5 clutter-free gift ideas for the holidays

Shopping for the holidays? Calm Order recommends giving a gift than can be experienced or consumed. This way, your loved ones can enjoy their gift without adding unnecessary clutter into their lives. If you’re having trouble thinking of gift ideas, don’t just buy something at random. Chances are, whoever gets the gift won’t be able to use it and will end up having to give it away or put it in storage and forget about it. Don’t be afraid to buy gift certificates or tickets for gifts that won’t turn into unwanted clutter.

 Enjoy dinner and a movie

This classic weekend activity is a great gift to give anyone on your gift list. It can easily be customized to everyone’s tastes and interests because you can be general movie passes that aren’t specific to a certain movie, theatre or time. This way, your gift recipient can make plans to use their gift whenever works best for them. Better yet, it can be a completely clutter-less gift! Consider buy the movie passes and restaurant gift certificate online and sending them over electronically. You can print out a certificate or card that can be opened the day of but doesn’t need to be saved (and most likely lost) when the recipient goes to use it. This idea also works well as a couple or group gift.

Give a night at the theatre

Calgary is home to many different theatres and performance groups that provide entertainment for all ages. From musicals to comedy shows and family-friendly performances, there are many different performance companies like Theatre Calgary, Pumphouse Theatre and StoryBook Theatre that can also make great gifts for family and friends. If there is a specific show you know your loved ones will love, then it might be a good idea to purchase specific tickets for them and other friends and family before they sell out. You can even consider purchasing general admission tickets, so they can see a show whenever they want. This gift can be a unique experience, and an activity they may not have thought to do on their own. If you have friends or family that really enjoy seeing performances, consider also buying them season passes to their favourite place.

Explore Calgary’s museums and galleries

For an even more engaging gift, consider giving friends and family passes to one of the many museums and galleries in Calgary and the surrounding area. From places like the Glenbow Museum, Heritage Park or even the Royal Tyrrell Museum, season passes, or one-time admission tickets make a great gift for any individual or group. Admission passes will allow recipients to make a visit at a time that works with their schedule and be a fun afternoon or day activity for them to experience by themselves or with other friends. If you’re looking for a bigger gift, you could buy multiple admission tickets to multiple places, and cut down on the number of physical items your loved ones will receive this holiday season. Give them a gift they can actually experience and remember!

Test culinary skills and taste buds

If you know anyone that likes to cook, bake, or eat food, find a cooking class or demonstration on a food type or cuisine they like, so they can enjoy an afternoon or evening learning about (and eating) something they love! Most classes can be group or partner activities, so this could be a great idea to do with your recipient, or to give them to do with someone else. There are classes available in Calgary from a variety of organizations like ATCO Blue Flame, The Cookbook Company Cooks, Sunterra, and more. If your recipient isn’t a fan of cooking, try a tasting or pairing event instead, which usually offers beverages and food samplings for guests to try. Restaurants and bakeries offer events like this that allow people to purchase tickets in advance, which makes for a great gift to enjoy after the holidays. Not only are they engaging activities, they can also be very educational!

Treat your loved ones

After a busy holiday season, nothing is better than getting a relaxing day at the spa! Whether it is a massage, pedicure, or full treatment, consider giving a gift certificate to a spa for your friend or loved one. It could be their regular treatment, or something new they wouldn’t normally get to do. There are also spa treatments available for couples or groups that you can also give. Some packages may also offer the option to get food or drinks to turn it into an even more engaging activity. A spa-day is the perfect gift for friends and family who may need rest and relaxation after spending a busy few days with family or travelling.

Give a gift that won’t just take up space in the homes of your friends and family. This year give them something they can actually experience and enjoy. Not only will it save you time and eliminate your gift-wrapping time, you can be assured that your recipients will actually use and appreciate their gift without adding more clutter to their lives.

Ready for Spring Cleaning? Make Your Checklist!

Spring is almost here! As with every year, that means it’s time to get your home and yard cleaned and organized after the long winter. In Calgary, it often feels like winter has never left us, but even one sunny day can be enough motivation for the warmer season ahead to get started on all the cleaning tasks needed to be done. 

