Tag: gift giving

Stress-less Gifting: Create a GIFT HOME

In last week’s newsletter, I promised to tackle common clutter Hot Spots, so let’s look at creating ONE PLACE for your gifts and cards to give.

Don’t you love it when you find the perfect gift for a loved one, even if it’s the wrong time of year? So we hold on to the gift, anticipating the joy of giving and receiving.

And, doesn’t it drive you CRAZY when you can’t find that great gift when the time comes to give it!?!?!

Establish A HOME for your gifts-to-give.  As you establish a GIFT HOME,

  • Plan ahead if the GIFT HOME needs to be hidden from curious eyes, with lidded opaque containers or a door that locks!
  • The GIFT HOME should expand to hold more when major holidays are coming.
    • For example, my GIFT HOME is a cabinet in my laundry room. The cabinet is near the door to the crawl space, so Christmas gifts can overflow to a few bins in there as necessary until I wrap them and give them out.
  • Make the GIFT HOME convenient so you will actually stick with putting items there and then retrieving them again. A client had a GIFT HOME in their attic, which was hidden but was so inconvenient that the client didn’t use it consistently.
  • Bonus points if the GIFT HOME is near wrapping paper, shipping boxes and the necessary accessories!



The next level on this project is to use the GIFT HOME for a stash of more general gifts to give.

  • Helping with fundraiser raffle baskets in December, each basket needed just a few things to complete it – fuzzy socks and lotion for one, a Christmas mug or candle for another, etc.  One of my fellow volunteers asked “Do you just have a cabinet with all of these gift things just waiting?” and I answered “Yes!”.
  • Use the dedicated GIFT HOME to hold gifts that you might need to have / give with little notice. If I happen across a fun item, I will purchase a few extras to spontaneously give out. This idea was really helpful when my sons were younger, for that weekend birthday party the 8 year old forgot to tell you about until an hour before! I had a stash of Lego sets that came and went!
  • To be honest, I am absolutely a re-gifter. I use the GIFT HOME to hold onto NEW ONLY lovely items I receive but may never use until I can give them to someone who will love the item more than me. I attach a post-it to remind me where it came from, so I don’t end up giving it back to someone accidentally.



And Now, Gift Cards!

  • Establish a GIFT HOME for your unused gift cards, to use and to give as gifts as needed. Gift cards are $$ already spent!  Let’s make the most of those!
  • We keep a lot of gift cards because we use the gift card fundraiser program at my son’s school. We buy gift cards, and a portion of the sale goes towards tuition.
  • We have a different holder for the slightly used ones, and we note the remaining balance on the card with a sharpie.
  • Working with clients, I can’t even count how many gift cards we’ve found floating around in junk drawers, piles of papers, discarded gift wrap and bags, etc., and then we don’t know if the card is new or used. We can check the balance on the card by calling the phone # on the back, or visiting the website listed.

Do future-you a favor and create a consistent and accessible home for your gifts and gift cards for less-stressful gift giving!

It’s May! Is Your Head Spinning, Too?

Hooooo boy, it’s May!

May seems like the busiest month of the year for us. Until a few years ago, I thought this was only my opinion, until a wise mom whose children are a little older than mine made the same observation to me.

May brings school picnics and field trips, weddings, graduations, concerts and end-of-the-school-year award events.  The school year is wrapping up, but we still have finals!  And as some activities wind down, others are gaining speed!
We have family members gearing up for house sales and moving.  We’re looking at camps and activities, and making summer travel plans with a college reunion, work conference, house guests, and weekends away.

And all this on top of – Oh Right! – the activities of daily living.

So, if you feel like your head is spinning this month, too – and it’s only the first week! – take a few moments today or tomorrow to make some plans, take care of business and set yourself up to have a great and busy May!

