The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up Your Souvenir Buying

I’m about to talk about Marie Kondo-ing your souvenir buying.

Alright, I know it’s called the KonMari Method and Marie Kondo isn’t a verb, she’s the cutest Japanese woman with a much better sense of style/grace/organization than I’ll ever have. I know this because I both read the book (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up in case you’re unaware) and watched the show (“Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” in case you live under a rock). Her methods interest me because my husband and I differ in our valuation of “stuff” (he’s sentimental and I don’t have a heart) and an upcoming cross-country move is proving challenging when it comes to purging belongings. I’ve been looking to Marie as my guide. She’s all about asking whether things in your home “spark joy” and I think this same process can be applied to souvenir buying.

With two kids under two we try to pack as lightly as possible for trips. While we think it’s important to bring back souvenirs for some family members and friends, we also believe memories are the best souvenirs, and almost as good as memories are the photos we take to accompany those memories. Photos = pure joy.

We’ve invested in a DSLR camera (actually purchased from my niece who no longer wanted it- a win for both of us). While it’s bulky and can sometimes be a pain to find space for in luggage, I’ve never regretted bringing it on a trip. My iPhone takes nice pictures but can’t handle the cat-like reflexes of my toddler or the wildcard movements of my three month old. The DSLR is noticeably better in this way.

Aside from photos, we gravitate towards a few items to purchase on our trips.

Mugs. We love coffee and often buy mugs from our travels. They get used at home because we drink a lot of coffee. I love the nice reminder of past vacations while sipping coffee and sparking joy in the morning (and afternoon…) They’re breakable, but we’ve had good luck packing them in our luggage cushioned by clothes.

Christmas Tree Ornaments. We have several ornaments from past travels and it’s such a nice way to remember trips and spark joy as we hang the ornaments on our tree each year. We think this will be especially fun for our girls when they’re older and can choose their own ornaments wherever we go.

Books. I’m mainly referring to kids’ picture books, although I also value reading books by native authors when traveling abroad. This is especially great if you only pack a couple of books from home for your kids and want to add books to your collection while traveling. Our toddler still loves Íslensku Dýrin, a book of farm animals from Iceland.

Hats. I love how different countries often have distinctive hats. Mexico has the sombrero, Panama has the panama, France has the beret, and the U.S. has that floppy sun hat that says “wine o’clock”. I have a fedora I bought in Spain 11 years ago that has accompanied me on every single sunny vacation since then. It’s my go-to hat and I bought my daughters matching ones because I’m reallllly into the matching clothes. To me, hats spark joy, and often get used both on the trip and back at home.

Art. You don’t have to have a lot of money to pick up nice prints abroad. We have a gallery wall in our home where we display art and photographs from our travels. It just takes up wall space and is, in my opinion and I’m no Martha Stewart, the best kind of decor. There’s a story behind most of the art in our house- like that painting I haggled off a guy at the Austrian market for a “really good price” before coming across the same one for a quarter of the price at the next kiosk. Such a fun story to tell that sparks so.much.joy.

What are some of your favorite souvenirs?