Disclaimer: One woman’s Best and Most Useful Gift Ever is another woman’s clutter. Think about the person who will receive this gift. I’m sharing some things I love and use all the time and that aren’t clutter for me, the Queen of Clutter. Oh. And I’m using Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one and then buy something (ANYthing) on Amazon, I get a small percentage even though you pay whatever you’d pay even if you didn’t get there through my link.
A Kindle
I got mine last year. I fall more in love with that thing every day. I can slip it into my purse and have a huge library of books to read with me at all times. As a book-lover that has been awesome. I got the cheapest version (though I paid $20 more to get it without ads on it) and the screen really does read like a “real” book so it doesn’t bother my eyes. My favorite thing? I can read in bed before I go to sleep and don’t have to flip from side to side to keep the book open. I don’t even have to hold the book at all! I just lean it against Hubby’s arm or pillow and lay on my side, pushing the button when it’s time to turn a page. The biggest disadvantage is that it has to be charged, but I’ve been shocked at how long it stays charged. (Like, weeks!) This isn’t the case at all with my boys’ Kindle Fires, but with the basic model, the charge lasts a very long time.
Click ‘N Dig Key Finder
I reviewed these in detail in February of ’13. Go there to see how they work. They lasted about a year. Then they started beeping at inappropriate times (such as during the prayer in church), so I took them off. But I missed them terribly, so I was so excited to get another set from Click ‘N Dig when they asked me to consider including it in a gift list (which I was planning to do anyway).
So, obviously, they don’t last forever. But with the way I tend to be with my keys, I’d consider them a decent yearly investment. (The first time they started beeping at random times, I just switched out the batteries. That worked great for a long time, but the second time it started happening, new batteries didn’t do the trick.)
I consider these a great gift for the chronic key-loser. I was sent the set that includes three key rings and three stick-on-ables, but I never really used the stick-on ones. I did put one in my purse, but didn’t seem to need it as often. I think you’re good getting the smaller, key-ring only set.
Smart Phone Lenses – iPhone 5 / 5S Camera Lens Kit
This is kind of a weird one, and totally depends on the person receiving the gift. (It’s the bottom picture in the collage above.) I had looked at these before, but I wasn’t sure how it would work. The link above is to the 5/5S one (which is different from the 5C), but they make them for all sorts of smart phones. I got mine as a gift when I went to California in September with Dawn. They gave one to each blogger, and we had all sorts of different phones. (They asked about our phones ahead of time, which you should do if you’re purchasing for someone else.)
I love it because I never remember to bring my nice camera with the big lens to football games, school programs, etc. Now I just keep the special case and telephoto lens (which is about three inches long) in my purse. I switch out the case, and then the lens screws onto a little hole right at the lens on my phone. I’ve been able to get close ups of my kids in situations where I never could before, and it’s ALWAYS a conversation piece with the other parents in the stands/audience.
I bought mine at Costco on a whim. They truly are awesome. Things that used to slide off hangers now don’t. Really. Slippery blouses stay put. I love them. Currently, I’m being stingy and only use them for my own clothes, but I would like to eventually get enough to use for the whole family. Obviously, only certain kinds of people would consider this a great gift, so be careful!
I know. This seems like one of those space-taking single use items. I’d agree except that I use mine ALL the time. And I love it. When I lived in Thailand, I started seeing rice cookers like the people in Thailand see them: something every single kitchen must have. It’s kind of like coffee-makers are in the U.S. You can totally make coffee on the stove, but why would you?
I use mine at least weekly, and love it because I can put rice and water in it, turn it on, and it cooks it perfectly and then keeps it warm until we’re ready to eat. It’s perfect for one-dish rice meals like jambalaya. I just dump in the ingredients (even the sausage), turn it on, and we have a meal ready to eat when we get home from gymnastics or football or whatever.
The link above is to the one I have. I got it as a wedding present more than fifteen years ago, and it’s still going strong.
Amazon Gift Cards
You can email one to someone, or you can have a physical gift card mailed to them with free one day shipping. Amazon has (pretty much) everything so it’s a great way to make anyone happy.
Many of these things have free shipping with Amazon Prime. You can get a free one-month Prime membership here. This is the perfect time to do the trial because you can do your Christmas shopping without needing to always add to your order to get free shipping. I did that last year, and then forgot to cancel (shocker!) so it charged me for the year’s worth of Prime. Honestly, I’ve decided I LOVE it and will gladly pay for it again. I’ll write a post later about all the ways we use it, but let’s just say it’s really nice to be able to order toilet paper at the exact moment when it crosses my mind that we need it. Then it arrives at our doorstep two days later.
You can also give a year’s Amazon Prime membership as a gift: Shop Amazon – Give the Gift of Amazon Prime
What’s the best clutter-free gift you’ve given/received?