While getting clean and organized always feels good at the end of the day, it can take a lot of energy and motivation to get started. Often, the number of tasks we know we need to get done can seem overwhelming. In cases like this, many of the activities we hope to accomplish end up not being completed, or we start something that we just don’t have the time or resources to finish.

This year, avoid falling short of your spring cleaning goals by creating an easy to manage checklist that will only ensure success. The key is to focus on breaking down the big picture tasks you want to do and breaking them down into easily-manageable activities that won’t take up an entire day. These activities should be easy to do in a couple hours or an afternoon and spread out over a longer period of time. This way, you can work towards one project at a time.

For example, if one of your spring cleaning goals it to organize the garage, don’t just leave it at that. There is so much involved in organizing and cleaning a garage, so try breaking it down into even smaller steps:

Organize the Garage

Declutter

• Go through all items currently in the garage.

• Sort through items (what is to keep, what is to donate, what is to sell, and what is to discard).

Cleaning

• Sweep the garage floor

• Spray out the garage floor.

• Wipe down any cupboards/containers.

Storage

• Create a plan for storing items.

• Purchase or re-purpose additional bins/shelves/hooks needed to store items.

• Put items away in their proper place.

Whatever your spring cleaning projects may be, breaking down everything that needs to be done can make the tasks more achievable and not so daunting. Plus, creating a checklist can also help you keep on track on what has been completed and what needs to be done so you don’t start a project without finishing it.

Before the season starts in earnest, take the time to create your spring cleaning checklist with everything you want to get accomplished. Even the most basic checklist can help make your projects simple, easy, and manageable!

Decluttering Goals: The Closet

Bedroom closets are often some of the most cluttered areas in a home. It is inevitable that after a while, the clothes, shoes and accessories we accumulate can start to overcrowd and clutter up the closet.

It isn’t easy to go through clothes either. Whether for practicality or sentimentality, it can be easy to justify hanging onto items that you really don’t wear that much or may not even fit so well anymore. Often, there is the thought that you might need it for a special occasion, or that you might fit into it again one day. While you don’t want to complete eliminate your entire wardrobe, a good organizing session and reset is important to do on a regular basis – especially after a major shopping trip.

When you’re going through your closet, go through everything – pants, shirts, dresses, coats, sweaters, scarves, shoes, bags – whatever you have stored in there. Try clothes on that you may not have worn in a long time. Do you still like the item? Does it fit? Is it worn, faded or torn? Be realistic with yourself – fashion and personal tastes can change, so don’t feel bad about adding it to the donate pile or the clothes recycle pile if it isn’t in good shape. If a button is missing or the zipper needs fixing but the clothes still fit and you like them, see if you can fix it yourself or if it needs to be done by a professional. Instead of adding it back into your closet so it can be forgotten again, put it in a place you will see it often so you remember to fix it. 

For clothes that don’t quite fit, it can be a difficult decision on whether or not you should keep them. Think about the item of clothing and be honest with yourself. If you are actively losing weight, and the item is only a size or two smaller, then it may be worth hanging onto. If it is a few sizes too big or too small, then consider giving it to away for someone else to use. It is not worth hanging onto items that you are more likely not to wear especially if you have no real intention of actually wearing them again. Anything that won’t be used is just adding clutter from your closet and preventing you from buying clothing that looks and feels good. It isn’t giving up but moving on and making the clothes available to someone who might need them more.

Placing the clothing and accessories you have decided to keep is also an essential part to maintaining an organized closet. It may be worth investing in proper hangers, shoe racks, and accessories holders to keep your items not always looking fresh and ready to wear, but easy to find. Consider sorting your closet into sections and sort items based on whether they are casual or more formal wear, what season you wear them in, or what colour they are. Having these items separated into different groups can make styling and putting an outfit together easier. For more tips on sorting clothes, check out this previous post on the blog.

Having an organized closet is an achievable and sustainable goal for the year. When you take the time to do an initial declutter and reset of the closet, you are making it much easier to maintain moving forward. Don’t let your hard-earned and stylish purchases languish in the back of your closet – make organization your goal this year!