Altering a present ritual may be tough for individuals, so make sure you give loads of discover, says skilled organizing marketing consultant Geralin Thomas. “Thanksgiving is just not the precise time to inform your loved ones that you just don’t need items on the holidays,” she says. They may already be planning their purchasing — or completed with it.
As an alternative, Thomas suggests beginning the dialog in the summertime. Let individuals know, in a simple and lighthearted approach, that you just gained’t be giving or receiving materials items this yr. She additionally recommends introducing the subject gently, with one thing like “We notice this will upset individuals, so let’s go forward and speak about it now.”
Then you definitely would possibly supply one thing like “We’ve simply decluttered and we’re on a ‘stuff food regimen’ — however when you’d like to present us one thing, we’d welcome a donation to those organizations!”
You can even supply family members a “one much less present” certificates. (Right here’s an instance from Miss Minimalist blogger Francine Jay, creator of The Pleasure of Much less and Evenly.) It releases every of you from the accountability of discovering a gift — and provides you each the present of time.
For extra considerate presents that don’t add to life’s muddle, see “Minimalist Present Concepts” from which this text was excerpted.
