Looking for clutter-free gift ideas for the people on your list this year? Download this Ultimate Clutter Free Gift Guide!
During my days as a professional organizer, I regularly found myself giving clients permission to let go of items that they have been holding onto simply because they were given the item as a gift. These are things that the client did not need, use or want…things that were taking up valuable space in their home because of a misplaced sense of obligation to the gift giver.
So as the holiday shopping season shifts into high gear, I wanted to offer up some advice to all of you gift-givers out there:
Don’t burden people with a gift that could likely end up in the “donations” box or the “re-gift” shelf of the bedroom closet.
Need more convincing that gift clutter is a problem? Take a look at the results of a recent survey conducted by the folks at Sparefoot.
79 percent of the U.S. population (89 percent of millennials) say they never use some of the gifts they receive each year. On average, more than one in four gifts go unused!
Via SpareFoot.com
You can avoid the potential of adding to someone’s clutter pile by giving a “clutter-free” gift–a gift that is not a THING and doesn’t occupy space in the gift recipient’s home.
The professional organizing blogosphere is overflowing with posts that celebrate clutter-free gift giving. Just check out this Professional Organizer’s Blog Carnival if you don’t believe me!
Obviously, the search for clutter-free gifts is a popular one. So I thought I’d offer up some clutter-free gift ideas of my own that will hopefully provide some direction if you are stuck on what to give that certain someone this year.
CLUTTER FREE GIFT GUIDE
Download a printable version of this ultimate list of clutter-free gift ideas at the end of the post!
EXPERIENCES
- Dinner
- Movie
- Vacation
- Spa day
- Golf round
- Vacation
- Concert
- Laser Tag
- Sports event
LESSONS & CLASSES
- Ballroom dancing
- Cake decorating
- Music
- Computer
- Foreign language
- Cooking
- Sports
- Horseback riding
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
- Cleaning
- Lawn care
- Personal chef
- Auto detail
- Decorator
- Professional Organizer!
- Personal trainer
- Virtual Assistant
MEMBERSHIPS
- Botanical garden
- Science center
- Community pool
- Zoo
- Museum
- Gym
- AAA
- Food/Wine of the month club
DIGITAL/TECHNOLOGY
- eBooks
- eMagazines
- Netflix
- Cloud backup service
- Software
- Itunes gift card
YOUR TIME/TALENTS
- Babysitting
- Home repairs
- Scrapbooking
- Sewing
- Meal prep
- Power wash
- House painting
- Technical assistance
Click on the image below to download this clutter-free gift guide for future reference! What are YOUR favorite ideas for clutter-free gift giving? What have I missed?
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Jenny says
My parents always give us a zoo membership and it’s a gift that keeps giving all year long. Plus we get to go to special events at the zoo. Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday!
Natalie Gallagher says
Ah, the zoo membership! We used ours frequently when the kiddos were little. That’s a great example of a useful clutter-free gift! Thanks Jenny!