A Pretty Organizer for Storing My Greeting Cards

Welcome to the 533rd Metamorphosis Monday!

In this wide-angle view of my office, you can see a wrapping paper station I have hanging on the wall to the left. I added the gift wrapping organizer many years ago around the time I was putting this office space together.

 

I don’t think this gift wrapping organizer is still available. They brought it back again a year or two after I purchased mine, but I don’t think it’s available right now. You can see it better here: Gift Wrapping Station.

In addition to wrapping paper, I’ve been storing ribbon and greeting cards in this organizer. Today I moved all the ribbon to a drawer, just got tired of seeing it all stacked up on top.

Home Office with Gift Wrapping Station

 

For years now I’ve been storing greeting cards in this part of the organizer. Whenever I need a card for a particular occasion and don’t already have one that fits the bill, while I’m out shopping I’ll often buy additional cards if I see several that I like. Do you do that…pick up extra birthday, thank-you, sympathy, etc… cards if you find several that you like?

They look pretty neat in this photo below, but that’s because I had just picked them all up after they slid out and fell down onto the desk as I was searching through them for a sympathy card I wanted to send to a friend.

Organize and Store Greeting Cards

 

Storing them this way is totally inefficient: the cards always end up separated from their envelopes and I end up having to go through the whole stack each time I need a card for a particular occasion.

Pottery Barn Wrapping Paper Center with storage drawers

 

I used to have a Card Folder with pockets designed/labeled for different occasions. Unfortunately, it didn’t work very well because there were sections that I never used, while other sections (like the “birthday” section) were too small for all the cards I had. Also, it had a bad habit of dumping the cards out as I flipped through the different sections in search of a card.

 

Solution

Tonight I went in search of a better way to store/organize my cards and I came across this adorable organizer. I loved the floral exterior and I especially liked that it comes with 12 dividers and 24 labels for labeling all the different sections.

I can’t wait until it arrives and I can get my cards all sorted out! You’ll find it available here: Card Organizer Box.

Greeting Card Organizer & Storage

 

I came very close to ordering this one below, but I changed my mind when I noticed it only has six dividers. I really want more sections than just six. This organizer is available here: Card Organizer. and here: Clear Card Organizer.

I can’t wait for the one I ordered to arrive! It will be so nice to know right where to look when I need a card. No more fumbling through a big stack of cards crammed into my wrapping paper organizer.

While I’m waiting for this cute card organizer to arrive, I’m going to visit my local Marshalls and check out their greeting card selection. I always find great cards there and the prices are always so much better than what I normally find in card shops, grocery stores and drug stores.

Another place to look for all-purpose/general notecards is Michaels. My local store often has inexpensive, adorable notecards. I love those because they work great for giving little gifts throughout the year and at Christmastime.

Pier 1 also carries really cute greeting cards, although I don’t normally see them on sale. I love cards that are 3-D or have some special feature like a big pop-up inside when you open them. Especially love buying those for my grandsons.

How do you store your greeting cards? Do you have a folder or box where you have them all sorted out and ready to go when the need arises?

 

Greeting Card Organizer & Storage

 

Update:

Just discovered this cute rolling organizer for wrapping paper and ribbon. It’s currently on sale from $199 to $119.40 here: Wrapping Paper Organizer. Love that it has wheels so it can be rolled to wherever it’s needed.

 

Wrapping Paper & Ribbon Organizer

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Comments

  1. I have a box something like yours. It is so nice to have cards all together. I got mine a few years ago at the Hallmark store. All but one of these great store are closed. They always have such pretty things. Do you still have a
    Hallmark store ?

    • I wonder if the Hallmarks in my area are still open. I haven’t shopped in one in a very long time, always found their prices so high. Hate to think of them going out of business though.

  2. Brenda Lawrence says

    You are going to laugh at me Susan, but I make my greeting cards and yes, I store them in a Fridge bin with plastic dividers that I have labeled. I have a “stash” of cards, but still, at times, end up making a card for that particular event. That’s my hobby along with scrapbooking. As with all cards, store bought or homemade, you need to be organized with them to find the one you want. Hugs, Brenda

  3. I always admire how organized you are Susan! Thanks for the party today~

  4. Thanks so much for hosting each week!!
    Happy Easter!!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

  5. I have the Stanton rolling gift wrap cart and it is wonderful. Purchased it based on its excellent reviews on Amazon. Extremely sturdy and heavy with wood bracing on the bottom. Comes with two sizes of 4 dowels each for ribbon. Top 1/2 tray lifts out and could hold scissors, tape, etc. Comes completely put together except for rollers on bottom. Comes with items to secure it permanently to a wall, if needed. Swallowed up 3 large boxes of wrap/tissue/gift bags for me. Current pricing of $119.40 is outstanding.

