I’ll start today by admitting I have no idea how that vase of lavender ended up in front of the painting, practically dead center. I vaguely remember something about a football crashing into it, lavender buds flying like confetti, and Mikey saying, “Well, at least now we can smell the lavender.” File this one under Life with Boys.
Let’s focus, instead, on wrapping paper. Specifically, the wrapping paper I left in limbo back in October. As planned, I used as much of it as I could during Christmas and did not buy anything to supplement my already embarrassing supply of cheap paper. I barely made a dent in the cheapness, and after today I have a new rule: No cheap wrapping paper, ever. I have a couple of reasons, outlined below.
- Cheap wrapping paper comes in rolls that are either too meager or too plentiful. It’s the hotdog buns of stationery. I either don’t have enough, or I’m left with too much.
- Cheap wrapping paper doesn’t store well. The color fades or bleeds (both, in my case) and wrinkles or tears easily.
- Cheap wrapping paper is often impossibly trendy. What I loved in 2009 left me scratching my head in 2011–and wishing I could buy something else.
- Cheap paper is easy to buy in quantity. If I am shopping intentionally and thoughtfully (and not just buying junk in bulk), I don’t need that much paper. This allows me the room in my budget to buy the beautiful, more expensive wrapping paper I’ve always looked at wistfully.
Allow me to be your wrapping paper cautionary tale. Stay away from the cheap paper.
I decided to store the wrapping paper in our campaign dresser. I love this thing. It has a fairly small footprint, and yet it is capable of storing 99% of the contents of our home, as the above picture details. I could have tossed the paper in one of the three empty drawers, but I am committed to having an intentional home from top to bottom, inside and out.
First thing first: take everything out and start sorting.
Bows, ribbons, ties.
Cheap wrapping paper.
Stamps.
Stickers, paper.
I also have scissors, slicers, hole punches, and other supplies that I didn’t photograph because the only thing less exciting than a picture of a pile of stickers is a picture of a pile of scissors.
I started with the wrapping paper, since I needed room to maneuver in tight quarters. I was ruthless, but ecstatic. I gave myself permission to ignore the fact I wasted money and instead rejoice in what I was gaining by recycling paper that was cheap, torn, or faded. Then I tossed rolls that were almost depleted or didn’t have enough paper to wrap a standard box. I’m notorious for keeping random sized strips of paper in case I might one day need to wrap, I don’t know, a wand.
That left me with a roll of parcel paper and one roll of good quality birthday paper. I can’t even. Shame face! (Let’s not talk about the tension rod I found among the rolls of paper.) (Although I could have totally wrapped that sucker with one of my many random strips of paper.)
I thinned out the bows (gave them to my mom), ribbons, and ties, too.
I placed them, for now, in an empty Tupperware container I had laying around. Eventually I will put them in a clear, lidded container or photo box.
I used an extra photo-box to contain my stamps.
The paper, stickers, and random holiday cards I stored in an accordion file I found in the Mister’s office. It won’t win a beauty pageant, but the solution works well for now. One day years from now, when I’m walking around the house looking for something to do, I’ll replace the accordion with one that is prettier.
The scissors, tape, et al went into a basket I found in the kitchen last October. Again, one day I will replace this set up with a lidded container.
But for now, everything fits together like the most perfect game of Tetris. I have everything in one location, easy to pull out and access. I love it.
The two rolls of wrapping paper are in the drawer to the left, along with 2394834 rolls of crepe paper. Don’t worry, today is Nicholas’s 5th birthday (!!!) and I am probably tied up in 50% of it as you read this. The supply should be thinned out by the end of the day, and what’s left I will put in a box. The parcel paper roll is too long. I’m glad I don’t have much left–the next roll I buy will fit the drawer dimensions.
Whew. 19 images, y’all. Mama is cross-eyed.
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This post was part of The William Morris Project, a weekly series that details the steps I am taking to create an intentional home. You can see more of my goals and completed projects here. To learn more about this project, start here.
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Now it�s your turn! Feel free to share how you have lived according to the William Morris quote, �Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.� Made a plan? Cleaned a drawer? Bought a sofa? Tell us about it with a link or comment.
A few guidelines:
- Please link to a specific post, not a general blog address.
- Your post must relate to your efforts to create an intentional home.
- No links to giveaways, please.
- A link back to this site is always appreciated. There are buttons to add to your post or sidebar, too, thanks to the lovely Alex, of Type A Calligraphy. Just copy the code and insert into your blog post or sidebar while in html mode.
- Let�s use this weekly link up as an opportunity to gather inspiration and motivation. Click links. Discover new people. Say hi and good job. I know I will.
