Tag: Gifts

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Why Gifting Experiences Is the Best Gift to Give

The holidays are upon us, and along with them comes the tradition of gift-giving.

Do you give experiences rather than things? Some prefer giving and/or receiving a shiny, wrapped present while others prefer an experience. At the same time, giving experiences rather than things is easier than it’s ever been.

Let’s explore the topic of giving experiences instead of things.

Why do we give presents?

During the holiday season, it’s become part of our culture to give gifts. You may be wondering, but why do we give presents? Turns out there are quite a few reasons why.

Some are:

  • As a way to say “I’m thinking of you”
  • To show appreciation
  • Thoughtful gesture
  • Tradition to follow

None of these reasons are bad or wrong. In fact, the thought behind a gift can be a way to strengthen the relationship between the giver and the receiver.

Disadvantages of too many toys

Although children love unwrapping presents and getting things, an article from Parenting Firstcry¹ explains that there are disadvantages to giving your child too many toys.

Some downsides for children include:

  • Kids won’t appreciate or value the things they have.
  • They bounce from toy to toy, which can hinder their concentration development.
  • Children won’t foster their creativity or imagination by making playthings from everyday household items.
  • “Boredom comes easily because kids know they will get something new when they ask for it. Toys may turn into an addiction to fight boredom and stress.”

However, there are families who simply don’t want their home to be filled with toys. Often children get so many, they forget what they have and only play with a select few. This also leaves parents wondering how to organize so many toys.

Benefits of giving an experience

Delicious Experiences² posted an article with some incredible benefits of giving an experience.

You get to be excited at least twice – if not more! You are excited when you initially open the gift. You anticipate redeeming it and you’re thrilled when you do.

You enjoy a social experience. Most often, these are planned for you and the giver, so you share the experience and the memory together.

You create lasting memories. This is the biggest advantage of an experience. These positive memories will last a lifetime.

When you give an experience to a child, they will remember the time you spent with them much more than they will remember a toy.

Being the giver of an experience yields just as many joyful, exciting memories as being the receiver!

Ideas for gift experiences

The list of ideas for gift experiences is extensive. Hot sauce enthusiast? There’s a kit for that. New dog mom? There’s a box for that. Skincare lover? Yep, there’s a… well, you get the picture.

The following list is for adults, children, and families. It’s broken down into the four categories of experiences, services, classes, and memberships.

Depending on your physical location, there are other experiences you can gift such as:

  • surfing
  • sailing
  • canoeing
  • rafting
  • ice skating
  • skiing
  • snowboarding
  • mini-golf
  • indoor waterpark
  • indoor rock climbing
  • indoor playground
  • indoor trampoline park
  • indoor gym

More services that can be given are for:

  • a barber (haircut, straight razor shave, beard trim)
  • dog walker
  • driver (Uber, Lyft)
  • salon services
  • personal shopper
  • pet sitter
  • in-home chef
  • meal prep

Additional classes can include:

  • archery
  • boxing
  • chess
  • golf
  • kickboxing
  • meditation
  • photography
  • pilates
  • rock climbing
  • scuba
  • technology
  • tennis
  • woodworking
  • yoga
  • zumba

Memberships can also include

  • local swimming pools
  • nature centers
  • museums
  • amusement parks
  • gardens
  • wildlife sanctuaries
  • outdoor theaters
  • aquarium pass or membership
  • children’s theater tickets or membership

There are experiences for just about every hobby, interest, and passion.

Charitable Gift Experiences

What?? Yes! Not only can you excite your loved ones, but you also can give back to charity in the process. CreateJoy compiled a list of 16 Amazing Subscription Box Gifts That Give Back to Good Causes.³

Here are a few they suggested:

  • Brother’s Coffee Box – You’re gifting new, ethically-sourced coffee brands to your friend or family member each month and donating $1 to Grounds for Health to support cervical cancer screening and treatment.
  • Kirills Tea Box – This box features premium tea bags filled with handcrafted loose leaf tea blends, made with whole herbs, whole spices, and honey sticks for sweetness. They donate to organizations doing humanitarian aid work across the globe.
  • Life’s a Wave Beach Box – It’s packed with 5-8 sea-themed items, that bring relaxation and rejuvenation to your loved one despite beach season being months away. The proceeds from each box support clean and healthy oceans.

Or you can simply make a donation to a charity on behalf of your loved one.

Shopping local is always a great way to find unique gifts while supporting your local businesses.

Wrapping it all up… or not

There are many gifts you can share with the ones closest to you. Consider who you are shopping for and what will best fill up their emotional bank. There are creative ways on how to give experiences as gifts to someone, so you will still have something to hand them during this holiday time.

Professional Organizing is a gift that will give back. Dennise is available for both in-person as well as virtual organizing.

If you know someone who would love support in getting their time management skills, schedule, and productivity in good order, look no further than Dennise to help set an incredible foundation for the new year.

