Travel season is upon us! And you know what that means—souvenir buying season is in full swing. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed (over and over again) when working with clients…it’s that sentimental items like souvenirs are oh-so hard to let go of. So…this month my newsletter article is all about “Avoiding Vacation Clutter.”
Now, avoiding vacation clutter doesn’t mean you can’t bring home mementos from your trip. No siree, that would not be the creative organizing way. A vacation can give you the rare opportunity to find items that will serve many purposes in your home and life…
from serving up the daily cup of Java…
to organizing business cards…
to corralling medicine in a medicine cabinet…
all while providing you an ongoing reminder of your vacation. How great is that?
The trick is to find something inspiring that you’ll put to good use when you get back home. For more ideas on finding travel mementos that will not only prevent clutter…but help you be more organized as well, just check your in-box for the newsletter. (You can sign up here if you don’t yet subscribe…or if you’re already a subscriber, check your in-box tomorrow. She’ll be on her way real soon!)
Oh, and if you don’t have travel plans this summer, no worries. (I don’t either.) But you could go on a day-trip to a local antique shop or thrift store and hunt for your own creative organizing finds. Not convinced that you’ll find something good? Just check out this last gem that I found (for one dollar!) at a Utah thrift store. You just never know…you may find something so great at your local thrift store that you’ll feel like you’ve been on vacation!
So…is it just me? Or do you like to find the perfect, non-traditional souvenir when you travel, too? I’d love to hear your finds or your approach to clutter-free vacationing.
Not necessarily useable, but a neat and possibly free moment of a vacation: http://www.thisyounghouse.com/2008/06/put-a-lid-on-it/
I love this idea!
I do the same, sort of 🙂 I usually go to the local supermarket wherever I am and get fun foreign cleaning stuff. I’ve scored the best rags in Rome, cute scouring pads in Hong Kong, bottle cleaner in Guangzhou, China and window scraper in London amongst many many other useful things. I love coming home and using them. It makes everyday cleaning so much more fun!
It might not be original, but we find something to hang on our Christmas tree. It’s not always a traditional ornament, but something that represents the place we’ve visited. We find somewhere on the item to inscribe the year and the location if it isn’t immediately obvious.
It’s wonderful every year to pull out these things that mean so much to us and share the stories amongst the family. Frequently we recall new things about that trip that maybe other family members don’t remember.
Love the cleaning stuff idea. We also get a tree ornament and not just the traditional kind when we travel. I also try to find a unique pincushion as I collect those.
I tell my family when they travel it is their time and money and memories so don’t think about spending a lot on others as the memory won’t be the same. They have adopted this advise and send post cards (which they have taken pre-addressed labels) to send to friends.
My souvenirs are often my photos and trip journal.
I’m with many others – I buy Christmas ornaments. Decorating the tree every year is like one giant walk down memory lane.
Here’s another “vote” for Christmas ornaments. 🙂
I also buy vintage souvenier plates when I see them in antique stores, flea markets, garage sales. The only “rule” is that I can only buy them if I’ve been to that state – I guess it’s a souvenier that isn’t bought on the trip, but reminds me of the trip.
Another one for Christmas tree ornaments! I love pulling out my special ornaments and reminse about all our wonderful trips as we decorate the tree each year.
I got hooked on finding pressed pennies back as souveneirs. Granted, they can’t be found everywhere, but I grab one wherever I see them. My dad accidentally started this collection for me when I was younger and he brought back my first pressed penny from a business trip to Seattle.
I always treat myself to fresh flowers while we are away on vacation instead of buying a souvenir. I love fresh flowers but often feel guilty buying them for myself at home. But while on vacation, I don’t feel badly at all and it is fun to enjoy the local variety of flowers that don’t grow in my area.
Bonus-I don’t have anything to bring home! And if the flowers still look nice, I always leave them as a treat for the next person or the cleaning staff.
We did the coffee mug thing when I was growing up and my mom had WAY too many coffee mugs by the time I left for college!!! (she traveled a lot for work)
I also do the Christmas ornament thing. When we visited Phoenix (before we lived here) I bought a Santa next to a saguaro, in London I got a double decker bus with “Harrold’s” on the side…in Scotland, a scottie dog with a plaid sweater and hat, in Hawaii, Santa was in hula gear beating a drum…I go down memory lane every time I decorate my Christmas tree!
I sometimes buy ornaments on our trips but I always buy a magnet from every place we go. I have them on one side of our refrigerator that you can see from the kitchen table so it is fun to look at. My daughter’s friends love to look at them and try to find news ones that have been added since their last visit. They are in their late 20’s now and have been looking at them for years. In fact 2 of her good friends bought some for me when they spent a semester abroad in college.
Ditto on the Christmas and magnets. Now , I KNOW how DUMB this sounds BUT sometimes I just buy a pretty towel. Yep…ya see, my towels sure don’t matchy-match, nope they don’t. So if I see a pretty towel in a color that’s calling my name, I come home with a new towel…works for me1
We collect postcards when we travel and then we hang them up on my son’s bedroom walls (maps also) http://www.flickr.com/photos/scrapbooklady/2364741494/in/set-72157604236026338/
much cheaper than artwork and a great conversation piece. If you put them together in a neat way they don’t look cluttery.
We also collect the kind of pennies that you stretch in a machine. For a 26 cents my kids have a memento of a place that doesn’t take up a lot of room. They have a small folder to keep their pennies in.
I like your idea of trying to make souvenirs be useful items. One of my favorite aprons was actually something I purchased on a trip to Texas.
We always ask our traveling grandparents to just send a post card instead of buying things for our son. They write great notes and I put them in his photo album so that he’ll be able to appreciate them for years to come.
My Father collects shot glasses. They are small and relatively inexpensive. He started buying them as a kid, b/c they were cheap. And no, he doesn’t even drink.
I always try to buy items I know we will use on a regular basis. We are not coffee drinkers, so I usually go for T-shirts.
Even if the item doesn’t have “San Diego” stamped across it, I know where it came from and I have the memory, so often just shopping away like I would at home is special enough for me. I still have an Old Navy T-shirt, which was purchased in Buffalo, from 1997!
~J
We always buy art for our home that is made by a local artist. Then when we look at the painting, photo, sculpture, jewelry, light switch cover, or whatever we find … we always remember our trips. I love having memories displayed all over our home.
Following in Dee’s vein: I’ve brought back plates (which I use all the time) from France, Spain, and Italy. (So many of my plates aren’t all matchy, either.) And I’ve brought home beer mugs from England that I use as both beer mugs and water glasses.
And like SmilynStef, I sometimes pick up art (beyond the plates, which are a kind of art in themselves). Sitting here in my office I see pieces from India, Nepal, Singapore – and Florida.
I don’t push it, though – if I don’t happen to come across something that speaks to me (and fits my budget), I’m fine with coming home with just my memories.
We always do the Christmas ornament thing, but we also purchase a Starbucks city mug everywhere we go. That way we can have our coffee and reminisce about our vacations. We also try to bring back a piece of art for our home, even if it’s just a little something.
I love this! I always try to find a fabulous pair of earrings when I travel. They’re small and they give me an excuse to splurge a little on jewelry.
We have kids and they always seem to want the cheap souvenirs. We have started buying a children’s book, preferably based on a true story or event, about the area we are traveling to. When we get home, I write the date on the front page and a little bit about our trip. The kids have loved it and I love that they are getting something long lastring and educational as a souvenir.
i always buy kitchen and bath towels with pictures from the place where we spend our holidays.