Wrapping Station – Get Organized!!

You already know how much I love everything related to organization – labels, packaging supplies, storage containers, cute desks with little cubbies, jars, tags, and on and on and on.  But, here’s the great irony – I’m not organized.  And when the holiday bustle sets in, my list of to-dos gets longer and I lose all semblance of order – if there was any to begin with.  I always intend to send out Christmas cards, but rarely get the photos and the cards and the addresses all in one place at the same time.  I would love to leisurely wrap each gift in beautiful paper and coordinating bows while listening to Christmas music and sipping hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows, yet I find myself haphazardly wrapping presents on Christmas Eve, searching the house maniacally for tape or scisssors, and wishing the season had passed more slowly.

Well, I know this holiday season will fly by just as fast, but I set aside some time early to organize all of my wrapping and packaging supplies.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to keep up a tad better this year with the cards and the wrapping and the lists and all that jazz.  And if not that, at least I’ll be able to find the tape (my husband brought home a pack of like, ten jumbo rolls of tape…he knows.)  The great people at Martha Stewart Home Office for Avery generously sent me a huge gift basket full of holiday organization supplies – they must know I have a soft spot for beautiful office supplies.

I set up my wrapping station in the family room, using the little antique desk that has made so many appearances here on the blog.  I also built a holiday card display and a wrapping paper shelf rack.  I have everything in one place and I feel ready going in!

I wanted to share some of the products that I’ve incorporated into this wrapping and packaging corner.  Let’s start with the labels.  Could I love the chalkboard labels more?  no.  They have removable adhesive and work with regular chalk as well as chalk pens.  They can be wiped clean and used over and over again.  There are cute shapes, some with decorative borders, some plain.  I used a variety of these to label some of my jars and boxes.  Some things don’t actually need a label, but I think they look so cute and trendy and really pull the station together.  My supply of labels is definitely well-stocked – they will be so useful for adding a nice touch to homemade jam or baked goods.  Plus, they’d be perfect for labeling my own supply of jars and bins around the house.

I mentioned that I have a hard time getting Christmas cards sent out, but I did get a jump start the other night by printing out return address labels and mailing address labels.  I added the text into Avery’s online program and printed them right out.  I like that they’re kind of festive – pretty to stick on the front of cards and takes the extra work out of handwriting addresses and return addresses.  I have not picked up cards yet though…I borrowed this gorgeous box of cardinal cards from my mom (who I noticed, had already labeled all of her envelopes, man, she’s good).

Plenty of TO/From gift tags at the ready….some old, some new.  I like to have a big variety of tags to choose from and how fun are those chalkboard gift tags?  I also saw that the package of mailing address labels can be printed up with a simple “to:” and “from:” so I did a couple sheets up like that – how simple, right??

In addition to labels galore, the Stack+Fit desk accessories offer functional and good-looking organization – like the nesting trays and the organizer with divided sections that I’m using in my station.

I am so excited about the potential of wrapping central here.  I even labeled that red, leather binder as my Naughty or Nice List – I like to place casual reminders around the house for children who might be weighing their options… and I think since it’s placed up high, I can probably organize gift lists, receipts, coupons, and all that good stuff inside of it.

So what do you think?  Is there hope?  I’d say Martha Stewart Home Office for Avery sure gave me a head start. You can find the full line of products at your local Staples or browse the online catalog and shop here from your computer.

Have a spectacular weekend!!

**Disclosure:  I received free product in exchange for this review post.  As always, all opinions are 100% my own – I never mess around with office supplies! **