How can we give gifts that will not cause clutter? Gift giving does not have to be complicated. Once you have figured out what would be a thoughtful gift for the recipient, below are a couple of gift ideas that can cut back on the clutter and mess potential that some gifts may cause. I have compiled a short list of some fun ideas to give a great gift that won’t be collecting dust in someone’s closet any time soon!
- Cash: Cash is king! Don’t guess what the gift recipient might desire. Giving cash can help your friend or family member get what they really want or need.
- Gift cards: This is a great idea if you don’t want to give cash. It can serve the same purpose as money – help a recipient to buy what they want.
- Group gifts: Because you are buying the gift thoughtfully you might know if someone is saving for something. Consider getting a group together to contribute to help the person purchase the item they have been eyeing.
- Gift certificates: If you really want to make sure someone has a gift that they will use on something for themselves, buy them a service. I have people buy gift certificates for my in home service, or one of my classes. You can buy them a message, or a manicure, this is a great way to give someone a gift so they can really spend on themselves. Please make sure in advance your friend is the kind of person who would want this. For someone who doesn’t have a car it could be a taxi service somewhere, etc. Use your imagination, lots of great ideas in this one!
- Memberships: You can use it again and again and it doesn’t take up space. A membership to a museum or park is a great way for people to spend time together, often times they come with upgrades people can do themselves for an added something and they include tons of perks, like free parking and free guest passes.
- Specialty food items: Giving specialty foods to people is a great gift. Quick ideas could be specialty teas, coffees, even sending a nice pizza dinner. Especially for busy moms it could be a great reprieve since they don’t have to get dinner on the table!
- Plants: Now in general I am against flowers as they can be very wasteful, but plants are a great alternative. I have three plants that are still living, one from my husband, one from my mom, and one from a friend and every time I look at them I think of those people. It makes me happy. True, taking care of a plant is a bit more work, but honestly, it is nicer than looking at a bunch of dead flowers. You can also give useful plants like small herb gardens, and don’t forget the beauty of a small fruit bearing tree.
- Quality Time: Take your friend or child out for someone one-on-one time. This is my favorite gift, I love to spend one-on-one time with my husband and kids. This is something that I really have to make a special time for it since we all have different schedules. I also love when my friends say, I want to take you out for coffee, a drink, an ice cream, let’s put something on the calendar. To me this is so important, the real human connection.
- Experiences: You can give the gift of a wonderful and fun experience. Take your family or friends on an experience as a gift, truthfully, even if it ends up being awful, it will still be something you talk about for years to come.
- Courses, lessons, learning experience: Maybe you know that the gift recipient wants to take a salsa class or a flying lesson – even contributing to one of these lessons is helpful. Or even if you want to give one of my classes as a gift to someone else!
Which idea do you like the most? Maybe I left something off the list? Let me know in the comment section!
PS – Craving more organizational tips and tricks? Listen to my weekly podcast Journey to Organization and get ready to get inspired!