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I have been purging my teaching supplies/materials as they’ve threatened to carpet my office floor and paper my walls. I have an inordinate amount of paper that should simply be relegated to my recycling bin. I think the William Morris project needs to be applied to my office, a space that hosts a freelance editor, writing instructor and craftaholic -oh, and a scarf hoarder too, apparently.
Haha! Scarf hoarder! It’s amazing what we find out about ourselves when we start going through our possessions, right? I sure learned that this summer. Eesh!
Just the post I needed, we are about to move and I need to do a big purge in all quarters. Not going to think about the wasted money in junk, but focus on how great it feels to simplify and clear out the clutter.
That’s the major struggle–let go of the guilt, realize you made a mistake, and move on. Sooooo hard to put in practice, but worth it in the end. Don’t forget, it took me 5 months (!!) to finally work up the nerve to throw away cheap wrapping paper.
Love this. I recognized many rolls of your “cheap paper,” and I completely agree with everything you said about them. I’ve been hanging onto them out of a sense of guilt: I bought it, must use it. But if I recycle it . . . tempting notion. I may put it on my list!
I don’t have anything to link up this week, but the list of necessary projects around here is long. Be back soon :)
I haven’t been able to respond to comments until today, so I have the benefit of reading all the comments first–it’s amazing how many of us have the same cheap wrapping paper! Pinky-promise: NO MORE CHEAP WRAPPING PAPER! :)
Oh Jules, I have been there! Unlike you, I’m not prepared to purge the cheap paper yet, but I’m refusing to buy more and will work my way through what I have if it kills me. After all, who really cares what their gift is wrapped in, as long as what’s inside is something they like, right? Although, my nephew (who just turned 18) looked at his gift when I handed it to him and said, “How long have you had this wrapping paper? I think you wrap my gift in it every year!” {gulp} Yes, I had too much of a bad thing. Who knew that an 18 year old male would notice?! I do have it all crammed into one large Rubbermade paper holder, so at least it’s contained.
When I do finally get through this, I’m replacing it with one roll of kraft paper that can be used for any holiday or birthday. Simple and easy.
For the record: I’m a wand-wrapping paper saver from way back. I’m trying to change that though, and I threw out every scrap that I found while cleaning out the office.
I’m so proud of myself for letting go the wand paper. And I thought about it, too. It wasn’t like I was all carefree tossing it. (Pathetic.)
I’m doing Kraft paper and pretty paper. I don’t know if I will ever be the kind of person who can spend $5 on a sheet of wrapping paper, but I will at least be more mindful of what I buy. The Innisbrook paper I bought for Mikey’s school fundraiser was very good quality paper–not cheap–that has held up well in storage and is easy to work with (i.e., doesn’t tear when you try to wrap something).
Say, I love that KA-POW! wrap . . . nothing like having your gift make a punch before it’s ever opened!
I desperately need to clean out my wrapping paper–now, rather than later. Birthdays here don’t start picking up steam until May, so I feel as though I have a lot of time. But I know, if it don’t clean out today, tomorrow I’ll be swearing my way through a pile of useless . . . stuff.
On a brighter note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BIRTHDAY BOY! May your day be happy from start to finish!
Thank you, Amy! :) Yes, purge while you can. Since this week was Nico’s birthday, I thought it was as good as any time to tackle what I had been dreading for a long time.
Nice job on the clean-up. I agree with you on the cheap (and sometimes not so cheap but cheap nonetheless) wrapping paper. I love your campaign dresser!
Thanks, Tiff. Craigslist…as if you are surprised.
Where do you get “good quality” wrapping paper. Everything I get is either too cheap (i.e. rips easily) or too thick, and thus not good for the wrapping-challenged (me). Also, do you not go the bag route? Where to store those? Any suggestions?
Mikey’s school fundraiser (Innisbrook) has good quality wrapping paper. The price kind of stings, but in the end, it’s worth it. My friend always buys Hallmark paper. She likes it because there are grid/cutting lines on the back, and she’s cutting challenged. Other than that, I would try online (although it pains me to pay shipping) or any shop that carries nice stationery supplies. Gifty-type places, you know?
Ah, Tetris! You play it well. Good job on the drawers. The whole ‘wrapping’ genre is located in the closet I’ll be working on today. Can’t wait to purge that stuff. I’ll be picturing everyone else tossing that cheap wrapping paper, too, so I won’t feel so bad.
Yay! Good luck and have fun. Well, have fun when you admire a job well done. :)
I love your William Morris mission. All the best with it. I also love the fact that you’ve used containers you already have (the concertina file etc) even if you don’t love them. So easy for a job to stall because we get hooked on perfection.
