Organizing

Clutter Free Gift Ideas

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We know about our own clutter.  Sometimes we know about a family member or close friend’s clutter.  We want to give them a gift but don’t want to make their clutter problem even worse. Since we know they will probably want to give us a gift we don’t want something that will add to our own clutter.     Christmas presents

So what type of clutter free gifts will be enjoyed and appreciated? Below is a list of ideas for both giving and receiving. Don’t be afraid to ask the person what they would like. Give them some choices from the lists below. Otherwise they will probably say, “I don’t know” or “It doesn’t matter, whatever you want to buy me”. They really do care but are afraid to tell you.

You can also make suggestions for things you would prefer to receive from your family and/or friends. Try to be considerate of the cost of the gifts and the person’s financial situation. You can either set a limit on the cost of the gifts or use the list below for clutter free gifts that cost little or no money.

Clutter-Free Gift Ideas – price: various

  1. Gift certificate for the local mall or their favorite store.
  2. Gift certificate for a movie, theater production, or concert.
  3. Gift certificate for a day spa.
  4. Gift certificate for a local attraction or activity such as the zoo, a museum, amusement park, sporting event, bowling, ice skating, etc.
  5. Candles are good gifts if you know they will use them. Otherwise they may become clutter and gather dust.
  6. Special food items they normally would not buy for themselves. This could be high quality chocolates, specialty oils and vinegars for cooking, or even a gift certificate for a fancy restaurant they would enjoy.
  7. Fancy (usually more expensive) shower gels, lotions, hair products, etc. Make sure they use these kinds of products.
  8. Ask them if there is any particular item they really want or need. At least you will know it probably won’t sit in drawer unused.

Clutter-Free Gift Ideas – price: mostly your time

  1. Create a gift certificate that can be redeemed for a service. This is a great gift for older grandchildren to give to their grandparents. Examples: cleaning the garage or basement, yard-work, car washing, special household projects.
  2. Create a gift certificate that promises someone that you will treat them to a movie, lunch/dinner, special event, etc.  Although this does involve money on your part more importantly it involves spending time with the person and sharing the activity together. If you don’t want to spend any money look for free local attractions you can visit with them.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

 

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Ideas for Last Minute Holiday Inspiration

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It’s hard to believe Christmas is just a little over a week away.  The first night of Chanukah is next Tuesday, December 20. The greeting cards are arriving in force now. If you haven’t mailed yours yet it’s time to do it.

In my monthly newsletter I included a lot of website links for ideas on Christmas and Chanukah. Here are some of those links to help you with ideas for gifts, organizing your holidays, making homemade decorations with your children, holiday recipes, and lots of other ideas.  Check them out for some last minute inspiration.

Christmas

http://christmas.organizedhome.com/

http://www.amazing-christmas-ideas.com/

http://holidays.kaboose.com/christmas/

http://browse.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/holidays/christmas/index.html

 

Chanukah

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default_cdo/jewish/Hanukkah.htm

http://holidays.kaboose.com/chanukah/

 

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

 

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Reduce Stress by Creating New Traditions

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December is one of the most hectic, crazy, and hopefully fun months of the year. There are the holiday parties at the work place, schools, friends’ parties, and family gatherings.  Then there is the shopping for gifts plus the shopping for groceries for meals and baking. Don’t forget there are all the decorations to put up to create that festive mood in your home. Plus sending out all those greeting cards!

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, or both there are a lot of preparations for the holidays.

Along with all these activities comes a lot of stress. The expectations are high. Usually these high expectations come from long standing traditions, many which we don’t even know where they came from.  Maybe it’s time to lower those expectations and create some new traditions that fit our lifestyle of today.

It’s not always easy to change a tradition without feeling guilty, especially if it’s been handed down for several generations. If you enjoy the tradition then go ahead and keep it going.  If you don’t enjoy it you probably experience un-needed stress to keep it going.  Maybe it’s time to question why!

