Avoiding Gift-Gluttony

Posted at 6:48 am on March 22, 2010 by Farrah

Today’s guest post is from Dupage Mama and professional organizer Jamie Martin.  Her website is full of helpful hint to get that clutter under control.  Visit today or give Jamie a call if you need some advice for how to clean up your space.  Thanks, Jamie, for these tips and all your helpful advice!

Each time I’m supposed to write an article or blog, I’m never really sure where my inspiration will come from. But this month, a few different events and moments brought me to our “disposable society”.
I believe that the disposable mentality along with strong consumerism has lead to a need for people like me, professional organizers. Now believe me, I’m not looking for the extinction of my profession or the collapse of the American capitalist system, but I do hope to raise our mindfulness of this trend toward being a disposable society.

I often hear people mention that their kids received way too many gifts for their birthday. In order to clutter bust, they will say they’re just going to throw some of them out. While I applaud removing things from your home that you will not use, I wonder why people just want to dump stuff in the landfill. There are so many other options to alleviate this situation! Here are a few ways to handle the excess:

1. Return duplicate or unneeded gifts and exchange for something the child or family can use
2. Donate the items to charity. I provide many donation options on my web site’s tip page.
3. Re-gift the item. Be sure to take note of where the gift came from so you don’t give it back to the same family
4. Prevent gift gluttony by inviting only close friends to a child’s party
5. Suggest would-be gift givers to contribute to a college fund or charity. All the family and friends will not take this route so, rest assured, the kids will still have gifts to open on the big day.
6. Suggest experiential gifts like a trip to a museum or a movie
7. Suggest cash gifts (not gift cards that only promote more consumerism) that can go to the child’s savings account or a family trip fund. I know many kids won’t love the savings idea but it is a lesson to learn. And, hopefully, when they do use the money in their account they will realize how cool those gifts were. (My husband and I are counting on this part! When they cash out, we hope our nieces and nephews will be reminded that we are the cool aunt and uncle! )
8. Lead by example. Try some of the gift ideas above next time you’re invited to a birthday party!

Let me know if you have any other suggestions for avoiding gift gluttony, whether it is for kids, Christmas or any occasion. I’d love to hear your ideas! Have you tried any of these and found success? Share your experiences with our readers!

Destination Organization founder Jamie Martin has a passion for helping others and fulfills this passion through her career as a professional organizer.  After starting a family and deciding corporate life was longer for her, Jamie sought out the flexibility of being an entrepreneur. She found her new career in professional organizing.  Jamie has had life-long training as an organizer, always being the one in her circle of friends, family and co-workers to be asked to solve an organizational dilemma or act as project manager. She continues her education through reading, networking and attending events through the National Association of Professional Organizers.

Her desire to help others simplify their lives and reach their personal or career goals drives her as a professional organizer. She combines her hands-on organizational skills with compassion, neutrality, confidentiality and humor in order to guide her clients to a peaceful and productive life. Jamie imparts structure and process, while keeping her clients focused so they are not overwhelmed with the whole project. She strives for maintainable, real-life, custom solutions for her client’s organizational needs.

You can find Jamie @ www.destorg.com or on Facebook.

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