Rethink the Christmas Experience
By Tanya Lewis
Eco Organiser
As Eco Organiser writes this blog, stores are spruiking its less than 4 weeks to Christmas. their shelves are heaving with decorations and gifts for sale.
In other words they are saying – Buy Now! Consume! Don’t miss out!
But do we really need to ramp up our consumption of ‘stuff’ just because it’s Christmas? Let’s just take a step back from that traditional Christmas gift list and rethink.
Put simply, if we have concerns about our carbon footprint and the impact of belongings on landfill, perhaps what we have always traditionally given as gifts could do with a change of philosophy.
One trend forecaster says research shows that two in every three people believe they would be better off if they lived more simply with less belongings. ‘As more people realise that more stuff does not equal more happiness, but the best place to find status, identity, meaning and happiness is in experiences.’
Experiences
Now don’t think for a moment Eco Organiser is a kill joy. On the contrary, we all love putting thought into our gifts, and the thrill of giving gifts to our loved ones. No argument there! However we’re all about de-cluttering, so what better way to stop clutter than prevent it in the first place by giving ‘experiences’ at Christmas rather than ‘stuff’.
Here’s a few suggestions to get the ‘Christmas experiences’ ball rolling. . . . . .
Your Mum is such a busy woman. I have a friend who I agree regards Mums as ‘sacred people’ because they are so capable and so giving. What Mum wouldn’t love being given a cleaning lady for say a weekly home cleaning for a month? That would be giving her the gift of time she could spend doing something nice for herself, Yes!
Your Dad’s a busy guy and he’d love more time to tinker in his garage. But over the years that space has been taken up with stuff jettisoned from the house so there’s little room for him anywhere. Wouldn’t he love the services of an Eco Organiser to help him sort through the stuff and create some new workspace with all his tools in place ready for action!?
Your sisters and besties are girlie girls who love a little – well okay, a lot – of pampering. Why not treat them to some time in a local spa? It could be fun going together; everyone would feel sooo good at the end of it. And you would feel extra good because you are supporting a local small business.
Your brother’s rock, tickets to see a live concert or ITunes vouchers are a winner. Alternately tickets to a sporting event.
And for the children or littlies in your life, taking them to a Christmas concert or movie, perhaps with a friend or two, is such fun. However no one could deny you buying toys for these VIPs so we suggest buying vintage or wooden (no plastic please!) toys from your local farmer’s/craft market or at garage sales.
By following just some of the above suggestions we’re sure you’ll feel good about not only being imaginative about your gifts, but benefiting the environment, setting an example to others, and above all contributing to the preservation of our planet.
From all at Eco Organiser please have a Very Happy Christmas and New Year.