Here is a little story about following traditions and not knowing why.  I’ve heard many times in different ways. Some call it “Grandma’s Cooking Secret”.

A young newlywed was cooking a brisket.  Her husband asked her why she cut off both ends of the brisket before putting it in the roasting pan.  She replied that was the way her mother always did it.  She later asked her mother why and her reply to her daughter was because her mother had always done it that way.  The next time they were over at the newlywed’s grandmother’s house she asked her why she always cut off the ends of the brisket. The grandmother replied, “because my roasting pan was too small”.

Snopes has several variations of this story. They will make you question why you follow some of your traditions.

Start some new traditions this year that fit your current family, not past generations. You’ll be starting new traditions to pass down to your children. And let them know why you are doing things your way.  Be opened minded about your children wanting to create some of their own new traditions.

Change is sometimes hard to accept. If you’re not happy with a new tradition then you can always go back to the old one next year.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

 

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Time to Get Started With the Holiday Greeting Cards

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Like most people I like to send out Holiday Greeting cards every year.  Some years I’m organized early enough to get all the cards on my list sent out. Other years have been more difficult. With the Holiday Greeting Card System I set up 5 or 6 years ago it’s been a lot easier to send out at least some cards, even when things have been a little out of control in my life.

In my November newsletter I talked about getting started with the system so it will be easier and more fun to send out cards this year.  Well, I have to admit I haven’t looked at my list until today.  Each year I update any addresses on the list by writing them in by hand.  Eventually I need to update it on the computer and print out a new copy.  I think this is the year to do it since way too many people on my list have new addresses.

The way I have my list set up it makes it easy to know how many of each kind of card I need to purchase.  I send out Season’s Greeting cards to people I don’t know for sure what their religion is. I send out Chanukah cards to all my Jewish friends and family.  And I send out Christmas cards to all my Christian friends and family.  A few I even send out specialty cards for friends and family that celebrate both Christmas and Chanukah.  Those are harder to find and need to be purchased early.

The post office lists December 20, as the last day to mail cards if you want them to be there by Christmas. That’s only 5 weeks away!

So this week I’m going to update my list and purchase the cards. Then I can spend the evenings addressing a few at a time while watching TV.

Go download the free article, Holiday Greeting Card System and get started today so you too can make it easier and more enjoyable to send out those greeting cards.

Janice

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Prevent Holiday Clutter Build-up

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This is the time of year where all kinds of clutter can build up. Excess food treats, lots of Christmas decorations, too many gifts, etc. These are some of the things that make the holidays fun. But when we over-indulge in any of these things we could end up with extra pounds on our bodies, wasted food, too many decorations to store, and more gifts than we know what to do with. In other words, we could be adding to our clutter!

Here are some tips to help prevent Holiday clutter build-up:

Turkey Dinner 05

  • If you have a hard time resisting food treats learn to be choosey. Only eat the ones that are special to you.
  • Freeze and/or hide the cookies and candies you are saving for the parties. Out of sight, out of mind, will help control the temptations.

decorated-tree2

  • Go through your stored Christmas decorations before shopping for new ones. Less chance of buying something you already have.
  • Get rid of any decorations that are broken or you don’t like anymore. That will make room for a few new ones.

Christmas presents

  • Make a list of everyone you need or want to buy a gift for. Put a dollar limit and some ideas next to each name.
  • If you have a large family consider drawing names to limit the amount of gifts you need to buy.
  • Consider one nice gift as opposed to multiple small gifts for an individual.
  • Consider one large gift (TV, vacation, etc.) for the whole family instead of individual gifts.

Taking a few precautions and writing out some plans won’t ruin the holiday’s for you. You can still have fun, just don’t overdo it or when January rolls around you may have a lot of new clutter to deal with!

Janice

P.S.  Please share your tips on how you control the clutter during the holidays. Leave a comment below. Thanks.

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