Thursday’s Thought – Clutter Free Gifts

As it’s all about pre-christmas on the blog at the moment, and the last post was on ideas for clutter free gifts, I thought I’d add a few more thoughts on the subject.

Giving someone a voucher for something may seem like an easy option, an avoidance of thinking about what to give. But if you think about it in more detail, that doesn’t have to be the case. It could show that you have actually put more thought into a present than simply going into a shop and buying something.

Giving someone a voucher for a treat (like a pampering session) or phone top ups or downloads (such as i-tunes) means that you do care about what is important to them. You have thought about something they could really benefit from.

If you give someone a physical item as a gift, do you really always think about the following:

• will the person actually like the item?
• have they got the space to store it/display it?
• have they got time to do what it takes to look after it? (if you’ve ever received a nice item of clothing that can only be hand washed or dry cleaned you’ll know what I mean)
• does it need new batteries every week to keep it going?

You get the idea.

What I am trying to say: as long as you are really trying to put some thought into your “clutter-free” gift (such as a voucher for their favourite shop) your recipient will prefer that to the umpteenth pair of socks or the obligatory tie.

Clutter Free Gift Ideas

With Christmas approaching, some of us dread the idea that yet more clutter is going to enter our house in the form of presents. But this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. Quite often we get what we wish for, so why not put things on your wish list that are not actually “things”.

Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing: presents to wish for or to give to your loved ones (since of course you don’t want them to drown in clutter either).

• Voucher for a “Meal Out” at your favourite restaurant
• Cinema ticket
• Theatre/Concert tickets
• Voucher for “services” to offer such as
• babysitting
• cleaning
• decluttering
• walking the dog
• house sitting
• DIY
• washing/valeting the car
• Voucher for a “Girly Day Out”
• Voucher for a “Boys’ Weekend Away”
• A Massage
• A Facial
• A Spa Day
• Any holistic treatment such as Reiki
• Adventure Days
• A cooking course
• Promise to be an Exercise Buddy
• Membership to a Club
• Weekend Break
• Offer a kid’s sleepover at your house so that the parents get to spend some “couple time”
• Charity Donation for particular cause (Oxfam do “un-wrapped” presents – the recipient receives a card and a simple fridge magnet showing what was given in his/her behalf)- (Save the Children have a Wishlist programme doing the same with Children’s gifts)
• If you’re good at cooking, offer to be the Chef for a night (maybe for a dinner party or just so, for their family)
• Mobile phone top-up
• I-tunes vouchers
• Apps for i-phone
• Music lessons
• Driving lessons
• Any lessons
• or how about the ultimate present: give the gift of decluttering - Well Organised Gift Vouchers 

Tuesday’s Tip – Clutter Entertainment

I found this great little video on YouTube that I would like to share with you today. It’s a clip by American comedienne Lois Morton named: Confessions of a Clutterholic.

Enjoy!

How to Motivate Yourself for Cleaning

Cleaning is one of those jobs that some of us really need to gear up for; it doesn’t come naturally. This post is for you.

Here are 5 super ways to get the oomph, to put your rear into gear to tackle the cleaning that needs doing around the house.

1. The Ultimate Motivator - Invite Someone Over To Your Home

Nothing gets you more going than knowing someone is going to pop in at a certain time. You will want to make a good impression and not let the sides down. After you’ve made the inviting phone call, go through the house with a visitor’s eye and you will see all that needs doing much clearer. Make a list and work through it. You’ve already got a natural deadline – you know when your visitors should arrive. And as a reward for all that hard work you can spend some relaxing time with your friend.

2. Clean Out Some Clutter

Decluttering is a very freeing exercise. As you get rid of items that you have been holding on to for years you begin to feel a sense of freedom, relief and clarity. It sounds corny, but it’s true and you won’t find out for yourself until you try it. Start in a small area, like a shelf or a side table. This will motivate you to tackle bigger projects. And with all those newly discovered clear surfaces you will find that cleaning almost does itself!

5. Rearrange a Room

This is another very good way to freshen up a room. In the process you will want to improve things and will start to clean and organise without even thinking about it. You don’t need to completely redecorate which can be costly, but simply move furniture, artwork, decorative items, etc. You will then want to keep it that way, all shiny and new looking, and are more likely to keep on top of things. And you never know, improving one room like this could even motivate you to extend that new fresh look to another room and soon your whole house will look like new.