A Clutter-free Christmas may sound unavoidable but it IS possible!

It’s no secret that Christmas can get really overwhelming. One way to reduce the overwhelm is to think seriously about the Christmas gifts you give this this year. Is it time for you to move toward a Clutter-free Christmas? How many gifts do you really need to buy? Do you really need to buy something for everyone that you associate with during the year? In most cases, the answer is no.

As a Professional Organiser, I recommend that the best way to avoid the usual Christmas mess for both you and the gift recipient is to avoid the usual tokens altogether. When purchasing Christmas gifts, you may not want it to negatively impact the space, tidiness or current state of the recipient’s home by giving them something that they don’t want nor need.

More often that not, when giving a token gift, you are actually giving them the gift of guilt. 

An unwanted gift that they creates a lot of anxiety and shame as the recipient carefully considers ways of removing the item from their home without hurting your feelings or the relationship they have with you.  This is an area that I support my decluttering clients with on a daily basis.

So, my advice for Christmas shopping would be to focus on experience gifts. Things that you can do together with your friend or the recipient of the gift. Things that build friendship. That build family. And that build meaningful moments.

Focus on Experience Gifts

This may look as simple as experience gifts and vouchers. Or an invitation out to dinner or drinks where you foot the bill. They’re not only easy to organise, but they provide a personalised event for the person receiving it. A joyous event that you can share together. Not to mention all the packaging, plastic and accessories you’ll avoid by minimising it into a single envelope.

There are heaps of options for vouchers whether it’s to the movies, to a nice dinner out or to a local zoo or show at the theatre. All of which promote quality moments for your dear ones. If not a voucher, experience gifts might look like taking your friend out to lunch, treating them to a spa date or paying for a wine tour you can do together.

Focusing on experiences rather than material products is a great way to do things collaboratively together with friends or family– creating moments that last longer than a single token.

Quality Over Quantity

There are so many options out there for inexpensive gifts, under $5. Under $10. A lot of them just lack meaning and personalisation. I know it’s the same with many of my clients as well– who find importance in the thought behind things. In all honesty, they would much prefer receiving a handwritten card or letter than a little token gift.

But if you really need to purchase a token gift, I recommend that you buy something that’s consumable. Coffee. Chocolates. Hampers. Biscuits. Tea. Something that you know that actually reflects them and what they would like as a person. There are so many different little cheap stocking fillers out there that are really just rubbish. They’re not good for our environment, they’re not good for our pockets and they’re not made to last long. Don’t just buying things for the sake of buying them.

Truthfully, many items are not good for our home, and they’re just magnets for clutter so it really is crucial to be smart about what we give. We may not have much control over the things we receive as gifts but we do have all control over the gifts we give this holiday season. 

So from our entire team at The Organising Bee, we’re wishing you a very Merry (Clutter-free) Christmas this year!