Ever go though all of your closets, basement storage, shed, garage or rented storage unit, only to discover you have tons of stuff? Spring cleaning, garage sales and general purging can be a great process to remove as much stuff as possible from these nefarious storage spaces. Unfortunately, if youre like most, we tend to then start filling these spaces up with more stuff.

Where does all of this stuff come from? There are lots of sources our stuff comes, like ourselves, our family, friends, bosses and sometimes people we dont even know.

Our own buying habits can really sometimes be our worst enemy. We get caught in a buying frenzy at the local Home Depot sale, we think that all-in-one folding picnic table with built-in seating is perfect for outings in the park, or that cool new cordless phone is better than the good-ole reliable hanging on the wall at home. So, you end up with 10 different picnic nic-nacs, multiple tools used once and a drawer full of cordless phones of every size, color and feature.

Family and friends can also be our next worst enemy in the stuff accumulation department. Filling up our storage shelves are the gifts we receive from others on our birthday, anniversary or when a loved one returns from a vacation or exotic place. Like the dangling elephant earrings your mother brought back from Kenya or the pink & black fuzzy slippers purchased for Christmas or that frozen juicer machine that takes hours to setup, when it would have been faster to just local juice bar. Most of these are well meaning and usually given with the best intentions. However, they sometimes are not practical and/or were used once as a trial, so we can say Yes, I loved the wonderful smoothy the machine made, thanks, only to end up in a trunk, box or lower drawer of a storage cabinet.

Thinking about all of this stuff makes one wonder, what do people do with the stuff... err, gifts we give them? Do they find plastic storage boxes, shelves and drawers to store the things we so carefully picked out during the last minute mad rush at the mall last Christmas? Well, there are lots of other options besides things when deciding on that next great gift. Instead, consider an awe-inspiring experience, once in a life-time event or the ability to drive extremely fast in a race car. While stuff comes and goes in our lives, memories tend to live on. Especially when the experience is something very different from the daily routine or something that friend or loved one normally wouldnt take the time to engage.

Memorable experiences can be a major WOW factor for the receiver of your gift. Think about the kinds of things the person you have in mind likes. Are they an adrenaline junky that would jump at the chance to go 180 MPH in a race car, fly over mountains in a helicopter or jump out of a perfectly good plane? Or, are they more inclined to enjoy a slow early morning rise in a hot-air balloon while sipping mimosas and nibbling on croissants? Would they prefer getting a relaxing oil massage and facial wrap? Or have they always wanted to learn to cook that special meal like the pros? What about tripping the light fantastic and learning ball-room dancing thats become popular?

To get you started, there are both companies and local resources you can research yourself to locate that perfect Experience. You can either locate and engage a company to help you or you can perform the research yourself as many of the event and tour companies maintain a web site with all of the details. Broker or scheduling companies usually have a variety of sources and may even have suggestions for experiences youve not even thought about.

Many major cities have companies that specifically focus on helping you find, coordinate and schedule that Special Experience. For example, in Denver near the Colorado Rockies, there are several companies that maintain contacts regarding a variety of services such as early morning Balloon Rides, Helicopter Tours and other such activities. These are all available for bookings and they will locate and schedule such events just for that special person. Many of them are done as gift certificates, redeemable during a given time frame.

So, next time you need to find that perfect gift for family, loved one, employee, or friend, spend some time locating them that perfect Experience gift. Memories live forever and theyll never forget the moment theyre hair was on fire going 180 MPH or how beautiful the sun on the mountains was as the balloon slowly rose into the cool morning air.