Yesterday’s post talked about creating a daydream file to save items you want rather than impulsively buying them. I think it’s fairly obvious that the list you create could become a pretty handy wishlist if the occasion ever came up…So what about using it to give?

I’m probably more apt to compulsively buy something if it makes me think of someone else. “Oh, my [sister | mom | bff | boyfried | brother | dad | friend] would LOVE that!” is a phrase that commonly precedes me immediately clicking “add to cart.” But then a birthday finally comes around and now I have all this stuff to give them and maybe the inside joke that prompted it is so old by now it makes no sense anyways…well you get the picture. I had a cluttered closet with gifts that never even saw a gift bag.

Using the same concept as a daydream file, I created a digital presents file. If you use the Amazon wishlist feature, you can easily create additional lists for people you shop for often. In Evernote you can create a gift notebook and tag each gift with names of friends and family. (Make sure to set them to private!) 

This way I still get the joy of finding something that fits someone’s style oh-so-perfectly, without overburdening my closet or my credit card. When a gift opportunity comes around, I go through the file and pick out the best option. The ones that don’t make it? You can always send the person a link to the product (even if it’s just a random Tuesday) with a little note saying “this made me think of you! hope you’re having a great day!” on Facebook or email or wherever, because as you know, it’s the thought that counts.

*Photo credit: Muffet (Flickr)

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Another great vacation is coming to an end and I’m faced with my largest clutter battle – sentimental clutter. With everything else I find it fairly easy to toss things I no longer use or keep things put away. But ticket stubs, postcards and other paraphernalia is way too hard for me to get rid of and never seems to have a place to stay. With Valentine’s day just wrapping up I’m sure many people are faced with the same problem with cards and mementos.

This tip from YoungLove inspired me to take steps towards fixing this problem. If you create a cute way to display and, or store trip mementos and other sentimental items you can put them away guilt free. You could also take a snapshot of them arranged on the table – put the snapshot into the photo album or scrapbook with your other trip photos and save them that way rather than physically keeping them.

What do you do to keep sentimental clutter from taking over your life?

I actually got this tip from a long-time friend and ex-neighbor of mine. Some people have a hard time identifying their limits with alcohol at the time when they are actually at that limit. To avoid over-indulging he would decide how many drinks he meant to have before he started drinking. That way, later, when his judgement got a little impaired he only had to remember what he already promised himself instead of having to decide right then whether another drink was really a good idea. I used to make fun of him, but I think it may actually be a decent system. This way, you can enjoy yourself without worrying about going too far. I’m going to give it a shot this New Years eve – here’s hoping everyone has a happy New Year!

*Photo credit: ori2uru (flickr)

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I got this tip from Real Simple and thought it might come in handy around the holiday season. If you’re thinking of throwing a little post-holiday or New Years party, you can use removable window decals as pretty markers for people to keep track of their drinks. This way no one’s left high and dry when the countdown starts. Bonus: since Christmas has already passed, many decorations will be marked way down and the little snowflakes and winter theme decals will still work perfectly. You can update this idea for every season simply by buying new packs of decals.

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A pretty bow can transform any package into something special. As you unwrap gifts this holiday season make sure to set aside bows to reuse instead of throwing them out with the wrapping paper. For a small household (like mine) you can reuse a pretty gift bag to store them in. If you have quite a few more to keep you might want to invest in a plastic storage box.

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After you’re done wrapping a gift, roll up any left over paper and slip it inside the cardboard tube for safekeeping.