I love to give the basics. Bottle brushes, dish cloths, dish towels, drano, comet, scrubbing bubbles, and other cleaners. These are the things most people need or don’t have when moving into a new house. You can actually load them in a garbage can for a basket and make it useful and thoughtful. I know its cheesy but that is what I do.

Since it isn’t her first home, maybe some things she wouldn’t think to buy for herself. There are some great new wine bottle openers (I just saw a really cool one at Big Lots for $10 and a bottle of her favorite wine with a set of the $5 wine glasses also at Big Lots, along with their $2 set of wine charms all in the $3 ice bucket used like a basket and wrapped in the $1.99 cellophane with a ribbon tied at the top.) You could add a set of those soapstone coasters which actually absorb the condensation from glasses placed on it. You could get her a set of good grips kitchen tools from oxo which includes the can opener, the rubber mits you can plunge into water or remove hot items from the oven, the potato peeler, the grater, the juicer, etc. Or go with a baking theme using a silpat, the new rubberized cake, bunt, muffin tins and mits by kitchenaid. Or go with the laundry theme with stain removers, sizing or starch, some of the wonderful linen sprays, borax, and natural detergent and fabric softeners. I received a set of really cute door mats as a housewarming gift, with an outdoor thermometer, watering can and some gardening tools that I still appreciate today.