Click here to set up your free consultation with Organized MD today!

¹ https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/are-too-many-toys-harming-your-childs-development/

² https://www.deliciousexperiences.com/blog/posts/%207-reasons-to-gift-experiences

³ https://www.cratejoy.com/box-insider/gifts-that-support-a-cause/

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Gift of a Professional Organizer

Why Is Gifting the Service of a Professional Organizer a Fabulous Idea?

I’ve explained before how gifting experiences can be far more rewarding than giving physical gifts. Giving the gift of a professional organizer could make their life much easier. Let’s explore why.

Why should you gift a service?

Many people think of the perfect gift for their loved ones and friends during the holiday season. They’ve either had the gift purchased and wrapped for months or they’ll just know it when they see it. On top of gifts, there are holiday treats, dishes, or entire meals to prepare. Let’s not forget the decorations, gatherings, and snowy-weather drives.

This is a time of year when quite a few people put their self-care on the back burner. Sometimes they don’t prioritize time for themselves. Sometimes financial concerns prevent it. Whatever the reason, what they need comes last.

When you gift a service, like professional organizing services, you’re giving someone a gift that positively impacts their life on a daily basis.

Benefits of Working With a Professional Organizer

Professional organizing services are a lot more than just moving things around to make a room look better.

Hiring a professional organizer helps make an exciting and sometimes overwhelming situation (like downsizing or merging households) easier to tackle through compromise, and realistically looking at the number of things in relation to the physical space.

Expert

When I decided to become an organizer to help others, I wasn’t going to go into it without giving it my all. I wanted to learn everything I could by being trained in the best strategies and under the most experienced mentors. Because there are always new things to learn, I’ve made a commitment to continue taking continuing education classes so I can show up for my clients in the best way possible.

I am backed by an entire community of professionals and experts. If there’s something I don’t know, I have people and places I can utilize to best meet the needs of my clients.

Experience

I’ve been helping people with their organizational needs for almost 20 years. I have served people by decluttering their homes, specific rooms, home offices, medical clinics, doctor offices.

I worked with Lisa to improve her home office. In part she shared:

“I am so thrilled with my new office in terms of Efficiency, Productivity, and Aesthetics.  Dennise was a pleasure to work with always on time, super helpful, and resourceful… I highly recommend Dennise Conforti’s Services.”

After working with N.P. in her medical clinic, she said:

“I absolutely LOVE the way the exam rooms and utility room/lab have been stocked and organized. The last few shifts I’ve worked have been wonderful in terms of all equipment/testing media etc., available and easy to locate. The space is much cleaner with infection control related dirty/clean speculums etc managed beautifully.”

Cristina and Joe are homeowners in Toronto. They told me:

“Your assistance was much appreciated, especially in helping us to make difficult decisions. You went out of your way, and it was out of this world!”

I’ve helped my clients increase their productivity and time management. I’ve worked with families, married couples, single parents, office managers, clinic supervisors, and individuals with a range of unique needs.

All of these different situations have allowed me to grow a toolbox of skills, approaches, and methods to best serve my clients. You are getting the best of my toolbox.

Neutrality

Another professional organizing benefit is having an outsider’s viewpoint which is very helpful. 

Why? It’s easy for me to approach things from a practical, unbiased standpoint. I don’t have an emotional attachment to late Aunt Hilda’s hot pads or your son’s first blanket that’s now in tatters. This is helpful because I can approach things more objectively. Another bonus, I have great ideas about how to be sentimentally attached without staying hopelessly cluttered.

I approach each project without judgment. We’ll objectively look at your needs, where you’d like to be, then create your plan accordingly. My job is to help construct an individualized plan that will work for you going forward. I’ll help you put systems in place to maintain your order.

Accountability

My job as a professional organizer is to help you get organized. It can be easy to stop to reminisce when decluttering instead of keeping focused on the task at hand. I will compassionately hold you accountable for the progress (or lack thereof) being made.

Maintenance Strategy

A professional organizer maintenance strategy is just as important as the act of decluttering and organizing. I will leave you with strategies to maintain the work we’ve done.

But what works for some doesn’t work for everyone. Because I get to know you through our work together, I can tailor a plan uniquely for you and your family to maintain the best results.

What situations do professional organizers help with?

There are a lot of ways a professional organizer can step in to help you and your loved one. Here’s a brief list of how I can help:

  • Declutter
  • Organize
  • Create Systems
  • Downsize
  • Estate clearing
  • Office systems
  • Office paper management
  • Time management (scheduling)
  • Productivity management
  • Pre-moving declutter
  • Divorce
  • Merging Households/Families

Throughout my years of serving my clients, I’ve encountered all of these situations.

Wondering how to give this gift of service?

It’s quite simple, really. Contact me to set up a call or send me an email!

We can discuss the situation (consultations are always free) and decide on the best course of action.