Here’s my alternative to buying wrapping paper at all (when the old supplies are depleted). I bought a six inch stack of old ‘Thunderbirds’ comics at a school fete (does that translate or is it just an English thing?) for about a dollar. They’re not pristine and no collector would be interested, so I’ve been using them for birthday wrapping ever since. The pages jump with colour and the gifts (so I’ve been told) look fabulous. I keep the part-used ones in a little drawer – they stack so easily – and the rest are on a bookshelf for my boys to read. For big presents I prefer to use clean newspaper from the recycling box . You do need to choose which section of the paper quite carefully – the culture or the travel section is more cheerful than the news – but if you fold the pages sharply and use a bright red ribbon, it looks just great!
Good luck! Hope the birthday celebrations have been riotous!
Oooh, comic book paper is a great idea for boys! My two would love that.
Thanks for realizing that I used containers I don’t really love and would love to change. I’m proud of myself for that. Perfectionism has kept me stagnant for a looooooong time.
“I�m notorious for keeping random sized strips of paper in case I might one day need to wrap, I don�t know, a wand.” Yes, my mother does this! And keeps bags to use over and over and over again. I think it’s hard for her to throw anything away, but I’m going to share your post with her in hopes that she sees the light.
I keep bags. You would think I was raised during The Depression. Pathetic! :)
Happy Birthday to the birthday boy!
I keep our wrapping paper in two wrapping paper storage bags (they look like long rectangular duffel bags with pockets on the inside). One is red and green, for all the Xmas wrapping paper, and one is pink and blue, for all other occasions. This works well, except for the cheap wrapping paper, which is usually on rolls that are too long for the bag, so they poke out and get ripped by the zipper.
See? It’s the cheap wrapping paper! The screw you with the cheap wrapping paper!
While I admire a beautifully wrapped gift, it’s not something I value enough to invest in nicer paper or extra wrapping supplies. As long as I have enough paper or bags for Christmas and various birthdays, I’m happy. This year I let the kids each choose a roll of Christmas paper (puppies and kittens were a popular theme) at Big Lots (definitely cheap paper), and we made a night of wrapping for the extended family. If it had been expensive paper, I think I would have had trouble letting go and letting them practice folding and taping on their own! What I’d really like to do for the gifts under our tree (and maybe birthdays) is make a set of reusable cloth gift bags (like these: http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/2010/12/a-week-of-elving-wednesday.html).
However, the supplies I do have need a quick overhaul–I know there are empty cardboard rolls, withered bows, and plenty of those too-small scraps of wrapping paper! And then the box needs a home–sitting in the middle of the basement floor isn’t ideal!
YES. I’ve always wanted to make birthday/Christmas cloth gift bags. How awesome is Amanda Blake Soule? Love her.
Please say that you acquired that campaign dresser for a ridiculously low price somewhere! It’s beautiful. I want it. I have THE perfect place for it.
This William Morris idea, your posts, are always in my mind now when I’m cleaning and straightening. It has helped me organize and winnow.
Happy Birthday to Nicholas!
I sure did, Kathy! $60 on Craigslist. :)
Several years ago I hit a 90% off sale on Christmas wrap. I chose the high quality stuff I would never normally buy and filled an entire shopping cart. It has held up amazingly well and will serve us merrily for several more years. I wish I had a way to calculate how much money it has saved us through the years. There is a whole closet in the attic that can hold all things gift wrap so it doesn’t cause clutter.
See? The expensive stuff holds up so well! I think it’s worth it, in the end. Also, the expensive stuff is usually timeless so it doesn’t really go out of style.
“I�m notorious for keeping random sized strips of paper in case I might one day need to wrap, I don�t know, a wand.” I love this! I have been guilty of that and I still am on occasion. Considering that neither myself or anyone I know will ever be getting a letter from Hogwarts, I think it is time to let those scraps go.
Happy Birthday to Nicholas! Enjoy the day and the crepe paper wrap up.
Haha! Yeah, I don’t think my boys–as special as I think they are–will be Expectro Patronum-ing any time soon.
Happy birthday to Nicholas! My Zoe turned 5 yesterday. I don’t know where the last 5 years went. For her birthday she wanted to go out to lunch and dinner (to 2 different places) but she wanted to have grilled cheese for both. So I let her! It’s only once a year…
Great project (as I glace at the rolls of wrapping paper to my immediate left). I had corralled mine into a tall ceramic planter, except I kept buying more, so now it doesn’t all fit. Time to purge! I have one of those Expedit shelving units in here (my office/kids playroom) so I have the other supplies stashed in one of the boxes – I should probably go through that, too. Although to be honest, I think I have little stashes of wrapping paper throughout the house…time to get on that! Thanks for the inspiration, and I hope you all have a great day!
Oh yeah, all those balls of crepe paper I found in the garage. Soooo bad. Step one is to corral all your stuff, which is totally depressing when you think about it.
I can’t believe my BABY is 5 years old.
