Comments on: Fun idea for reducing vacation mementos

By: Aeryn

Aeryn — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:31:44 +0000

My partner and I have just taken to sending ourselves postcards from the places that we’ve been to by way of souvenirs. It’s turning out to be clutter still, as I keep those postcards organized in a photo album turned postcard collector, and I don’t know what to do with the odd sized ones, so good suggestion, may start adopting a relatively small stuffed toy mascot for ourselves!

By: Peg Bracken Fan

Peg Bracken Fan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:02:47 +0000

Instead of trinkets, we try to bring home edible souvenirs. Jam and Cadbury bars from England, vanilla and Kahlua from Mexico and so on. As we dig into our stash–sometimes even weeks or months later–we relive our trip memories.

This was part of a conscious effort to cut down. As far as other souvenirs, we usually get a Christmas tree ornament and take a lot of pictures.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:15:49 +0000

One thing I do for ephemera is to buy a large postcard. Then, when I’m scrapbooking the trip, I will use doublesided foam tape to attach 3 sides of the post card to a page and use it for a pocket to hold other brochures, tickets, etc.

By: Mickey

Mickey — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:07:57 +0000

I realize this post was from last year, but as someone who travelled often for work, I found my solution. As an earring addict, I buy a pair on every trip – small enough to fit in carry on, and although my collection is quite large, I wear them all the time and when I get complimented on them, I have the memory of where and when I bought it. (I also buy a magnet, and have that collection, and only that collection, on my fridge).

By: Jude

Jude — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:06:00 +0000

The Nancy Pearl Librarian Action Figure has been traveling around the world for awhile now. There’s a Flickr group devoted to her travels (I can’t view it because Flickr is blocked at work). http://www.flickr.com/groups/nancypearl/

By: Pam

Pam — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:19:03 +0000

I like to bring jewelry home with me. When I wear it I am pleasantly reminded of the vacation. One day this week I was wearing earrings from Hawaii, a bracelet from Turkey and a necklace from Egypt. I used to get a key ring from everyplace I visited, and attached them to lengths of small-linked, gold-toned chain from the hardware store. I put them on the hallway wall and its always fun to glance at them and remember the trips. I did stop that though, when I realized that “one day” someone will be looking at all those key rings, wondering what the heck to do with them!

By: Misty

Misty — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:20:00 +0000

My parents have several time shares and we traveled alot when I was a kid- normally 3 vacations a year We have some awesome memories and we bought spoons from each place we visited. They were normally very cheap and we had a display shelf for them. It was a great way to remember each place and did not take up much space. My parents still have it and as an adult we still will look at them and remember. Pictures did not work well for us as mom was a photographer and shoemakers children often go without shoes!
I do like the picture idea and will probably do that with my son as DH and I are more picture people.

By: KellyD

KellyD — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:11:02 +0000

I am also a knitter and in the time honored tradition of the new generation of knitters, I take my travelling sock with me and snap a photo whereever I go. Recently in our knitting world someone actually got Obama to hold their travelling sock LOL

By: BonzoGal

BonzoGal — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:57:20 +0000

We have an old action figure of Boss Hogg from the TV series “Dukes of Hazzard.” He gets photographed all over the place.

By: Karla (threadbndr)

Karla (threadbndr) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:55:33 +0000

My son’s GF does that. Her childhood stuffy goes EVERYWHERE – she has pictures of it on all her vacations, and her year of study abroad.

Then she sent it to IRAQ – where my son has photos of “Mr. Bear” driving a HumVee, behind a convoy gun etc. SO CUTE!

(And Mr. Bear made it safely back stateside – JC’s buddies even had strict instructions about what to do with Mr. Bear in case JC shipped out unexpectedly LOL.)

By: becoming minimalist

becoming minimalist — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:12:06 +0000

we have a running joke in our family about an old family reunion t-shirt that everybody was required to purchase. the contest has become to see who can get photographed in the most famous location wearing the t-shirt. it’s definitely a lot of fun – and helps keep our extended family in touch in between holidays.

By: B

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:20:51 +0000

Unless you’re a real fan of the item don’t bother with this approach. I sometimes travel with a good friend that always has a small Winnie the Pooh bear with her to be included in photos. After the trip we share our photos, and honestly I usually try to crop out Pooh from any of her pictures that I use because that stuffed animal means nothing to me and just make the pictures look stupid/goofy.

Another note on Flat Stanley: Clint Eastwood brought his 3rd grade daughter’s Flat Stanley to the 2005 Oscars where he won 2 Oscars for Million Dollar Baby

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCAT.....index.html

By: Sue

Sue — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:44:09 +0000

I mostly taking hiking vacations, and have a little plush otter that comes with me in my pack. I take pictures of the otter on the trail and at the summits or other points of interest. Someday I’m going to make a scrapbook of the otter’s adventures.

As fun at that is, it doesn’t really help reduce souvenier clutter. I solve that by only buying something useful – either a water bottle from a local bicycle shop or a pint glass from a local brewery. Pint glasses have replaced all but my coffee mugs and juice glasses at home, and I keep one for water at work as well. It’s an every day reminder of fun places I have been.

By: Em Dy

Em Dy — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:36:42 +0000

I’ve been decluttering the past weeks and the hardest items to let go are the travel souvenirs.

I used to bring home all the pamphlets/travel guides I’d pick up on trips but recently I just tear out the pages I need and put them in my photo album. The reason I did that was more because of the baggage limit rather than clutter.

I think this is a good idea. Will do it next time I travel.

By: H

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:14:57 +0000

I absolutely love doing this, so do my friends! Masquerade Boy (a red-haired boy quint doll with a masquerade mask, it’s a looong story) has been with either me or one of my friends across Canada, to Mexico, Australia, and, Scotland and then across Europe on separate trips… and more. I have a picture of him in Luxembourg on my dresser.

By: Trish M.

Trish M. — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:06:01 +0000

This is going off on a tangent a bit… In Paris I set aside a day to explore Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Knowing it would be a long excursion I brought along a sandwich. I decided to have lunch with the artists At each famous headstone I would perch my sandwich on top and snap a photo. I’d have a bite with Delacroix, then a bite with Modigliani and so forth. My dwindling sandwich made what might otherwise be dull photos a fun memory for me.

By: Sue

Sue — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 01:52:38 +0000

1. I buy a postcard of the locale and write a journal entry of the adventures, then mail it home.
2. I buy something I will use anyway–jewelry, a scarf, a unique clothing item by a local artisan, a local cookbook or a local food product. That is then The Souvenir.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:12:36 +0000

I only buy useful souvenirs that were on my list of things needed anyway. Things like bamboo kitchen utensils, an apron or lovely cakey things that be devoured the minute we get home. No clutter there!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:10:18 +0000

When I bring treats to my family in the US, I invariably end up dragging them around with me to other places first. So I make a game of it. I have a bar of Ritter Sport “departing” the UK, visiting Vancouver and Chicago with me, before finally arriving with the family. Earlier this year some Kinder Hippos were lucky enough to come along to Australia with me, then Minnesota, before traveling to the USA. I’m pretty sure it amuses me more than the family!!

By: Meghan

Meghan — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:27:11 +0000

We used to do this at my office. A co-worker had one of those Kung-Fu hamster stuffed animals and we would “kidnap” it and email back pictures of it around the world.