Christmas is over and if you are at all like me, you are facing the “put it all away” part of the holidays. This part drives me truly crazy, I really, really dislike it! You might think I am talking about the chore of taking down the decorations but I am not. That part doesn’t bother me too much. I’m talking about putting away all of the new gifts that my family received. When it is time to organize those new gifts, I can get really stressed out.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. I love the gifts we receive. I love the gifts I give my kids. We are very blessed. When it comes to putting it all away, I have found that just tossing everything into the kids’ rooms doesn’t work for me. I need to feel like I am making a preemptive strike at the clutter. (Containing and curbing the clutter is one of my New Year’s resolutions!) In the past couple of years I have found that it really does help to organize those new gifts before you try to put them away.

There are a few things I do that seem to really help. When it is time to organize those new gifts, if I start with these simple things, it is so much easier. Below are my tips to help you organize those new gifts too.

Get rid of packaging
All too often we are tempted to put items away in the packaging. Toys come in boxes that they don’t really need to be kept in and often the boxes just take up extra space. The same goes for so many other gifts we receive. Occasionally, a gift may need to remain in the packaging or it may come in a perfect storage container, those gifts are the exception to this rule. The first step to organize those new gifts is to get rid of that unneeded packaging.

Figure out where the gifts are going to go
You might be tempted to just send all of an individual’s gifts to their room, I know I feel that way. That really is not always the best solution. Sometimes gifts will be used in another room, or part of the house. Those gifts are better when put away where they will be used. It might make more sense to store the new video games with the rest of the video game equipment for example.
Once you figure out what room the gifts belong in, figure out where in that room they will go. Does that gift go on a shelf, in a closet, under a bed? In order to organize those new gifts, you will need to decide where they all go.

Put things in space saving containers
Once you’ve decided where all the new gifts go, you need to organize those new gifts into space saving containers. Some gifts won’t need containers but many will need them. These containers can be something you have around the house or something inexpensive from the dollar store. Don’t spend a lot of money to organize those new gifts. Simple shoe boxes can maximize shelf space and allow for multiple items to be stored in one area. Using storage containers also keeps multiple pieces of your gift together. Toys are a great example of this. If a toy train set can be stored in a small box, all of the parts will stay together and be so much easier to store. Space saving containers can be a huge part to being successful when you organize those new gifts.

Label everything
If you start to organize those new gifts, you want them to stay that way right? I know I do! I have found that if I label containers, shelves, spots in closets, whatever and wherever, things tend to stay more organized. Toy closets, kitchen cupboards, bathroom shelves, label whatever you put away and label its location. Kids and spouses can see where things go easily. This is another great step to help you successfully organize those new gifts.

Get rid of unused things
This is another big step when you organize those new gifts. It is a great time to get rid of unused or replaced items. Watch our blog next week for a blog or two on this subject.