg. I would love to be able to organize my world like this.
Glad you liked it Carol! I wish my whole house was as organized as this cabinet too! Ha! One step at a time. Thanks again for your comment!
What is the size of the plastic boxes you have your cards in. Love your organization of wrapping station. I have cabinets in my garage, but my husband has “stuff” piled up in front of them. So I am trying to use the few tiny closets we have in the house.
Kathie, I purchased the plastic boxes so many years ago, that I don’t remember where. They are meant for holding cards and even have adjustable plastic dividers on the inside. The boxes measure 10 1/2″ W and 7 1/2″ L and 9″ Deep. Hope that helps and good luck with your gift wrap station! I’m sure it will look great!
Bed Bath and Beyond carries these card storage boxes by Iris. They seem to be the same size and style.
Beautiful! What kind of cabinets are the Ikea cabinets? Now I’m curious about the rest of the garage, lol! 🙂 Great job.
Thank you Maxime! I believe they are the PAX wardrobe cabinets. We ordered them online 9 years ago before we had a local IKEA store. I will post on the rest of the garage soon!
Great post! I love the bins you keep your extra cards in. I’m going to have to look for something similar. I’m envious of your storage space!
Thank you Leslie! Those bins are so practical!
Your garage must look amazing with all that storage. Gift wrapping station is a must. I have one for Christmas wrap and bags but not one for other lccasions! You’ve given me a great idea!!
Thank you! I need to create a station for Christmas wrapping so we will swap tasks!
Love it! I think it’s so nice to have all of the items in the same place…instead of running to the office for tape and to the kitchen for scissors, etc… unfortunately, I can’t put mine the garage so I need to come up with a different space for it…
Thank you Katie! You are right, having everything in one spot, makes it fun to wrap!
I love it! And I also love your little bits of humor. 🙂
Thank you Melissa! 🙂
WOW! What a great set up! But here in the south I am afraid keeping them in the garage is out of the question with the heat and bugs and all…going to find a way to do this inside…
I have been organizing a gift wrapping station just this week and came across yours. my last step is the wrapping paper. I love the wire sliding “box” you have yours in. Is that from IKEA too?
Andrea, the sliding plastic and wire drawers are also from IKEA.