Say Goodbye to That Mound of Torn up Wrapping Paper in Your Closet With These 3 Easy Hacks

It’s Christmastime again, which it’s finally appropriate to bust out the ribbons, bows, and wrapping paper — lots and lots of wrapping paper. Each year, I toss in whatever Christmas gift wrap I have left over in the corner of the closet to hibernate until next winter. But by the time I need to use it again, my once beautiful rods of wrapping paper have usually morphed into a crumpled mound of ripped and wrinkled paper, glitter, and who knows what else.

Fed up with the mess, I decided to do something about my unsightly Christmas closet chaos for good. And all it took was a quick trip to Home Depot — and a little handyman help from my fiancé. 

Instead of stuffing my overflowing closet with even more craft supplies, I took advantage of the white space on the back of my bedroom door and set up my very own gift-wrapping station. 

How to Make a DIY Gift-Wrapping Station

If you want to create an out-of-closet gift-wrapping station like mine, all you’ll need is a shoe rack or closet rack of some sort. They’re super easy to find in the closet organization section of Home Depot ($24, Home Depot). Be sure to purchase a few screws, too. If you don’t have a drill, I’d recommend borrowing one. You’ll also need a pack of curtain clip hangers ($10.89 for 50 clips, Amazon). I only used six, but you can use as many as you’d like. 

Then, just screw the shelf into the back of your door. If you’d like to hide your wrapping station, screw the rack onto the inside of the closet door. (Whatever you do, avoid using double-sided sticky tape to hang the rack. I made this mistake the first time; believe me, it will fall in the middle of the night.)

Cheap Ways to Store Wrapping Paper

If you’d rather not drill a hole into your door (and I don’t blame you), then there are plenty of other ways to store your wrapping paper safely. One is to place your gift wrap in an over-the-door shoe organizer ($7.97, Amazon). Just cut out the bottom of each shoe holder, and viola! You have a brand new spot to put your gift wrap rods. If the shoe organizer is a bit too messy for you, then this IKEA gift wrap hack, created with a $2 bag dispenser, might be more your style. It fits snugly into an out-of-the-way corner of your closet, and it keeps things orderly and easy to find when it is time to dress up your gifts. (Only downside we can think of is that you can’t fit very many rolls of wrapping paper, so you’ll only be able to save your favorites.) 

#DIY Ikea Hack Gift Wrap Organizer https://t.co/hVyBYuiylz pic.twitter.com/sxgbS3cBhg

— Lakshmi 🇮🇳 (@ChowkidarLaxmi) February 15, 2017

There’s also the option to recycle old toilet paper rolls by wrapping them around your paper like a koozie. Simply cut your empty toilet paper roll in half lengthwise and snap it over the rod of wrapping paper to keep everything contained. You can even decorate the toilet paper rolls with colorful washi tape to give your new wrapping paper holders a more festive look. 

(Photo Credit: Courtesy of reddit user @Noskinxela)

Whether you decide to make your very own gift-wrapping station, store your wrap in a shoe rack, or go the IKEA route, this hack is sure to ease some holiday stress. 

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