    • I’m so tempted to order one to store the Christmas gift wrap I use at Christmastime. Love the rolling feature! Thanks for sharing more about it, Linda…so helpful to hear from someone who actually has it.

  6. Love the wrapping station…I had one in my craft room in the former house..it was from the Martha Stewart collection. Thanks for hosting Susan! Have a great week!

  7. Snowflake281 says

    I really like that card organizer. Speaking of greeting cards, have you noticed the outrageous prices of them lately? And particularly around this time of year with Mother’s Day just around the corner. I am definitely going to start looking for a way to buy them in bulk or do what you do, buy them when I see them even if they’re not needed at the moment. I have started avoiding places like CVS, Walgreens etc. & go instead to places not normally thought of for greeting card purchases like a FedEx Office or Total Wines or my local convenience store. They carry different varieties of card companies & are usually a little less expensive.

    • I know, some are really expensive! Check out Marshalls, TJ Max, places like that. I have really found some nice ones there, and they are beautifully quality, as well.
      I know what you mean, I’ve found some hilarious ones in my local UPS store when dropping off packages.

  8. During the year I buy cards from the museum shop or souvenir shop. I also buy various gift cards and forever stamps. I start writing out birthday cards enclosed with gift cards in January and put them in my birthday card organizer. That way when a birthday comes up all I have to do it put the card in the mail.

    • Oh, love that idea! I have a special one I purchased that depicts “The Long Room” in the Old Library at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. I purchased it in the gift shop there when I was there. I love that room! I’m saving that card for a special gift occasion…if I can bring myself to part with it! Ha!
      Wow! I would love to be so organized, Kiki!

  9. Bobbi Duncan says

    Thank you for always sharing such great items, Susan. I have a similar clear box for my cards that, like you, I pick up throughout the year. Hugs!

    • Thanks, Bobbi! Happy spring to you! It’s so beautiful here today, I feel like I need to head up to the north Georgia mountains. Hope you are seeing some beautiful weather!

  10. I have a box almost like that that I purchased from the company Current Stationary years ago. Don’t think they exist anymore, not sure. I love mine. FYI you can make additional sections using Manila 1/3 cut file folders with tabs. Just use one of the sections from your box as a template. I added Easter, Valentines, Thanksgiving.

    • I think this one may be by Current. I LOVE their wrapping paper, it’s always such great quality. The Christmas paper I bought this past Christmas and the years before are by Current. Toni, do you remember when kids used to come around selling Current products for their school? I always bought several rolls of their paper because the rolls were so full and the quality was so great. I’ve always loved their quality.
      Good idea for the folders. I’ll keep that in mind if I end up needing a few more. Too bad they don’t sell blank “extras.” I love your idea of creating sections for each of the holidays! My grandchildren love getting a card in the mail. I think this will encourage me to send them more often for the holidays, etc…

      • I actually looked up the Current company after I made my comment. Happy to see they are still around. I agree on the good quality wrapping paper. I need to get back on their mailing list!!

  11. I do buy greeting cards whenever the impulse strikes me so that I have some on hand when I need one. I’ve just been using one of those letter size cardboard accordion style folders which works great as it expands and contracts depending upon how many cards it needs to accommodate. It doesn’t, however, look as pretty as yours does, Susan. I have all of my office, stationary, and gift wrap products stored in an Ikea wardrobe. I can just open the doors and see everything before me, then close it so that I don’t have to look at lots of stuff – even organized stuff. I find I really need a calm, uncluttered environment.

    • Ohh, love the Ikea wardrobe idea! That’s brilliant! I do love hiding away the clutter! Lisa, do you have a link for that wardrobe?

      • Hi Susan. I cannot give you a link, because my tech skills are an abomination, but I can tell you that it is Ikea’s Pax wardrobe, which can be customized to meet your needs. It comes in a standard wardrobe height, and also one that is taller. You can add on additional wardrobes to make more space. There are many different options to make it fit your needs; you can have all hanging garments, all shelves, combinations – whatever works for you. It’s very efficient storage. You do have to assemble it though. I have thought of moving it to my garage, when I’m ready to make some serious remodeling changes around the house. I live in a house that was built in the 1930’s when people lived quite differently. There is a very tiny servant’s bedroom and bathroom off of my kitchen. It was originally a clothes wardrobe for this very tiny bedroom, which is now my office. Ikea has lots of very affordable, useful things, even if you are not a fan of modern decor, (which I am not), and now I believe that there is paint available that will work for this type of furniture. There didn’t used to be. Good luck!