--Nony
I love, LOVE my rice cooker! Have a cookbook for all-in-one meals with it, but you can just as easily wing it or Google as needed. I paid more for a model with a brown rice option (takes longer) but the basic one is awesome.
I’ve made brown rice with mine, and it works great (just takes longer)!
did you ever try to cook oats in the rice cooker? i’ve heard that’s one of the best ways to cook oats… don’t know since i don’t own one.
and nothing like a kindle for book lovers and clutter avoiders. i have a fire and when i use it offline only to read books, the battery lasts forever… the wifi, video and games eat up the battery.
I haven’t tried that, but I will now!!
I got a Kindle Paperwhite this summer. I love, love, love it. My eyes are really bad, and I can change the font sizes as needed. Also, I had not been able to read a book all the way through in a few years. I would not trade for it.
To each their own, I guess. My husband never used his Kindle and it is definitely just clutter now. I feel the same way about our rice cooker—it’s clutter that we rarely use. A clutter free gift, in my opinion, is something that you know will be used right away. I think edible gifts are a great example. Another clutter free gift is to give an experience—you can buy someone tickets to a show, for example. No clutter whatsoever.
My favorite clutter free gift is usually something edible! Although anything I can use up such as pretty soaps or lotions are appreciated as well.
I sure like that camera lens idea, and those hangers!
I have the cheapest Kindle – if you’re like me and can’t figure out how to connect it to the internet, you don’t get any ads, even though you paid $20 less! And I wish you’d posted this about a week and a half ago so you could have gotten credit for the one I bought my son!
Great suggestions.
Does the rice cooker come with a recipe book? That jambalaya sounds really good. Is your rice-cooker jambalaya recipe here on this site? LOVE easy ways to get supper on the table.
Thanks in advance,
Valerie
I’m sure it came with a recipe book 15 years ago, but it’s long gone!! I use Zatarain’s jambalaya boxed mix. It has an adjustment suggestion on the box for adding extra plain rice to make it less spicy and that’s what I do. I had a roommate from New Orleans who claimed all real Cajuns use Zatarain’s so I’ve never seen a reason to make it from scratch! A friend told me his culinary school instructor told him the same thing!
I have to say our rice cooker is essential in our house… my husband is asian so rice is a big part of our diet… its the only thing we buy in bulk 25lb bags…. I grew up eating minute rice and didnt know the difference til i was married and my husband didnt like it… so we switched… we use it atleast one a week… actually im making some right now…
we have a kindle too… i love that it will read to you… i like to decompress by listening to stories sometimes.
an amazon membership would be a great gift for someone who doesnt have one… i have ordered 85% of my christmas presents off amazon…
I also love my rice maker. But a countertop tv for the kitchen is a must to get me going cooking dinner.
I love my crock pot, that’d be a great gift if someone doesn’t have one or if theirs broke (like mine did last year at this time).
I’ve been trying to decide if I would like a Kindle…I’m not a “go to the library” girl b/c that’s just another errand. Maybe I’ll add it to my last minute wish list!
Erika, you may want to install the Kindle app on your phone and see if you use it. I discovered that I use my Scribd account waaaaaaaaaay more than I ever use my Kindle. I have it on my phone, tablet, and laptop. Kindle does have a similar “netflix” type account for books, where you pay $10/mo and can read as many books as you want. If you have a kindle that has a regular browser, you can use it to access Scribd, too, so you get the best of both worlds. Personally, I prefer to just have the apps on my phone. One less thing to carry.
It all depends on whether the person needs that stuff or not. One year we replaced my mom’s phone by putting her on our plan, but usually the clutter-free option is to get people a shipment of oranges. They get eaten and then stop taking up space.
I love my rice cooker too! In fact, I’m using it right now. 🙂 Thanks for the awesome ideas.
I am inspired to dig out my rice cooker see what else it can do. I have only used for rice and to steam veggies. Mine is oval and I sometimes cook/steam corn on the cob in it. Have not used it in years though.
An Oyster account, a Netflix for books, would also be a good gift to a bookworm with a smart device. My parents are getting a clean house, energy efficient bulbs, and help with their dogs. It all depends on the person, but I’d rather give useful stuff then stuff that adds to the clutter.
I use a carabiner clip and hook my keys to my purse strap.
I, too, am a rice cooker convert. All my friends from Asia swore by them, but it took a long time for them to convince us to try them. We have used them for quinoa and other grains, too, and it has a steamer basket. (Handy for veggies!)
We also own an electric kettle, which a Canadian friend talked us into. It didn’t take us long to buy them for work, too. Best thing about it is that we never forget about the water on the stove and boil the pot dry. Instead it cuts off once the water is boiled; our model holds the heat very well, too.