Hasta La Ideas

This year we thought we would ask a few professional organizers from around the world what their favourite gifts were to give and/or receive.

Erin Rooney Doland of Unclutterer.com in the Washington, DC-area, suggested the Cubitec Shelving System.

Erin said, “We have had this shelving unit for almost a decade and it hasn’t aged a day. The color is consistent, even though it has sat next to large sliding glass doors the entire time. Not a single shelf sags. Most importantly, it can be configured to fit your space and it’s fun. We use it in our living room, but we’re giving a unit to our son for toy storage in his room. I truly love furniture and organizing products that stand the test of time and also look amazing.”

Geralin Thomas of Metropolitan Organizing, LLC in Cary, NC, is a fan of supplemental battery power for her smartphone. She would love to receive an Everpurse this holiday season. The Everpurse is a purse that charges your smartphone. Leave your purse on its charging mat all night and it will keep your smartphone charged all day. Geralin loves also the Purse Perfector purse organizer she received as a gift and keeps it in the centre console of her car to keep everything in its place.

Julie Bestry of Best Results Organizing in Chattanooga, TN, recommended Grid-it by Cocoon to organize and maintain cables, chargers, ear buds, pens, small tools, flash drives, and just about anything that would otherwise be lost in the bottom of backpacks and purses. Julie would love to receive the Cocoon Backpack with its ability to hold a 17” laptop and its multi-pocketed organized interior and ergonomically designed shoulder harness.

For those who want to have their files accessible from anywhere, but don’t feel comfortable hosting them in the cloud. Brooks Duncan of DocumentSnap in Vancouver, Canada, recommended the Transporter Sync. It lets you turn your external hard drive into a secure, connected, cloud device that is in your control.

Some people have small homes and it can be hard to accommodate Christmas trees in the living room during the festive season and in storage spaces the rest of the year. If this is the case with your friends or family, Soraiya Kara of POSabilities Personal Organizing in Vancouver, Canada, suggested giving ornament display stands. These stands come in a variety of styles and a range of prices and allow people to display their beautiful, sentimental ornaments.

Nanette Duffy of Organized Instincts in Atlanta, GA, wants Cyber Clean as a gift! Nanette said, “The product is practical and effective, but the bright neon green slime feels like a toy! A slick consistency makes cleaning your tech gadgets just plain old fun. I have been told that recipients seek out dirty and gross gadgets like remotes, computer mice and tech devices just to keep playing with the neon green slime. Cyber Clean is not gender specific and can be used at home or work, so it’s a great office gift exchange gift idea. The small packet or bottle makes it an easy, low cost gift to ship. When you have used up Cyber Clean’s cleaning powers, the colour changes letting you how it’s time to toss it out. This mean no “gift clutter” to accumulate.”

Janet Barclay of Organized Assistant in Hamilton, Canada, suggested the book Time Management for Unmanageable People: The Guilt-Free Way to Organize, Energize, and Maximize Your Life by Anne McGee-Cooper as a gift for those creative types for whom time management may be a challenge. As a right-brained individual who has overcome traits of dyslexia, hyperactivity, and attention deficit disorder to become a successful author, lecturer, business consultant, creativity expert, and business owner, McGee-Cooper knows her subject matter well, and presents her information clearly and with a sense of humour.

Patience Oaktree organizing novels and books of short stories are fictional stories about the adventures of a professional organizer. Valentina Sgro of SGRO Consulting in Cleveland, OH, suggested these books as a gift because they don’t run the risk of implying, “Happy Holidays! You’re a mess!” And, organizing aside, they make entertaining reading for most anyone.

Want more gift-giving ideas? Explore Unclutterer’s full 2013 Holiday Gift Giving Guide.

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