Space-respecting, wellness-promoting, guilt-free gifting ideas for any budget.
When buying gifts for others or creating a wishlist for ourselves, we should respect our own space and the spaces of those we are gifting.
Here are some ideas for uncluttered giving across any budget.
*Note: I am not yet cool enough to get kickbacks from these things. I have trade partnerships with a few services mentioned. I am a partner because I believe in their product or service. These are unsolicited and honest personal favs.
Nothing Beats Experiences
You've heard it before - and for good reason. Do you want the most bang for your buck? Give experiences.
There is ample scientific evidence on the psychological and physical benefits of experience over Things. Experiences, especially the ones that get you just past the edge of your comfort zone, are also great for brain health - not to mention personal growth, self-confidence, and a general feeling of badassness. This article on BecomingMinimalist.com provides an excellent summary. Here are a few of the bullet points:
They last longer - recipients feel happier for longer, and the memories can last a lifetime.
They can improve mental and physical health.
Experiences can broaden your horizons or even be life-changing!
They can build relationships and strengthen bonds.
No clutter!
And lots more.
Yes, the trips, spa services, and tickets to live shows make great gifts, but that doesn't encompass the breadth of options. Value isn't all about dollar signs when it comes to experience. Think about your favorite things to do with the person you are gifting. What makes them light up? Explore a new hiking trail or restaurant, volunteer, plan a simple day trip, visit a new museum, do a project together, overcome a fear, take a new class together, or complete a demanding physical challenge—the opportunities are endless. My favorite experiences are done WITH the giver. It means, "I like you enough to spend time with you and do something I think we both will enjoy."
Learning and Skill Building
Another kind of experience you can give is the gift of knowledge.
Online courses are everywhere and have become one of my favorite hobbies. How cool is it that you can go online and learn just about anything you want now?
You can learn anything for free with Google and YouTube. However, many paid courses provide well-organized information from real teachers with higher production value. Many allow you to track your progress and include quizzes, workbooks, or other learning resources to help you learn and apply the information, not just watch.
Here are some of my recent favorites:
MasterClass - Ukelele, business strategy, hairstyling, French pastry... to name a few!
Create Academy - A UK-based set of creative master classes focused on interior design, floral arranging, upholstery/decor crafts, cooking, and more.
Pine and Poplar - A friendly and accessible female-owned DIY furniture building resource.
The Calm App - Smartphone app for meditation and stress management.
There are courses for anything you can imagine out there. Price doesn't always account for quality, so watch course trailers, search online for reviews, and look for other information about the instructors and the platform. Remember, you are allowed to learn something new you are curious about just because you want to. There are no rules about skill level, grades, age, gender, or status. You can find short, single-subject classes or annual subscriptions to long-form multi-subject platforms.
Don't overlook the gift of sharing your knowledge! This goes back to experiences. Teach someone something you know how to do that they are interested in. Bake together. Build something. Play instruments. Teach them how to win at Poker. Coach them on your favorite sport. Teach them how to set up their e-reader, smartphone, or tablet to interact with all the free services at your local public library!
Digitizing, Restore, Share, and Print
There are awesome people and services waiting to help you preserve and tell your family stories and history or create secure, sharable, organized digital collections. Print photos, movie reels, slides, and videotapes take up space but can degrade and become damaged over time and without careful storage.
Digitizing a physical collection is a great gift. Companies like ScanCafe can digitize videotapes, movie reels, slides, negatives, and photos. They also offer professional photo restoration. (I am a trade partner of ScanCafe!) Their services has straightforward pricing and mail-in convenience.
If you want a more personal touch, consider one of these two companies—both are Ohio-based and are friends and fellow members of NAPO Ohio. If you'd like to use their service but don't want to risk mailing, I will hand-deliver your media to them!
Kim and Tamara are wonderful humans. They are the ultimate photo managers who can scan and digitize physical media, organize your print or digital photos, and create all sorts of custom print and digital albums and slideshows. They are caring and skillful, and their detective skills are downright spooky when it comes to identifying who that person in that one photo that you don't know is!
Philip and Susan Griffith are storytellers. Yes, they can help you create lasting, easy-to-navigate digital photo storage for your family media, but they can also help you create life books that tell your stories and preserve family history.
Stress-Relieving, Life-Improving Services
Pay a professional to do something for someone to improve their life. Yes, hiring bi-weekly house cleaning is a great start, but don't let the ideas stop there.
Personal training, tax prep, reupholstering their favorite chair, oil changes, business coaching, or hiring someone to do that small home improvement job you've been avoiding are just some ideas to get you thinking.
You know, while we're on the subject...
Hiring a professional organizer makes a GREAT gift. In fact, of all of these ideas, it is one of my all-time favorites. I know a fantastic professional organizer, AND she offers gift cards! #callme
Yes, Things Can Make Great Gifts
Things can be great gifts, but giving a Thing just because you need to give someone a gift creates guilt-ridden holiday clutter. You can do better. Do you have awesome ideas of uncluttered gifts? Please share!
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