Christmas, Birthdays and other events can create lots of extra stuff in our homes – and while it’s lovely to receive thoughtful gifts – it can also be hard to manage. That’s where these clutter free gifts come into play. Give and receive these instead of physical things – and you won’t have to declutter as often. Sounds good, right?
Giving a gift to someone can be a wonderful thing, and picking the right one is so crucial as you really want the recipient to be happy with what they have been given.
Problem is, when we are talking so much about gaining order and living a clutter free life, it seems crazy to talk about adding to the clutter with lots of presents (whether it be Christmas or a Birthday).
As such I have decided to give a gift to you this year – and that is the gift of a list of 35 of the best clutter free gifts out there!…
As you can see in the table above, there’s also a bonus at the end of one gift that looks clutter free but really isn’t – so watch out for that as well!
Why not take a look and get inspired, as there really is something for everyone here.
You can still give those you love something amazing, but be safe in the knowledge that you are not adding to the “stuff” in their homes.
Perfect! – so, let’s get started, shall we?…
Clutter Free Gifts – Something For Everyone!
These are all ideas where you give something wanted and loved – BUT they don’t add long term clutter to the receivers home.
They are all fully consumable gifts – and that’s the brilliance of them all…
Subscription Gift Ideas
A subscription can be an amazing gift as it tends to keep on giving over the course of the year.
There are loads of different ones to pick from, and there’s bound to be something to suit everyone – but always remember to pick consumables, so that they don’t hang around causing clutter to build up…
#1 – Regular Fresh Flowers – The gift that keeps on giving! It can be lovely to receive things, and a regular delivery can feel really special.
#2 – Films – What about treating a family to a subscription for somewhere like Netflix or Disney Plus. As a family, we have a weekly film night – so this would be ideal for us, and I’m sure lots of other families do similar.
#3 – Audible. Audiobooks are something that can teach AND entertain, and getting a subscription for someone can mean they get to listen to their favourites year round. Kids will also love this – especially those that travel a lot as listening in the car means time will fly!
(Also see #14)!
STAY AWAY FROM: Beauty products (they tend to hang around), Clothes, Perfume, Stationery, Planners, etc…
Gifts Of Your Time
One of the easiest ways to give a great gift is to give the gift of time.
You may have certain skills or be able to offer somebody something that would really help them out, which has the added benefit of costing you little in terms of actual money as well.
Here are some ideas:-
#4 – Small children could give their parents vouchers for cuddles, for help around the house etc…
#5 – Older children could give vouchers for helping around the house, for babysitting younger siblings etc…
#6 – Babysitting vouchers would be fantastic for parents
#7 – Can you give a couple of hours of your time for a certain skill you have, such as gardening, decorating, ironing etc…. – this works really well if it’s also a job you love and the recipient hates
#8 – Offer to teach a skill to someone i.e. baking a cake, wallpapering etc…
Food Gifts
#9 – Place ingredients for baking into a mason jar and add the recipe to the label (i.e. put everything in a bowl, add an egg, mix, bake for 20 mins at 180 degrees etc…). There are some great ideas HERE to get you started.
#10 – Create a hamper of goodies for a food lover – or buy one ready created (John Lewis do some fantastic ones for Christmas when that time comes around)
#11 – Create a gift box with all the ingredients to create a specific meal for someone who loves cooking – or what about a favourite cocktail ingredients?
#12 – Favourite foods that are hard to find or that are quite expensive so would be a treat for that person – or a set of ingredients that they love, such as BBQ sauces, or chilli plants.
#13 – Homemade foods work really well – jams, chocolate truffles, cakes and biscuits all make great gifts
#14 – A regular Food related subscription – like HelloFresh, or a particular food/drink like wine, chocolate, coffee etc….
Membership Gift Ideas
As with subscriptions, memberships can keep on giving throughout the whole year. I specifically love the idea of giving these to a family so that they can enjoy free days out throughout the year – a gift that really does keep giving!
#15 – Zoo membership – a great family gift!
#16 – Gym membership
#17 – National Trust membership
#18 – AA membership – not very rock and roll I grant you, but this would be a good gift for a new driver, as there are lots of expenses that come with driving! (and you can get some discounts at service stations too which is an extra benefit).
Inspired yet?
I love that there are so many possibilities to give gifts that mean something but don’t have to create lots of “stuff” in people homes…
Now, onto the next half of the ideas, maybe there is the perfect one there for you to give someone very soon!
Experience Gifts
Simply getting some sort of experience has been said to be much more rewarding than an object given as a gift, as the recipient creates memories from those experiences and has something to look forward to until it happens.
#19 – Spa treatment / Day
#20 – Holiday – (a night away, weekend away or even longer…)
#21 – Personal trainer session(s)
#22 – Hire services for someone – a cleaner, an interior designer, a handyman, a gardener – whatever that person may need a little help with.
#23 – Tickets to the cinema, a concert or the theatre (music, festival, comedy etc…).
#24 – Theme park tickets
#25 – Voucher for a meal at a favourite restaurant – most restaurants have vouchers you can buy, or you could even book a meal and pay a certain amount in advance.
Learning related Gift Ideas
Why not give the gift of learning a new skill, or helping to further a skill that the recipient already has?
#26 – Items to help with crafts (from a pack of supplies, right through to a new sewing machine or a set of artists brushes etc…). The craft items get used and often made for presents, so the clutter is minimal, but this one comes with a cautionary warning!
#27 – Cooking lessons
#28 – Photography lessons
#29 – Music lessons
#30 – Kids classes (a set of swimming classes for younger children would be a helpful and useful present)
#31 – Tickets for a conference/event/training that would help
Everything else!
And last but not least – there are some ideas that just don’t fit into any other categories – so I’ve created a catch-all here!: –
#32 – Movie night at home pack – Box up popcorn, an iTunes voucher for a film, some chocolate, a bottle of wine etc… and you’ve got a great night in!
#33 – Spa day at home pack – a face pack, bubble bath, body creams etc… would make the perfect treat for someone!
#34 – What about a charitable donation to a charity close to someones heart
#35 – iTunes voucher – a great way to give a music/film lover a treat as they can pick what they want easily.
LASTLY – one thing that isn’t a clutter free gift…
It’s worth saying here that although a voucher or gift card seems like a perfectly thoughtful clutter free gift because it’s small – it’s not!
Remember – that voucher will then be spent on STUFF.
So – think about what the voucher is for before you buy it – as you could inadvertently be adding to the clutter even if you think you’re not…
For example – maybe you buy an Amazon voucher for someone, thinking that they would be able to buy films to watch digitally. BUT the recipient of the voucher could easily get a physical DVD instead – which would be clutter…
If the recipient can get items rather than have an experience from those vouchers, then they will eventually still add to the clutter, which is definitely worth keeping in mind.
A lot of these clutter free gifts can be tailored to your budget and time available as well – such as making attending a training event into a weekend away as well, or offering to have a friends children for a weekend rather than babysitting for a few hours.
There are so many ways you can use clutter free gift giving successfully – you just have to think outside the box a little!
This year, why not try and give clutter free gifts and see how it goes!
P.S. You could also start asking for these types of gift if you want to become more clutter free in your own home…