Give Your Used Stuff to Benefit Veterans

Give the gift of #support and #charity this season simply by gathering up some of your old, unused stuff and #donating it to ClothingDonations.org. When you get a free, #contactless pickup, your lightly used clothing, decorative items, books and household goods are resold, and the proceeds go directly toward programs that fund #veteran housing, health care and community events. The bonuses? Donating your extra stuff is tax-deductible and can help you keep your home cleaner and more organized. Happy Holidays!

Digital Gifts Deliver on Demand

Looking to give a thoughtful #gift at the very last minute? Try a digital gift! Beyond the obvious content streaming services for in-home entertainment (Netflix, Amazon), there are options that concentrate on specific genres such as Shudder, Mashable suggests. Or you might consider #gifting a (virtual) party game package that recipients can play via a Zoom get-together, or a virtual gym membership for those health-conscious friends who are coping with mandated restrictions on health club capacity.

Stuck for a Gift? Send a Subscription

Subscription boxes are a great #gift for the foodie, the pet parent or the person who has (almost) everything, says the Mint Notion blog. Available to suit any taste or interest, boxes deliver comestibles such as coffee, chocolate and international snacks — or even a complete meal with a produce/recipe box such as HelloFresh. There are wine and cocktail kits for the aspiring oenologist and mixologist, and a yoga subscription for those seeking inner peace. Whatever you choose, these gifts won’t take up much space for very long.

Give the Gift of Knowledge

COVID-19 has left many of us with unused extra time at home. To help your friends and family make the most of that time without adding any paper, gadgets or other extra stuff to their already #cluttered lives, #give the #gift of knowledge. MasterClass offers online lessons taught by celebrity experts in topics such as cooking (Gordon Ramsey, Alice Waters), writing and filmmaking (Margaret Atwood, Spike Lee), and even tennis (Serena Williams). You may help your giftees open the door to a lifelong avocation.

Shopping for Christmas … From Your Screens

The novel #coronavirus has upended life as we know it. Even the holidays haven’t been spared, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommending that more than 330 million Americans reconsider their Thanksgiving travel plans to stop the spread.

Generally speaking, the fewer people you come into close contact with, the better. And with Christmas, Hannukah and other celebrations due up, CDC lists “Going shopping in crowded stores just before, on or after Thanksgiving” as a high-risk activity.

Since it rarely requires interpersonal interaction, online shipping is low-risk. It has been growing apace with the internet for more than 25 years, and it is now set to eclipse all other channels for holiday gift-giving during the pandemic.

Retailers are ready to provide home delivery and contactless pickup if you’re willing to offer a credit card number. The deals aren’t bad, either; many outlets are offering loss leaders just to get you through their online storefronts.

Sitting in front of a screen trying to source great gifts can be tedious — there’s just no way to browse as fast as you might in a physical setting. That’s where online gift guides can help: They can point you in the direction of good gifts for anyone on your list.

Stuck for ideas? Just Google “gifts” and few keywords of the things and activities your giftee likes, and you’ll soon have a page of links to lists suggesting products with click-throughs to online stores ready to take your money.

Whatever they like — be it tech, gaming, music, movies, pets, exercise, cooking — there’s a gift guide for it. At the Organizing Blog, we like to give gifts that don’t add to clutter, meaning they are immediately useful or take up little space. Gourmet foodstuffs, a subscription to a streaming service, or a charitable donation are good options.

To help fund valuable veterans programs during a particularly stressful and often isolating holiday season, consider donating your extra stuff to ClothingDonations.org or making a direct donation of money or a vehicle to VVA.org. The veterans appreciate the help. Now get shopping!