Clutter free ways to say "I love you"
What says I love you better than …stuff?
Gift giving is well, kind of a sport, in our culture.
While we give to share our appreciation or to show how much we love and care for another, the gift is often stuff; something tangible, that takes up space and ultimately ends up in a landfill.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m by no means an anti-gift giver (I’m sure that’s not even a word). I enjoy giving and getting gifts, but not at the sacrifice of cluttering up my home or cluttering up someone else’s home.
I like to think of myself as a responsible gift giver. Without placing too much judgement on this term I describe responsible gift giving as intentional and mindful gift giving.
If you’re wondering, what does this mean, let me give you a few examples to stretch your thinking outside the box.
Write a honey don’t list
The fastest way into my heart is when someone lightens my load.
We all carry around so much stress and our daily lives are stuffed with busy schedules. One of the greatest and appreciated gifts is an act of service. When someone takes something off my plate by taking care of a task I needed to get done, not only is it a huge relief, the gift given is actual time to breathe or take a break.
I call this the Honey Don’t List.
It’s the list that your honey writes for you that includes a list of all the things that you normally do, but since it’s written on the Honey Don’t List, you DON’T have to do it. It’s like the get out of jail free card in the Monopoly game.
Here are some examples of acts of service that your loved one might appreciate:
- Pack the kids’ school lunches
- Wash and fold the laundry
- Mow the lawn
- Do the dishes
- Take the kids out Saturday morning so you can get extra sleep
- Get the groceries
- Wash your car
You get the idea. There are many different ways you can lighten someone’s load. Try it. It will likely help your loved one recharge.
Gift a consumable
Consumables are an easy way to give a gift that doesn’t clutter up someone’s home and space. Plus, these once in a while treats are delightful because they are infrequent and special. I’ve listed a few options below that might inspire you.
Chocolates and treats
Traditional Valentine’s Day candies are a lovely gift idea. I especially like it because, well, anything with chocolate is okay in my book. But more importantly, it’s a consumable that doesn’t expire too quickly and when it’s eaten it doesn’t take up any more space.
Plus, chocolates usually come in sturdy boxes that are beautifully lined or wrapped in pretty papers. These are ideal containers to repurpose to organize your items. I like to use them for storing and organizing items in my desk such as clips and tacks or erasers.
My personal favorite Valentine’s Day treat are dark chocolate covered strawberries. I look forward to them every year and it’s easy for my partner because he knows exactly what to get each year. Win, win!
Home cooked meal
Nothing says I love you more than a delicious home cooked meal.
One of my favorite memories was when I dated my then boyfriend, now husband, and he made the entire Thanksgiving meal. I actually was working that day and when I got to his place after work he had a delicious meal prepared for us to enjoy.
Even if it isn’t delicious, the fact that you didn’t have to cook the meal yourself is a major plus in my book. And if you want to make it extra special, do the cooking AND the cleaning and that will really be an amazing and thoughtful gift.
Homemade treats
There is always a place for a store-bought consumable gifts, but getting a package of delightful homemade treats really makes the receiver feel extra special. That extra delight we feel is knowing that the gift giver gave more than the money used to buy the ingredients to make the treat. The giver also generously gifted their time to make something for you.
Give something you can never give back
This is the scarcest resource that you never get back and you don’t quite know how much of it you get in your lifetime.
Time.
Giving someone your time is the ultimate gift. Spending time with someone really does wonders for a relationship. When you give someone time with your undivided attention, absent of distractions such as cell phones and televisions or other devices, you can really help your loved one feel and be seen.
Loving words of validation or affirmation
I don’t know about you, but for me when I feel validated, I also feel loved. There is just something about someone affirming how you feel or acknowledging what you are going through.
Words are powerful. We know this. There is power to the words we use and we can use them to energize, support and lift up our loved ones.
Here are some clutter free ways to share your words to support those you love:
- Send an email, text, voice text, voicemail to a friend or someone you care about.
- Send a handwritten note to a friend. When they receive it encourage them to take a photo of the letter so that your note doesn’t become paper clutter.
Pay a bill
Coming out of college, I had credit card debt. It was not the proudest moment of my life, and it was a culmination of many poor financial decisions.
I shared how much I owed to my older sister and to my surprise, she paid away the debt.
We agreed that I would pay her back after I got paid from my first real job (getting paid a decent salary and more money than minimum wage). It took a few months, but I honored my word and paid her back in full.
The gracious act of paying for my debt really helped me to not incur any more interest on the high interest rate credit card. It also lifted my burden in that moment of my life when I had a lot of shame surrounding my financial debt.
I know we don’t all have older sisters to pay off our financial debts, but the idea is something that will stick with me forever. My sister’s compassion for me by paying my debt was one of the greatest gifts I received.
Get permission to snooze
We are all stretched in so many different ways. If you are a parent or caregiver, there is someone else who relies on you all the time.
Give the gift of pressing snooze.
The everyday demands can be too much and once in a while we want to catch up on rest and take a longer snooze than our life allows. If you can give your partner, friend, loved one a chance to take a snooze one morning, that would be an incredible gift to give.
Give someone the permission to take a break. We all need them and often times we don’t give ourselves the permission to take them.
Conclusion
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, whether you celebrate or you don’t, it can be a chance to give one of the clutter free gifts noted above. And Valentine’s Day is not the only day reserved to gift giving or expressing love for our friends and family.
Get in the habit of giving these types of gifts every day of your life. You’ll find that giving will feel really good and the recipient will feel loved and appreciated, without the physical clutter.
Comment and share with me one idea that isn’t on the list! I’d love to gather more ideas to share!
Southern California based Professional Organizer, Sandy Park, owner and founder of Tidy with SPARK shares her joy of organization with her clients.
She serves clients in Orange County as well as the hundreds of thousands of followers on her combined social media platforms.
Connect with Sandy through her website or by connecting through her social channels.