        • You sound like me, I’m not a fan of modern decor either, but I do like some of the storage pieces/bookshelves Ikeas stocks. We are lucky to have an Ikea here in Atlanta, so I usually drive there in person to buy things to avoid the shipping costs. I will check out the wardrobe…sound really neat! I know older homes can be challenging. My dil and son are dealing with a tiny kitchen that they hope to remodel, but it’s so small and there’s not very much they can do about that. Their house was built in the 1920’s. I do love so many of the charming features of older homes, though. ♥

  12. I love all of your organizing ideas and how you share all the pros and cons. When our local Hallmark store closed I started picking up greeting cards from the dollar store. They are 50 cents or a dollar each and with 14 grandkids that I send cards to on Halloween, Valentines Day, Easter, etc. I find this an affordable option and they are usually quite nice cards. I keep mine in an accordion file but I love the box idea.

    • I need to check out the card at the Dollar Store…have done that in a long time. That’s perfect for the little ones! Marilyn, you are amazing to keep up with that! What a blessing to have so many grandchildren! ♥♥♥

    • Marilyn, I used to stock cards for American Greetings and picked up cards from them for 50 cents to a dollar. I still have a lot of them left even after being gone from them for a while. I, too, used to send my grandkids cards for every occasion.

  13. Mary Ellen says

    You can buy a similar storage box from Current Catalog. I have purchased two of them and they hold up very well. Current offers wonderful wrapping paper by the sheet, roll or jumbo roll. It is a heavyweight paper and the only gift wrap I buy.

  14. Betty Anne Smith says

    I use a box for cards. I used old folders to make my dividers. I like to use Print Shop program to make special birthday cards for close family members. I use pictures of them I have taken or has been shared on facebook with me throughout the year. Each card over the years tells about the child’s special memories throughout that year. When they open their card, they always say, ” I know this is from Aunt Betty Anne”. Then they look at the pictures and read the notes with each picture. I print the cards using white cardstock, they are folded in half, because there is something printed on front and back of card. I then insert in a colored envelope, which I buy by the box at Staples.

  15. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful finds.

    If you are fortunate enough to have a Paper Source shop in Atlanta, they have some wonderful and unique stationary. I like their correspondence cards. Just a single little card with a scalloped or plain edge that comes in lovely colors. They are open stock and have matching envelopes to purchase separately. I buy one or two extra in case I mess up. I keep them on hand when I need a thank you, congratulations, or condolence card. Also a book I rely on when I am at a loss for words and need inspiration is “How to Say It by Rosalie Maggio. It covers most of life’s situations.

  16. Joyce Howe says

    Be glad you ordered all of your Bedford set when you did. I recently added a 2 drawer filing cabinet to match the 2 drawer lateral file I had. It is about a 1/2 inch shorter than the lateral file and the color of the finish is much darker than the creamy white of the original. Disappointed because I wanted them to sit side by side, but am keeping anyway.

  17. I’ve been using a box like that for over 20 years. I buy them from Current. I’ve held on to one in particular because the pattern is so pretty. I also use a smaller, longer box for notecards. I love stationary items and love keeping them organized. 🙂

  18. The Container Store has a card box I bought years ago and it certainly comes in handy. Just this year I also bought a Christmas wrapping box that has come in handy as well. I pared down a lot of Christmas wrapping, ribbon and bags and gave to my dil.

  19. From reading all the comments it is nice to see that people are still sending cards. Postage is so high now, but I still send cards. The Dollar Store is carrying Hallmark cards so be sure to check them out. I’ve been shopping Current for at least 45 years. I think Lillian Vernon may have taken over the original Miriam Loos owner. Because I’m not near stores I used to stock up on cards so I now have quite a collection waiting for the perfect person to send one to. lol I keep a Current holder that has birthdays written down and you can put cards in ahead of time for each month (birthday only). The cards I do have go into plastic shoeboxes labeled birthday, sympathy, thinking of you, get well, Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s, thank you, baby, new home, congratulations, Halloween, Thanksgiving (not every occasion gets its own box!). I could open a card store! Leaning Tree makes fabulous cards, but they are pricey and Grocery Outlet (if you have one near) has $1 cards. Does anyone dress up their envelopes with stickers? There’s another box for them!!!

    • Kathleen,
      I do that! Sometimes I even think the poor mailman can barely read the name and the address on those envelopes I send (or receive!)!? lol
      And the box I store all my stickers in is the biggest one on my bookshelves! 🙂

      • Cecilia, I try to make my cards look like a “gift” by using the stickers. Make it fun for the recipient! I’m hoping the parents keep the cards and envelopes for the grandkids to look back on. My box for the stickers is pretty big. Can’t pass up the Current bogos!