I had a particular roll of cheap paper that was in my pile for ages in mind as I was reading and then I looked in your picture and THERE IT WAS – the gold-ish with the fuzzy floral design that seemed to shed everywhere and I was embarrassed to put on the gifts of anyone I actually like – I giggled. And that dresser is truly beautiful.
Gah! How funny! I love that so many of us have the same cheap wrapping paper. O_o
I too, inherited a penchant for saving tiny scraps of ‘just in case’ paper. My excuse is that I can use them to wrap Christmas stocking presents, but somehow they just keep multiplying! My mom is a paper expert, and always has the most beautiful packages and cards, and I have a collection of used paper from birthday presents she has given me, some several years old. Time to get out the recycling bin! {or give a ton of gifts this week!}
Every now and then I will actually have a use for the random scrap of paper. More often than not–total goose egg. I’m so proud of myself for letting them go. (Even though it about killed me.)
Not forgetting the awesome job that you’ve done, but three empty drawers! Heart palpitations. Words that are both beautiful and cruel. Oh to have something that is completely void of content. I think I may be jealous :)
Happy Birthday to Nicholas! I’m going to be ridiculous and stick this poem in here, because, well, I remember waiting to turn five, longing to be five so that I could ride my bike around the block, and I used this poem to prove to my parents that being five was quite old enough for ‘big kid’ adventures.
Being Five, by Dennis Lee
I�m not exactly big
and I�m not exactly little
but being five is best of all, because It�s in the middle.
A person likes to ride his bike
around the block a lot
and being five is big enough
and being four is not.
And then he likes to settle down
and suck his thumb a bit
and being five is small enough
but when you�re six, you quit.
i�ve thought about it in my mind
being five i mean,
and why i like it best of all is �cuse its in between.
That poem was awesome.
Thank you for sharing.
JM
Oh my gosh…that poem made me cry! I’m all emotional with my baby being such a big boy. Thank you for that, it was awesome.
The ‘after’s’ always make my mouth water with anticipation, is that weird? LOl.
Haha, no, I’m the same way with anyone else’s project.
i am obsessed with the *idea* of stamps but just cannot justify the purchaes. so i will continue to visit my crafty friend, drink tea and use all her craft supplies. ;)
Good thinking, Chrissy. :)
We’ve had some of our cheap, endless rolls for what feels like the better part of a decade now. Why don’t I just throw it out instead of putting it back away each year?? I also need to stop saving bags…I use them very rarely, but feel compelled to save almost all that come our way.
Happy happy 5th to your littlest guy today!! (What did you wrap his gifts with? ;-))
Yes and Yes. Some of the rolls I tossed were at least 5 years old. AT LEAST. Also, my entry closet is full of bags I will never use. Those are next on my list…once I have the courage to just let them go.
LOL…LOL i recognized no less than 4 of those cheap papers as residing in the cupboard I slung mine in. I’m totally juiced to throw out the scraps, the wrinkled, the crap!! I plan to restock with 2-3 classy papers that can be used for many occasions not just 1. Those cheap Christmas bows that you stick on a box(on a big box looks like a zit) are outta here! Don’t even get me started on the probably 50+ gift bags that I’ve saved since my baby shower days(I’m in my 50’s I don’t know anyone of my contemporaries having babies!!!). OUT RECYCLE GET THEE GONE.
It seems in this age of gift cards and online gifts sent directly the need for ridiculous amounts of wrapping supplies has diminshed by at least 50% in my house….
Thank you JULES!!
Oh my gosh you are right. Those bows do look like zits!!!
Love this. I am in the middle of this exact same process for my office.
Awesome–I can’t wait to see! :)
LOL I have the exact same cheap paper here NZ! You are right the roll is either too short or it NEVER runs out. Love the way you have sorted everything.
Thanks, Sandra! I had no idea cheap paper was so international! Curse that manifest destiny.
Ah, wrapping paper! I did the same–tossed cheap stuff–and I had one of those Rubbermaid wrapper-keeper thingys, too. Just encouraging one to hold onto sad paper, IMHO. Instead, the thingy now hold many of the bazillion posters I can’t throw away, and the wrapping paper and ribbons are confined to one box in my upstairs closet. I buy only tissue paper and gift bags now, and they fit in said box. Sadly, I don’t need much paper, so it’s all good.
My wrapping paper box thingy is now the “bouncy ball receptacle.” It’s part of some complicated game Mikey and Nico play, where if the bouncy ball lands inside without touching the sides they get 200 points.
Love this idea! I need to do the same with my wrapping paper. You are so right; the cheap paper is more trouble than it’s worth.
hi,
thank you for sharing great thing with us.
Just the post I needed, we are about to move and I need to do a big purge in all quarters. Not going to think about the wasted money in junk, but focus on how great it feels to simplify and clear out the clutter.