I love beautiful wrapped packages tucked under the tree. How about you? My earliest memory of packages being wrapped with care was the year my brother was wrapping gifts for his girl friend. He carefully folded the ends of the paper under so there would be no raw edges and then he carefully wrapped the gift with ribbon. I thought “wow, he really likes her”.

Here are some organizing tips on how to prepare to wrap gifts any time of the year:

*Gather the paper, ribbon, bows, special embellishments, tags, scissors,pen and tape. Now having them all in one place it should be easy to just sit and wrap, but it isn’t so. At least not with me. I can sit or stand in the very same place and I either lose the tape or the scissors or both. This year I came up with a brilliant idea to stop them from taking off so I have to search for them.

*Put the tape and scissors, pen and tags in a little container. After using them put them back in the container—every single time. This has worked like a charm. The container (I used a little basket) is taller than the wrapping paper so it doesn’t get lost. This has saved me time and frustration!

What tricks do you have up your sleeve to keep track of things when you are wrapping gifts?

Marilyn Bohn is an energetic, lively, compassionate, hard working and creative organizer. She was born to organize! Before becoming a professional organizer she worked professionally in diverse environments. She is involved in her community, providing her clients with a broad base of experience and knowledge.  She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO).