Stop the Souvenir Insanity

On my vacation I was just reminded of the importance of PREVENTING clutter in all of our purchasing decisions. "Wow, so many shiny objects! Made by artisans! And they are bargaining with me! What a good deal! And I am really in a buying mood!"

Souvenir literally means, in French, "to remember." Think about what you are bringing back with you from your travels-- when you see it years later in your home, will it still bring you pleasure, and will it really help you remember your trip?

I really stopped to think about each thing I was buying. I bought only practical things that were either consumable or extremely useful in my everyday life.  We bought pounds of coffee from the plantation we toured, hand-woven colorful cloth zippered bags (small ones that are perfect for camera bags and other small electronic gadgets), and a hand-carved set of salad servers (because the "fork" of our set was broken recently and we actually did need to get another set-- now they are special!).

What I did NOT buy:  A bunch of cheap t-shirts that would never get worn, various carved wooden animal trinkets, shot glasses, little bottles of liquor with drunken clay people attached to them, big straw hats that would have to be carried onto the plane, etc. I have seen so many of these things in clients' homes, never used, ending up in the charity donations pile (or the trash).

We say in my "See How It Works" videos on the Clutter Diet site that getting organized is a lot like losing weight-- for many reasons-- but mainly because they both require a program of PREVENTION, REDUCTION, and MAINTENANCE.

Preventing clutter is something you can practice on a daily basis. Click here to read my article, "7 Ways to Prevent Clutter," including the 5 questions you should ask yourself before purchasing anything.

Can you make a better choice today to prevent clutter coming into your life?

Comments

[Alex]

This is such great advice - you make it sound so easy haha. Overspending on trips (and on random things in general, now that I think about it) has always been a problem in my family, but I think that also has to do with some lifestyle habits. I've definitely had to play the reasoning voice part for my mother in the past few years since we have accumulated so much useless stuff.

Incidentally, a coffee plantation tour sounds so fun!

[Jeri Dansky]

I'm all for the useful souvenirs!

Some of the best things I've brought back from my travels have been a few hand-made plates (from France and Spain) and souvenir plates from two restaurants in Italy that participated in the Buon Ricordo program. I use these plates all the time!

I also have some beer mugs from England that I use as my water glasses- as well as using them for beer.

[Leslie]

I wish everyone would read this. I have never been a big souvenir buyer, but hubby and I have a bag of things that mostly have been given to us from other people's trips. I am really on board with decluttering, but this is the one thing I can not decide what to do with. I don't like to have 'things' out on surfaces, but it is a shame for them to just be in a bag. Sigh.

I definitely like the idea of buying useful and consumable goods, but the only thing we usually get is a Christmas ornament. Every trip we have taken, I have purchased an ornament, then each year when I am putting up the tree, I get to reminisce about our trips!

[Lorie Marrero]

Leslie, that's so funny-- I completely forgot to say that we DO always get a Christmas ornament for our tree! I love that tradition. In Costa Rica we just bought a miniature ox cart ornament. Ornaments are a great example of something that truly recalls memories for the family, and they are small tokens that are easy to store.

Thanks for your comment!

- Lorie

[Bullwinkle]

I travel (a lot). I can't stand receiving trinkets from friends/coworker and it irks me to purchase them. My solution is to find a charity (on location) that I can believe in. (Usually it is something environmental or wildlife related.) I try to keep it very local and small. (And quite often it is a fabulous visit.) Then I give them all the money I'd spend on souvenirs, and send postcards telling people what I've done.

I'm all ready planning on this strategy for the holidays too -- a card and a donation.

[Lorie Marrero]

Ooh, that is a GREAT idea!!! Thanks for sharing! - Lorie

[Sharon]

I used to do the xmas ornament thing but I've gotten less into that holiday over the years. So what I have been doing for quite a while for souvenirs is magnets. Small, useful and a good conversation starter when folks are over and hanging out in the kitchen. And in most places you can get some unique handmade ones, not just the mass produced ones. I really like being able to see them everyday!

[amanda]

i'm with sharon. i've switched to making sure i get a unique magnet (one that also clearly states where it's from) to bring home from my trips.

[Lorie Marrero]

That’s great—what I like about the magnet idea is that it’s SMALL. Easy to carry home, easy to display, easy to enjoy, easy to discard if you want to! - Lorie

[Ruth Johnson]

I received a Yodelling Pickle for my birthday and my friends and I played it and laughed until tears poured down our faces. You may think it is "useless" and "way worse than a Hello Kitty waffle maker", but I disagree. Yes, it's a silly purchase, but -- especially in these stressful times -- the value of a good laugh can't be measured.

[Lorie Marrero]

Ruth, that is so wonderful that you found value in this item. The problem is that some people may not just buy one thing like this and genuinely enjoy it—they may buy hundreds of things that have no practical value to their lives and never enjoy any of them, and then not be able to let them go to make room for other things that are more useful and important. The pickle is just a great example of something that has no practical purpose whatsoever. Definitely great for a laugh though, which is absolutely worth something. - Lorie

[Lita Daniel]

Great article. Being from St. Thomas, VI it drives me absolutely nuts whenever I go home for a visit and I see tourists literally buying junk that has no useful purpose. I've gone on many trips and not buy anything. The item has to appeal to me and serve a purpose.