Organization

By mid-December, wrapping supplies are usually everywhere. A roll of paper under the couch, the tape gone again, scissors somehow in the bathroom. You don’t need a craft room to fix that. You need one place where it all lives, whether that’s a cart, a door, a shelf or a bin, and the habit of putting the tape back. Pick one setup A three-tier rolling cart (on Amazon). About 18 by 12 inches and 30 inches tall. Tools on top (scissors, tape, ribbon on a dowel, pens, tags), tissue and bags in the middle, rolls standing up on the bottom. A tension rod or a piece of PVC pipe across one side turns it into a paper dispenser. It rolls to wherever you’re wrapping and into a closet afterward. ...

Every January the same thing happens: the tree box leans in the hallway, the lights sit in a knot on the counter and the wreath ends up on top of the fridge. In a small apartment you live with these boxes for eleven months and enjoy what’s in them for one, so it’s worth deciding where everything goes before you buy any more. One bin No garage, no attic, no storage unit. So the rule is: all your Christmas decorations fit in one bin. Two at most. ...