Here are a few ways to succeed:

  • Maintain your healthy habits.  When we are the busiest and want to skip our daily exercise,good night’s sleep or healthy eating is just when we need most to keep up!
  • Grab your calendar, pull up a seat and make a plan. Make sure all your events and responsibilities are listed.  Look ahead and take care of scheduling snags now instead of waiting until later!  (For example, 3 cars for 4 drivers and the teenager has job training this Thursday.  Time to get creative, now instead of Thursday!)
  • Pare Down. Review your To-Do list, and move everything that doesn’t absolutely have to be done right now to a different day, week or month .  Make notes for next month, when the schedule loosens up.
  • Review your upcoming events or responsibilities, and note the details and the other follow-up steps!  Jot down place and time of course, but the other steps, too!  For example, we received an invitation to a graduation party out of town and we will be unable to attend.  You and I know our job is not done when we RSVP – there is a card and gift to purchase and mail.  Add those shopping items and errands-to-run to the Master To-Do List so we don’t forget!
  • Run through the wardrobe options with EVERYONE!  Graduation? First Communion?  End of Year Concert?  Make sure NOW that the dress shoes still fit, the suit jacket isn’t stained, the favorite tie is back from the cleaner, etc.
  • “Hooray, You Did It!” x 10!  Remember Christmas?  And how you have a few extra hostess gifts stashed, or generic greeting cards and gift cards?  Same idea, stock up on some gender neutral “Hooray, You Did It!” cards, gift cards, and bottles of wine for Just In Case.
  • Be Grateful, too.    In addition to the congratulations cards, grab a handful of Thank You Notes for teachers, car-pool buddies, coaches, etc.
  • Reach Out and Touch Someone.  Go ahead and make your appointments:  hair cuts, carpet cleaning, cholesterol screening, camp physical, summer dentist appointments – the list is endless.  Make the calls this week (before everyone else does), and note the events on your calendar.
  • Enjoy! The whole point of this super busy month is to celebrate all of life’s events!  Celebrate!

Tips for Getting Our Christmas Shopping Done!

The irony is not lost on me, friends.  A month ago, I decided this week’s blog topic would be christmas-present-lgabout gift buying /  wrapping, and I am not done with buying or wrapping.  So this will be a learning week for all of us.
Can I be honest here? I really dislike shopping.  I love giving gifts, but I hate to shop.  So, handling this necessary evil as efficiently and effectively as possible over the next few days will allow me to get on with the more enjoyable parts of the Christmas Season!

So how are we going to get this all done?  Buck up, little camper – We can do this, I promise!  Here’s how:
1. Start with Gratitude. Gratitude for the people in your life.  Gratitude for the Holidays, however you choose to celebrate.  Gratitude for the means to give gifts and share love.
2. Make the list and check it twice.  Naughty? Nice? really, who am I to judge?  To whom are you giving gifts?  This isn’t just the gifts you will exchange, go ahead and list everyone you need to buy for, like thank you gifts for teachers and coaches, or service people.
3. Cha-ching:  Add a budgeted dollar amount next to each person’s name, to keep you on track.
4. Ideas: Add any ideas that you have for each person on the list. Don’t wrack your brain (yet), just list the ideas that you have.  We’ll get to the brainstorming for more ideas in a bit.
5.  Review any gifts you’ve already purchased, and note that on the list, too.
6. Go through the gift stash. Do you have a Gift Stash somewhere in your home?  You should.  Basic Hostess Gifts, candles and nice bottles of wine are always welcome.
7.  Take Care of Business.  You have your list, your ideas, your budget and what you’ve already purchased.  Now we start to match things up.  Is there anyone on your list that you’re done shopping for?  Pat yourself on the back, and then move them to the Done List!  Can any of the gifts you have on hand (gift cards, candles, etc.) go to anyone on the list?
8.  If you still need ideas, now is the time to brainstorm:  Ask friends, ask family, google “popular gifts for xxx age kids/women/men”, etc.  I plowed through my reading pile while traveling last week, and found some great ideas in my favorite magazines (like Real Simple).
9. Get Shopping:  So, since I started this blog article this morning, I have made some progress.  I stocked up on hostess gifts, added errands to my to-do list for the next few days, and assembled my coupons and gift cards to do my on-line shopping in the next few days. Now I just need to spend an hour or two plowing through the rest of my list.
So stop reading, and get to it!  I hope by this time next week, we’re all done with our shopping and doing something more fun (like wrapping the gifts?)!