Above is the closet in my guest bedroom…loaded…with…gifts. Yep, a gift closet. Being a frugal person, it’s one of my favorite things. A spot to hide treasures until necessary. For instance, I already have the kids’ stockings completely planned with gifts stowed here from after-Christmas sales. Easter Baskets are almost complete. Majority of the items in here = Target $1 bin deals or major clearance items. I just couldn’t pass up the Strawberry Shortcake item marked down from $15 to $4. With two daughters, one of them is bound to be invited to a birthday party, right?
This place is a life-saver for me when we have a birthday party to attend and I need a last-minute gift. Being anal, the shelves are in deed categorized. There’s a shelf for random kid gifts, a shelf for grandparent presents, a shelf for things I’ve particularly picked out for certain people – so some of it is already claimed (labeled with name/occasion on a post-it note) and some is just extras just in case.
This came in handy when I returned from my trip yesterday. I needed some souvenirs for the kids, but didn’t find anything AWESOME in Florida that I just had to have and I knew they didn’t care (and really wouldn’t even know) if it was from the trip or not. Plus, I knew there was some extra $1 bin items in this closet. Since I got home before the kids, I visited here and grabbed a few things that made them very excited.
What about you? Any of you shop year-round? Or am I the only crazy one with a closet full of give-aways?
And while I’m asking…any of you regift? And if you do buy gifts on clearance…what’s more important…spending the amount you normally would? Or the value of the gift? For example, if I got the $15 Strawberry Shortcake gift for $4…do I need to add a $10 item to be sure I do spend $15….or is the value of the gift what matters, not what I spend? Does this make sense? I’ve gotten in some heated discussions about this and am curious what you think. I’ll post on that in the future!
I have a gift bin. I think the gift closet is a great idea! Maybe when we move to a larger house I can talk Adam into the idea!
I do NOT think that it is about the money you spend. Awesome for you if you can get GREAT deals. I think that it is more about the quality of the gift. I am all for the clearance sales and love to shop for seasons ahead!
The organizer in me LOVES this. I often find deals that I would like to buy for later, but our house is just too small with only two closets (in the two bedrooms) so I find myself resisting since storage is of the essence. One day…
Oh man -this is a tough one for me. The planner in me loves the idea. The clutter hater minimalist in me loathes the idea. The inability to return something part of me because I bought it too long ago and didn’t end up using it part of me hates the idea. The person who feels like I am constantly running out for one more little thing for one more stupid occasion loves the idea. I’m completely torn! I do stock up sometimes on deals or events I know are coming up and store them in the cabinet above the fridge but I never have everything I need in there it seems so I’m not sure it always works.
As for the gifting value – depends on the person you are giving the gift to. If you give the $4 SS gift to someone really special I would throw in another something. If it’s merely an obligatory gift I would not.
I do regift IF the gift is brand new and unused. I can’t stand getting someone elses used crap and find that offensive if given as a gift. If given as a hand me down, fine.