Clutter Free Gift Guide!
Everyone wants to give a gift that their recipient will love, use, and most of all, not cause clutter! Click here to watch the video with my best clutter free gift ideas!
Before we get into it, I want you to let go of any guilt about gifts. If you find that you don't use something you've been gifted, then PLEASE declutter that gift without guilt. The last thing a real friend would want for you is mental baggage surrounding their gift. On the flip side, if you've given gifts that cause clutter for someone in the past, don't feel bad about it, and don't feel insulted or sad if you find your gift has been decluttered at some point. It's the thought that counts, right? The important part is the emotion and love that goes into giving.
My best tip for gifting is to come up with a system to keep notes throughout the year about what people want. You could use a printable in your home management binder, the notes app on your phone, or whatever. Just make sure it's easy to jot down gift ideas throughout the year if you're shopping with someone or just chit-chatting, and they mention something they like or need. This tip is gifting GOLD!
Experiences
This could be a ticket to a play, movie, museum, zoo, etc. It could also be a restaurant gift card or really anything that the person can go do. My mom gifted my daughter a trip to a flower farm on her eighth birthday. She got to go pick all different flowers, make a bouquet, and she absolutely LOVED it. Once it was over, we went home with a bouquet, which lived its life, but then there was no clutter– just wonderful memories.
Services
You could do something like a cleaning service visit (though be careful here so it's not insulting!!). It could be a service gift of your time or a professional service. You could buy a hair salon gift card, a massage, a facial/spa day, or gift cards to a nail salon. Try making a coupon book with different services you'd do like babysitting, grocery pickup, etc. Offering to clean someone's car is great– this is a more personal gift if you're close to someone, but if you're not, then pick up a coupon book for a set number of car washes from a local place.
Consumables
These can still be physical “things,” but as the person uses the gift, they will get used up, so they're still clutter-free! Some subscriptions could fall under this category. There are flower, candle, beauty, perfume, and food subscriptions. You could gift a dinner box, chocolate subscription, cookie, candy, or even edible cookie dough, LOL! All of these things will be used up and not cause clutter.
Crafting subscriptions are also great. One of my favorites is Paper Pumpkin. It's a card/paper crafting box for around $25/month. What I love about it is that literally everything you need is contained in the box. You can use up the supplies to make the cards or whatever, send those cards out, and then you've had hours of enjoyment, produced useful things, and there's no clutter leftover!
Club Couture is similar. Each month you get a transfer and three paste colors, and it's consumable except for reusing the transfer, but it stores flat like a sheet of paper, which is great if you do choose to keep things.
Ideas for Kids
One of my favorite subscriptions for kids is Kiwi Crate because it also has everything in the box so you're not running around buying extra supplies. Books are great. It's still a physical item, but they take up much less space than most toys. I love consumable products for kids like craft supplies, markers, and crayons. Those things do dry out or break pretty often.
Sticker books can be great also! I love the ones from Usborne, My very favorites are Where Happiness Lives, I'm (Almost) Always Kind, and All About Feelings. Amazon also has some really cool “sticker by number” books for both adults and kids. My son loves them, and I do the adult ones with him while we sit together.
Digital Items
This could be an e-course, a membership, or an online subscription. Audible is one of my favorite subscriptions. You could also give a music or streaming service subscription, or Kindle Unlimited. If you want to give a bigger gift, try an e-reader with credits or a Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Organizational Gifts
This could be something like bins or baskets to help organize. Check out my top organizing products guide for lots of ideas here. I like to do things where I do some of the work for the person like giving them a home management binder all set up and ready to be filled in. I saw a friend at a baby shower get a filing bin with pre-labeled tabs for things that the mother would need to keep over the first few years of the baby's life. Anything that helps someone organize is pretty much guaranteed NOT to turn into clutter!!
Practical Gifts
I always like giving a gift someone can really use and that will make their lives easier! This could be an instant pot, or even a fancy vacuum. Eek– I said it, but yes, some people might actually like a vacuum! Just make it a super awesome one! Think about any sticking points in their daily life. Are there any products you know of that would make things run more smoothly for them?
Hopefully this list sparked some inspiration for some out-of-the-box gifts that people won't be decluttering in six months time! Some of the best gifts aren't things at all! If you have other ideas for gifts that don't cause clutter, let me know in the comments!
Swan Says
Consumables can very well be clutter. I don’t use candles or perfum, for example. So make sure to get the person something they really enjoy.
Berni L. Says
The best Christmas gift idea I’ve used for my sons and sons-in-law is bulk packages of their favorite snacks. One son likes sunflower seeds to chew, another like a special kind of peanut butter and a special kind of cookie so I buy 2 or 3 of each to last him for a while, another likes fun size chocolate bars, so I get a few bags, and one son in law likes dried sausage and beef jerky. The first Christmas was a great surprise for them, and now they’d be disappointed if I didn’t do it anymore. Since men are so hard to buy for, especially something not considered clutter, this has worked perfectly!
Regina Says
There’s always the good old crosscut paper shredder. They’ll have a way to safely discard papers after they’re digitized and organized.
Melissa B Says
Consumables are a great suggestion!! I have been purchasing food items for many years for my adult son, his dad, and my mom who is now in an assisted living facility. As others have stated, men can be difficult to buy for, but they enjoy the snacks! My mom especially enjoys all the new kinds of jams, crackers, candies and cookies that I buy from several chain discount stores. It is a great way to have her try new taste sensations. I learn what she likes and search them out each time I shop near her birthday, Mother’s Day, etc. Consumables as gifts have taken the pressure off of shopping for the holidays.
Rita Says
Last year I purchased toilet paper and paper towels for each of my kids. (You know the big packages from Sam’s) They LOVED it. They have all told me they wouldn’t mind getting that for Christmas again this year!
Colleen Says
I love the idea of gifting a “service” or an “activity”. My grandkids get so much “stuff” from their parents and other grandparents, that I’m all about minimizing the clutter for their cute little family. My husband and I decided to give the grandkids an afternoon of horse back riding. This spring, they’ll come down to a posse ground behind our house and one of the neighbors gives riding lessons. We’ve arranged for her to give the kids a riding lesson, and let them ride for a while. I can’t wait because we’ll get to spend more time with them, and hopefully we’ll be able to make some memories as well. Thanks for the non-clutter approach to gift-giving.
Stephanie Says
I gave my husband large bottles of his favorite shampoo & conditioner for Christmas two years ago. Last year I gave him the slightly smaller bottles since he still had a bit left from the previous year. But they did get used & he didn’t have to buy shampoo all year long. He loved it!!