The great GIFT CLOSET cleanout of 2010

Since I was HOME ALONE for a few days, I decided to clean out and re-organize my gift closet.  Yes!  I have a GIFT CLOSET!  I love it!  This closet has saved me so much time, energy, and MONEY!  It’s perfect for when one of the boys brings home a birthday party invitation on Thursday for a party that is 2 days away!  It’s also perfect during the holidays when you “forgot” a gift for one person on your list—you just go to the gift closet, grab, wrap, and go!

I try to find items on sale, clearance, etc.  and stock up!  The BEST time to find the BEST sales are the day after Christmas!  Look for items that aren’t “wintery” or don’t have a holiday theme to them, if you want to use it for a birthday item.  I stock up on holiday plates, cups, napkins, boxes, tissue paper, wrapping paper, etc. PLUS bath sets, lotions, candles, dish towels, movies, and all sorts of other items!

The BAD news is that my checking account shows it!  The GOOD news is that I’m DONE with birthdays for this year (and probably next), and DONE with Christmas for next year for the boys’ teachers, Sunday School teachers, Principal, Asst. Principal, etc.  I also have items stored away in case a friend needs a “pick-me-up” or if I just feel like sending in something to the boys’ teachers.  The GIFT CLOSET is a life-saver!

I had SO MUCH stuff and had lately been just throwing it in there and it was getting SLOPPY!

Here’s the loot I bought the day after Christmas and a few days later…..

WHEW!  That’s A LOT!  I was DETERMINED to make it all fit in the GIFT CLOSET along with what was already there!

The first thing I had to do was set aside all the “classroom goodies” for the boys’ classes for next Christmas.  I bought the paper goods and some cute plastic cups for their classes, plus a bunch of items like bubbles, notepads, mini pens, etc. to fill a bag with.

After completing that task, on to the GIFT CLOSET I went!

This is a Rubbermaid container full of lip glosses, puzzles, Barbies, sidewalk chalk, Star Wars thingies, pajamas, Crayola Color Wonder kits, bath sets, books, cookbooks, movies, and MORE!  The whole container is probably worth $250 and I paid under $40 for ALL of it!

This is one side of the closet shelving which has some 3-D outdoor Crayola chalk kids, Transformers which were normally $4 that I got for $2, bath sets, etc.

The other side of the closet shelving has board games, bowling sets ($6 the day after Thanksgiving), Army sets, etc.

This is the bottom of the closet and I have Bath & Body anti-bacterial soaps (1.33 each), a few gifts, and my bags of ribbon, scissors, tape, etc.  See those bags in the cellophane next to the pink bags?  They are brown cloth bags from Yankee Candle that I got for $1.00 at the Yankee outlet in Ellenton!  YOU CAN’T BEAT THAT!  It’s PERFECT for throwing a gift in and then giving it!  No WRAPPING necessary!

More Bath & Body soap/lotion gift sets that I got the day after Christmas.  They are normally 16.50 and I got them for under $8.00!!

If you don’t have a gift closet, I encourage you to get a container, drawer, tote, shelf, or SOMETHING and just TRY it!  I ALWAYS cruise the clearance aisles!  You NEVER know when the PEFECT gift for someone will be there!  This does not mean I don’t care about the person I’m buying for!  In fact, it means I can give them MORE because I’m getting items at a lower cost!

Hope this has inspired you!

~CB~