Now that Christmas is over, it really is a fantastic time to get organized for next year. I know that you probably want to throw everything in a closet and move on as badly as the next person, but with a little planning, you will be in much better shape for the 2019 holiday season!
Here are some tips to get you started:
Put all of your leftover gift tags, ribbons, paper, etc IN ONE BOX AND LABEL IT. Before you buy anything next year, make sure to visit this box first and use what you have. I love pretty packages as much as the next person, but this can be one area where you can really save some money by not re-purchasing things you already have. It is much more fun to use that money to buy a little nicer gift or host a small holiday gathering, instead of spending it on wrapping supplies that are most likely already in your closet. I tried this exercise myself, and look at all of the ribbon that I STILL HAD LEFT from past Christmas seasons!!!
And just to show you the magnitude of the situation, here is another picture after I removed the top ziplock bags:
I had no idea that I had this much ribbon until I put it all in one place!!! You will be surprised at how much you will probably find. I would much rather spend money next year on gifts than re-purchasing ribbon! This will probably last me for several more years.
I really focused on using gift labels that I already had, and there is still a ton leftover for next year:
For some reason, I already have one filled out for my mother. 🙂 I typically like fancier labels, but I am going to use up all of these first since they have already been purchased.
Check out all of the paper and bags that I still have left over:
Again, this is remaining AFTER I wrapped everything for this Christmas. These will definitely be put to use for future holidays! As you can see, I use my largest bags to store all of my smaller gift bags. This keeps things neat and organized. I don’t keep all of them, but any of them that are still in great condition will be under my tree for next year.
Another helpful tip is to put all of your tape in one spot!! Not only do you not want to re-buy tape that you don’t need, but you also don’t want these spread throughout your house and taking up space.
After wrapping all of the presents from this Christmas, I still have this much tape left over (which is crazy). I will keep a couple of rolls out to wrap presents throughout the year, but the rest of this is being put in the same box as the ribbon for next year. Please don’t forget to label your box, and put it somewhere easy to find!
Now that I know where everything is, it will be super easy to find and use everything for next year. It isn’t in a pretty container, but it works. Most importantly, it will prevent me from having to spend any additional money buying this stuff for next Christmas – hooray!!!!
A Couple Of More Tips:
If you are missing or low on one thing, write it on a sticky note and tape it to the box. That way, when you visit the box next year, you know exactly what you need to buy and can find it on sale. 🙂
Keep any nice boxes and store them in a convenient location. Buying boxes every year can be super expensive, so make sure to save a few to prevent you from spending extra money. This by no means equates to you saving every single box. It is just nice to have a few on hand to wrap some last minute gifts.
I will do more posts on this closer to the holidays next year, but if you do just this one thing, I promise your life will be much easier for next year. The holidays are stressful enough. Do a little planning now to reduce some stress later! 🙂
Happy Organizing,
P.S. Please don’t forget to follow my Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest pages for more fun ideas from One Cheerful Mom!
