Green Christmas- A Small Apartment Wishlist
The beautiful and wonderful Paige Greene is chiming in with her Christmas list this year, and I love it. She took the idea of buying gifts that aren't material things and spun it specifically for people in their 20's who don't have the room for a bunch of random stuff they don't need. People can say what they want about Millenials (and they do... and I absolutely hate it. If every millenial you know is an exception to the rule, then the stereotype must just be wrong. That simple), but this is a generation that is moving in the right direction about stuff, so Paige's ideas might be perfect for that up and comer on your list.
Side note- yes, this is a list of ones. I don't know what happened and I can't fix it. I am sorry Paige.
Take it away Paige!
I was feeling inspired by Barbara’s post on gift’s that don’t take up much space and realized that there are lots of Christmas gifts that could actually help me reduce my clutter (without just taking my things and throwing them away- that’s not much of a Christmas gift!). So, a few thoughts I had on what would save me time, space and money, while being an awesome gift:
- Shutterfly Books - I have so many photos from my trip to Europe, and although I uploaded them all to shutterfly I never got around to actually making a photo book. Instead, I have boxes of photos, lots of binders, and a pile of printed blog posts that never really got sorted into photo albums. If someone could take all those things and put them in one neat little book, it would be the best gift ever. I’m feeling disappointed I didn’t think of this sooner.
I love this idea, but it obviously would take a little teamwork with the giftee to make work. If you want to help in a more simple way, Artifact Uprising offers really gorgeous prints and books on recycled paper. You can find their gift cards here.
- Tshirt Quilt - Another project I never really finished. I have so many tshirts I will never wear; I actually got through all the high school shirts and cut them/ironed them onto backing, but never actually sewed them together. The college shirts are still just in plastic tubs waiting to be cut up and saved from my closet. If someone could finish this project for me, I would finally have a) a warm blanket for my queen sized bed, which I currently do not own b) a fun way to display my tshirts c) more space in my closet and d) the relief of having one less project looming over me! This is a gift that would keep on giving, clearly.
- Subscription to Sling TV- This is really just a step up from the Netflix idea, but a monthly subscription is $20 and would ensure I never have The Walking Dead spoiled again. Basically it’s internet TV, so you’re essentially paying for a cheap cable bill, but I am here to tell you- it’s something I feel guilty paying for myself, but still want, and isn’t that the ideal Christmas gift?
- Hotel or Airline Points - I’m constantly looking for ways to rack up points, but I tend to stick to Marriott and Southwest and leave my Delta points just sitting for months. At one point I had something like $100 in vouchers for Delta- it had very little value to me, but someone that does fly delta would love those points. Likewise, if you’re someone who ended up with Southwest points from a business trip that you’ll never use, send them my way! I like this idea because it could conceivably cost you nothing but be worth a lot to the gift receiver.
Uh, this is genius. I didn't know you could gift points, but I love it.
- Audible Subscription - I LOVE audiobooks. Love them. I can’t read on an airplane or when I’m driving (duh) but I love books far too much to just give up on that time that could be spent with a book. Audible allows you to gift either specific books or gift credits that can be spent on any book in their library. As someone that has moved a lot in the last 4 years, I can confirm that audiobooks are much easier to pack and transport.
A Few Bonus Ideas...
The Most Practical and Banal Stuff- Just Ask. Or go spend time in their kitchen. When you are just getting started, you can easily get by without so much stuff, but it also might be nice to have kitchen towels or even some tissue boxes (recycled, of course! Nice to get the good stuff). to keep things off their no fun to do list.
A Really Great Throw Blanket-Have a little more budget and want to get something with some impact? What about a Faribault or Woolrich wool blanket? These bad boys will last long past their apartment days, and they will be happy, beautiful, and cozy for now as well.
Thanks Paige! This list is awesome, if weirdly numbered. If you want more shopping ideas, check out the Mega List of Shopping Lists.
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