So it’s that time of the year again friends. As of today Christmas will be here in 36 days! Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to share a few of the tricks I use to stay organized during the holidays each year so I don’t lose my sanity. Today’s topic is all about gift storage and keeping track of the gifts we buy so we don’t go over budget and lose our minds. That wouldn’t be good would it?
As I’ve mentioned in previous years, I have a big pine armoire in my office that houses many of my office supplies along with my gift wrap, gift bags, party supplies and cards. The majority of the office supplies are kept in my two Simply Stashed Organizers (affiliate link) that hang on the inside of the armoire doors. Love these so much, they save so much space!! These could be used for so many different things and they would make great Christmas gifts too 🙂
The very big bottom drawer holds electronic stuff, the drawer above that holds smaller type gifts that I buy throughout the year and my husband’s Christmas gifts. Then I’ve got my gift bags on the left. The large plastic drawers in the middle hold gift wrap and tissue (bottom) and party supplies (top). The smaller plastic drawers on the right aren’t gift related but do serve an important purpose. They hold my Command hooks and labels collection. Above that I use a clear plastic bin (the one with the blue lid) for storing greeting cards. All the other open space is dedicated to storing gifts. Rather than throw everything in willy nilly though, I have a system for organizing the gifts that is pretty simple but that works really well.
Use Cardboard Boxes for Sorting Gifts
Each year I like to have all my Christmas gifts purchased by the end of November so that in December the only thing I have to think about with the gifts is wrapping it all (which I like to do all at once while watching a Hallmark Christmas movie, sweet!). So at the beginning of November I go out to my local grocery store and pick up 5 empty medium size boxes. One for each of my kids and two that I use to collect the gifts I need to mail out to family.
On the top shelf I line up the three boxes for each of my kids to put their purchased gifts in. I take it one step further by putting duplicate stockings inside each box so I know exactly what gifts will fit inside and don’t have to worry about having enough to fill them up. Saves me so much hassle.
The gifts for family that need to be mailed away are collected in boxes as well and I just leave those boxes out on my office floor until the last gift is placed inside and they can be mailed out at the beginning of December.
The trick is definitely using the boxes to keep “like with like” and everything sorted out and not a big jumbled mess. Jumbled messes are bad and chaotic. Chaos leads to stress and stress leads to discontent and grumpiness. We don’t want that!!
So now I know what you’re thinking. Laura I don’t have a large armoire to use for gift storage, now what do I do? Take some time this weekend to clear out some clutter in a closet so that you can add some boxes to it for gifts. Or use space underneath a bed or in your attic if you have one that is accessible.
Use a Gift Tracking and Budget App
The other trick I use to keep track of everything I purchase and toss into those boxes is a Christmas gift tracking and budget app. Now you know I am an old fashion pen and pencil kind of girl but in this case I cannot more highly recommend using a gift tracking app. It’s password protected, you always have it on you and you know exactly how much you’ve spent to prevent you from going over budget. Plus if your memory is anything like mine, you can look back in the archives to remember what you purchased in previous years (once you’ve been using it for awhile of course).
The particular app I’ve been using is no longer available but I spent many hours researching various apps out there to find you something very similar. The only reason I haven’t switched over to this new one, is because of the archives. Archives are such a beautiful thing. The app is called The Christmas List (no affiliation). I originally featured it in a post titled 9 Favorite Organizing Apps to Keep Your Life on Track.
Just add the names and set budget for everyone on your list and then track items purchased as you go along. You can even take a picture of items you are thinking about buying or have already bought to remind yourself. This is especially helpful when you shop early like I do. The budgeting part is the best part because it’s so easy to go over otherwise. I actually enter stuff as soon as I buy it so having it available on my phone is perfect. And don’t worry about sneaky kids, you can set a password to get in. Available for iPhone, iPad and iPod.
Of course if you would still like to use a pen and paper to track gifts, that’s cool too. No judgement here 🙂 I found a nice FREE one for you to print off right HERE from Moritz Fine Designs.
Christmas Gift Wrap Storage:
Oh and if any of you are curious how I store my Christmas wrap rolls and bows, please check out this post HERE.
With these simple techniques for gift storage and tracking you’ll be well on your way to setting yourself up beautifully for an organized Christmas. Yay!!
Need more organized Christmas tips and tricks?
Organized for Christmas – Calendar Planning to Avoid Overwhelm
Also be sure to check out and follow my Organized Christmas Pinterest page.
Follow Laura (Organizing Junkie)’s board Organized Christmas on Pinterest.
- *Please note that affiliate links are included in this post to make it easier for you to find what is being referenced. A small commission is made should you purchase product using these links, but this is at no extra cost to you. As always, any and all opinions are genuinely my own – or the author, in the case of posts by my guest contributors. Thank you!*
Whitney @ Come Home For Comfort says
Great tips! I have a similar method for storing my gifts and wrapping supplies, and I like to have my shopping done early in December so I can have a big wrapping session. White Christmas is my movie of choice. 🙂 I love that app – so handy to have while you’re out shopping!
Shawnda says
I have been using The Christmas List app for 3-4 years now and I love it. I didn’t really use the Archive feature until I was poking around this year and discovered it. I wish I had found it earlier because I used to go in and just delete everything from the previous year and it would have been nice to have the archived lists available. 🙁
MelanieL says
Great tips, I love the cardboard box idea. I have some high shelves in my closet that would work perfectly to hide gifts from the kids! I’m more organized than ever this year and it’s a great feeling. 🙂
Mary says
Thank you! (and thank you for actually saying “Christmas”)
Laura Wittmann says
Hi Mary, I’m a Christian so Christmas is sacred to me. I definitely know what you mean.
Marcia Francois says
Can you believe I haven’t even STARTED on Christmas?! I need to get my act together 🙂
Laura Wittmann says
I absolutely love buying gifts for people so shopping is one of my favorite things to do at Christmas 🙂