As easy as it is to get carried away and shower your loved ones with gifts, the same is true in reverse. So have you ended up with more gifts for your home than you have use or space for?
With the gifting season firmly behind us, it's not just the decorations that will now need sorting out. No doubt you've been kindly gifted a house item that was picked with love and your happiness in mind. But what if you don't need, want or have space for it?
Our professional shopping expert shares the three guilt-free decluttering tips to get your appreciated, but unwanted gift quietly moved on and put to use where it's really needed.
3 ways to get rid of unwanted home gifts
Bhavin Swadas, a shopping and savings expert at Roar The Deal, says, 'Unwanted home gifts after Christmas can be pretty hard to dispose of since they bear overtones of obligation and sentimental value.
Yet, you've ended up with decorative items that blend poorly with your home style or you now have duplicated kitchen gadgets. Consequently, one has to wriggle between storing items that bring about clutter or re-gifting, which calls for care not to offend the original giver.'
Here are three guilt-free ways to get rid of your unwanted home gifts after the holiday season.
1. Donate to charities or shelters
Bhavin advises, 'One practical way to move unwanted gifts for your home on is to donate these items to local charities or shelters where they can be put to good use by someone in need.'
All sorts of shelters in your local area are in need of items either for their kitchens, services, the people or animals they look after. Search for shelters and charities locally online and take a look at their websites. They usually have a list of things they are in need of at the moment.
It's a helpful thing to keep in mind when deciding what to do with the items you're decluttering after Christmas. Whilst you may not want that extra throw, or towels, there are plenty of organizations whose patrons are in desperate need.
2. Hold a swap party
What's one more party this season? Invite your friends over and tell them to bring their unwanted gifts with them. It might well lead to a very low-cost update to make your house look expensive.
Bhavin adds, 'Some opt to hold a post-holiday swap party with friends or family members so that all of the unwanted gifts could be exchanged in a fun and pressure-free setting.'
Just be careful who you invite so they don't get upset of offended you're swapping the present they gave you.
3. Stock your gift drawer
Bhavin suggests maintaining a gift drawer all year round. 'Put such items in a dedicated space in your home so if the need for giving gifts or donation crops up, you don't have to rush out and buy anything.'
You can keep a snap-lid box in the garage, attic, or when organizing a basement stocking your unwanted gifts, so you don't clutter up a vital storage space in more high-traffic areas.
It's playing the long game, but a worthy one as it's better for the planet to recirculate these unwanted house gifts rather than binning them.
Keep your gift stash away from pests and the elements in this handy stackable snap-lid plastic boxes.
Now you have a plan for your unwanted gifts, delve into the psychological blocks that are stopping you shifting clutter from your home.
