greeting cardsDo you keep a supply of greeting cards on hand to be ready for occasions that pop up? Do you have a pile or two of greeting cards that you received from others that you just can’t bear to discard? If you answered yes to either of these two questions, this article may be of some help.

These issues fall into two categories – supplies and memories. Solutions to both of these categories is all about storage and organization.  How you store them is just as important as how you organize them in in their containers.

I often see piles of received cards in my client’s things, especially during downsizing.  We may run across cards that haven’t been sent yet, but not many.  In either case, at first glance, these piles could be mistaken for clutter.

To keep your greeting cards from turning into clutter, separate them into the two categories mentioned above. Discard, or recycle the excess and organize the keepers using the tips shown below.

Greeting Cards – Memories

There are many people that find it difficult to discard greeting cards.  They hold so many precious memories that some believe they will forget.  Unfortunately, most don’t have the storage space to keep them all.

Read on for some tips on how to decide which cards to discard/recycle, and how to store and organize the keepers.

Discard/recycle cards that:

  • Don’t have sentimental attachments.
  • Don’t have a personal message.
  • Are from people that you didn’t have a good relationship with, or that produce negative feelings.

Storage options:

  • Digitally – take pictures of these keepers with your phone, or scan them to your computer. This option uses little to no physical storage space.
  • Scrapbook them. If you are the creative sort, use your talents to create an album of your favorite cards to keep your memories all together.
  • Photo boxes are not just for physical photos. They can also be used to store and organize greeting cards. These boxes come in durable cardboard and plastic versions, and have dividers for organization.

Greeting Cards – Supply

How you organize your greeting cards is an important aspect so you can quickly find the right card for the occasion. Determining categories is a no-brainer since the occasion is the actual category. Filing the occasions/categories alphabetically makes the most sense.

Read on for some tips on discarding/recycling cards, and storage options and tips to organize your supply of the cards that are keepers.

Discard or trash cards that:

  • Have glitter or rhinestones, or other non-recyclable decorations that cannot be easily removed.
  • Have musical mechanisms that are not appropriate to recycle.

Recycle cards that:

  • Have no envelopes; they may have been lost.
  • You no longer want by using the messages and images for crafts or scrapbooking.

Storage options & tips:

  • Photo boxes are not just for physical photos. They can also be used to store and organize greeting cards. These boxes come in durable cardboard and plastic versions, and have dividers to organize categories.
  • Accordion file. They can be found in most office supply or discount stores. Use labels to categorize the tabs at the top of each section.
  • Hanging cascading file folder. Similar to the accordion file, the tabs can be labeled for each category. Some will even fold up to save space when not in use.
  • Gift closet – if you have one of these, it makes sense to store your supply of greeting cards here.
  • Store pens, stamps, return address labels and other supplies in with the cards.
  • Write on the inside of the card – ‘You have my permission to discard 1 week after receipt’. This may help those that feel compelled to keep every card they receive.