  20. Susan,
    I do that, too: I always buy additional cards just because they’re pretty and I like them. I, too, have them in a pretty, floral box like yours but its dividers are labelled with self-stick single letters which stand for Birthday, Anniversary, etc. In a similar, but bigger box I store the cards and letters I receive since they’re as precious to me as the pretty ones I buy. I love reminiscing about the past by reading lovely letters sent by friends. I still have a friend I went to school with, who loves to start most of her written sentences with: “Cecilia, do you remember….?” and I love that she reminds me of something funny (or not so funny) that happened back then. (We graduated in 1986.) I always tell her she needs to ask me when we are 90+ so we can test our mental fitness each other! lol
    PS: Just today I have reminisced about my vacations in France by looking at photos but in a sad way, since the Cathedral Notre Dame is engulfed in flames! Such a pity! 🙁

    • Cecilia, I save all my cards received! I like to re-read letters too! I have letters that I like to get out ever so often to read from my grandmother and a very special aunt. I recently received letters that my grandmother had written to a cousin (now deceased) and it was really revealing what my grandmother went through taking care of my grandfather (I was a carefree teen at the time). Letter writing is going by the wayside. My grandchildren will have to idea what they will be missing!

  21. Oh I wish I had an extra room for crafting and wrapping. Right now everything is shoved into one of those zip up cases and it’s tucked into a closet. Not easy to access. Boo!

  22. Hi Susan…I have a box like that. As others mentioned, mine came from Current and I have it for several years. I have one from Hallmark, too….I use that for note cards and blank cards. YES….I am always looking for cards. I am kind of “card crazy” and will often purchase unique cards at gift shops while traveling and save them for the right person/right time. Get most of my every day cards at Hallmark – lucky to still have a nice store close by. But…go figure – Dollar Tree sells Hallmark cards now. Most are 2 for 1 dollar !!! They also have a selection that are 1 dollar each. Whenever I am in Dollar Tree for something ( batteries, napkins, travel size toiletries, seasonal stuff) I browse through and pick up a few. Check it out…they really are nice! When buying a bunch of Easter cards last week ( yes, I send friends and family Easter cards!) my husband commented that at that price of 2 for 1 dollar the stamp costs more than the card !!!! But, it is so nice to have cards on hand to send when you hear that someone needs cheering up…sometimes it might be just what someone going through a hard time needs! Thanks for your great post! Love your organization – going to get in my work room and sort things out now that you have inspired me!

  23. SO glad you like greeting cards…as do I…in fact, I frame some of mine just for a little “spice” where I need it. franki

    • franki, I too have framed cards! Too pretty to throw away or put in a box; or the funny ones…one I gave my husband for his 50th bd and soon he will be 76!!! lol

  24. Cyndi Raines says

    I have my greetings cards sorted out in an acordian type file folder with the sections labeled birthday, wedding, anniversary, sympathy, thank you, get well, etc. I purchase most of my cards now at the Dollar store as they offer reasonable cards and Hallmark ones as well. Postage keeps going up, but I do enjoy sending cards out and still like getting cards in the mail. I appreciate the time the person took to choose the card, write a note in it, address and mail it, that’s special to me and homemade is even more endearing!

  25. I found going also to Dollar Store. They do have nice sayings in there cards. My daughter is always looking ahead for cards for birthday, and other times for her grandson so then she finds great grandson ones for me. Great grandson cards are hard to fine

  26. Years ago, I bought a pretty organizer from Costco that was filled with beautiful greeting cards. I’ve already sent most of the cards but restock the box when I find new ones. I’ve switched over almost exclusively to tulle ribbon. It’s so easy to use and bows always look great, it’s cheap, and a roll last a very long time. I now have multiple colors.

  27. Sharon Avinger says

    Check out your local Dollar Trees. I get all my greeting cards there. They have two sections – a large section in which cards are only 50 cents each and a smaller section in which they are $1 each. And the cards are Hallmark! Gorgeous cards. I stock up and have an organizer book with monthly sections to write all birthdays for that month, then insert them in the pocket for that month. There is also room to insert cards for holidays like Easter, Halloween, etc.

  28. I have a card “album” that I bought at Hallmark years ago. It is organized by month, with a place to write in all of the special occasions for the month and on the page across from that page is a pocket where I place the cards for that month. In the back it has more pockets for other special occasions such as sympathy, thinking of you greetings, etc. In the very back, it has an address book. I like your card box though and when this album wears out, I might go that route.

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