Volume 8 Issue 5 - Wango Web Works

Sumter Living
138 www.sumterlivingmagazine.com
T
he holidays are just around the corner.
Think about how much easier it would
be if you were organized and could
find the tape, scissors, gift wrap, or ornaments
you bought on sale last year and haven’t been
able to find. Just think how wonderful it
would be if your Christmas cards were ready
to mail before the holiday. Maybe you could
relax and enjoy the season.
Most of us have a place in the attic that we
store our ornaments and decorations. Take
advantage of the neat bins and organizers
on the market today for these items. Keep in
mind the three steps rule. If it takes more than
three steps to obtain the item you are looking
for, then the organizer is not the right one.
For example: the boxes that have latches on
all four sides involve far more steps than the
bins that only have one or two. I personally
like the cardboard chests that have four small
drawers to store my ornaments in. I have
each drawer labeled as to what kind of ornaments are in it. For example, all my snowmen ornaments are in one drawer and all of
the angel ornaments are in another. I like the
drawer system because I can take the entire
drawer to the tree. I use several of these to
store all of my ornaments. You can keep your
ornaments in the original boxes or use bubble
wrap or tissue paper to keep them safe. You
can use the Rubbermaid type drawer organizer in place of the cardboard one if you prefer.
I place decorations in Sterlite or Rubbermaid
type bins. I put them in boxes according to
where they go. All kitchen decorations are in
one box or bin and all outside decorations in
another, and labeled accordingly. When you
have all of your Holiday decorations packed
and ready to store, place them in the attic or
room in such a way they can all be together.
Have the individual boxes or bins clearly labeled so you know which holiday and where
it goes. Example: Christmas- Den or Christmas- Ornaments. I place an empty bin in the
same area and when an item is purchased for
Christmas, whether it’s a gift or decoration,
I put it in the bin so I know where it is when
the time comes to use it. Place all Christmas
items together in one area, as well as Easter,
Halloween etc. A good way to place them is
in the order they occur i.e. New Year’s decorations first then Valentine’s Day, Fourth of
July, Halloween, etc. This is a good time
to sort through your decorations and purge
the ones you don’t want or need anymore.
I picked out ornaments that each child was
especially fond of and placed them in a box
with their names on them so they can take
them to their homes when they move out.
Gift wrapping is one of the most time
consuming things I do at Christmas. I usually do not have the time to wait to have my
gift wrapped at the store so I end up having
to wrap a lot of gifts. It is a lot easier if you
have everything organized in such a way that
it makes the task a pleasure. There are several
ways to store gift wrap. You need to find the
one that fits you and the space you have. The
long under the bed type storage bins are great
to store rolled wrap and you can use smaller
bins inside this larger one to store your ribbon, bows, tape and scissors. The over the
door (shoe type) organizers with the clear
pockets are a great way to store bows, ribbon, scissors, tape and even small pieces of
wrapping paper. My favorite way to store gift
wrap is in the large three drawer Rubbermaid
type organizers. I recently used two of these
stacked on top of each other. (Place sticky
mounting tape in between the two to hold in
place). In one drawer I put tissue paper (filed,
not stacked so you can see all of the colors)
and in one drawer all of the darker color bows
and in the other all of the pastel color bows.
Using the smaller drawer organizers I placed
ribbon in such a way that you can see all of
the different colors. Tape and scissors can be
placed in a smaller bin (inside the drawer) to
contain them. In the same amount of space
as two or three corrugated cardboard boxes
you can use this system and obtain the items
you need very easily. Beside the drawer system I have a bin with gift boxes and gift bags
filed from largest in the center to small in the
front. The way to store gift boxes is to place
the matching folded box with the ends facing
the inside. When you pull one out it won’t
catch the others. On the other side I have a
waste basket with the rolled gift wrap in it.
You need to decide what way works best for
you. They do have gift wrap organizers on
the market that are good to store your Christmas gift wrap. They have compartments that
hold a variety of items and then they zip up
completely. I don’t like these for everyday
gift wrap because it is difficult to get in and
out of. That is what contributes to disorganization. If it is not easy to maintain it will not
stay organized.
Remember the three steps. Try to place everything in such a way that you can obtain the
item in two or three steps.
If you send out Christmas cards, now is the
time to start. Hopefully you have cards that
you ordered or purchased last year. You can
start addressing the cards now. It is easier
and more enjoyable when you can take your
time and do not have the added stress of the
holidays. As Christmas approaches, all you
will need to do is write your Christmas letter
or note and sign and mail them.
I hope you found this helpful and if you
have any questions or comments please don’t
hesitate to call me at 803-983-9833 or email
sos@sandisorganizingsolutions.com or visit
my web-site at
www.sandisorganizingsoluiotns.com.
If you are looking for the perfect gift for the
disorganized person in your life or maybe
someone who loves organizing and learning
more give them a copy of my book Sandi’s
Organizing Solutions- The picture book of
organizing. You can purchase your copy by
contacting me or by coming by Extreme
Sports Yamaha Polaris on Wesmark Blvd in
Sumter. As always, thank you Sumter Living
readers. You are the best!
by Sandi Davis
www.sumterlivingmagazine.com
139