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Messy Minimalist

A messy person with a minimalist mindset

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Traveling Without Souvenirs

March 9, 2018

I recently returned from a 10-day trip (Arizona & California) with my family of three. Well, four, if you count the pint-sized person brewing in my belly. Prior to this trip, it had been almost 8 years since I’d had a real ‘vacation’. Travel was something we cut from our budget when we got serious about being debt-free, and while we’re not out of debt yet, we made an exception due to the “extenuating circumstance” growing inside me. When you go long enough without a vacation, you almost forget what you’re missing… And at the same time, you also forget what you’re NOT missing: Souvenirs.

Maybe that last sentence didn’t completely make sense, but this idea of a ‘souvenir-free vacation’ has been floating around in my head ever since I realized that we hadn’t really bought anything while on our trip. In fact, we didn’t stepped foot into an actual souvenir shop (or any boutique for that matter) until 7pm on our last day in San Diego, when we purchased a postcard while walking to our car.

How could this be? ME? The gal who used to dumpster dive weekly for hidden treasures, or who couldn’t resist stopping at even the most picked-through garage sales… How did I become a person who doesn’t bring back souvenirs? Perhaps this journey toward minimalism really has changed me.

Yet, when we stepped into the colorful shop to purchase our postcard, I found myself unable to look away from the mountains of stuff available for purchase. T-shirts, hats, shorts, ornaments, key chains, shot glasses, stickers, picture frames, and whatever else you can print ‘San Diego’ on. My brain said ‘no’ but my eyes said ‘yes’. I didn’t need, nor want any of this rubbish, yet somewhere deep down, my past self was clawing her way out of me, whispering in my ear:

“Who could I buy this for?”
“I wonder if this would fit me”
“My daughter would love this”
“You can never have too many sunglasses…”

Yes, these were actual thoughts going through my brain. And while I did finally manage to exit the store with only the postcard, I couldn’t stop reflecting on all the money my past self wasted on meaningless souvenirs — shells of a memory of an otherwise amazing trip.

messy minimalist traveling without souvenirs - sedona arizona

Now I’m not saying you’re bad or wrong if you buy souvenirs, in fact, aside from postcards, I did purchase a couple things from street vendors along our travels: A necklace in Arizona and a sundress for myself (and one for my daughter) in San Diego.

messy minimalist souvenir necklaceYou could argue those are souvenirs –and perhaps they are– but here’s the kicker: I didn’t purchase them as souvenirs, I purchased them because I loved them, and I would have purchased them from my hometown if it were an option.

So what DID I come back with, if not souvenirs? A handful of incredible memories and a phone full of photographs of time well spent with my family – Another thing I forgot I was missing from my nearly 8-year traveling hiatus.


Click here to listen to an audio version of this blog post!

Traveling Without Souvenirs was last modified: March 9th, 2018 by Messy Minimalist
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4 comments

Lily March 11, 2018 at 7:05 pm

Omg! I wondered where you’d gone??! I’ve been giving up YouTube since Feb 13th for Lent so have been anxiously awaiting your blog posts… Love the idea of having nothing but memories from trips! Last year I went to Paris and for the First Time Ever I spent under budget on gifts and souvenirs etc, etc. bringing home. I realise now it’s all clutter except the things that really make you remember; for me this is old flyers, leaflets, tickets and so on which I scrapbook to create my own personal memento instead of remembering what every other tourist with the same somewhat cheap knick-knacks. Love ya

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Messy Minimalist March 15, 2018 at 3:26 pm

🙂 Haha, yes I’m back! We didn’t really tell people we were leaving, we just kind of planned it and took off! Gosh good for you on not bringing back too much from Paris. It’s been over 10 years since I visited there, and I ended up bringing back an entire EXTRA suitcase of stuff. gah! I don’t even remember what any of it was now, as I’ve long since discarded the knick-knacks. I agree, tickets and stubs can mean much more!

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Krissy March 14, 2018 at 10:03 pm

When I was in high school when ever I went on a trip I had an actual souvenir To-Buy List. 1. Tee shirt or piece of clothing, 2. Shot glass, 3. Lots of post cards, 4. A pictorial guide if possible, 5. A stuffed animal, 6. A pin for my collection (or several if I liked more than one) and 7. A “unique item”. One time this was wind chimes, another it was a necklace. I figured with my list I could cover all my bases. If I went to Universal Studies and Disneyland I tried to buy the whole list at BOTH places. Oy. Talk about overspending, over consuming and over everything! I don’t know what possessed me. I guess when I was a kid we traveled very rarely, and I spent a lot of time entertaining myself looking through old souvenirs. The last trip we went on- a 10 day land/sea at Disney World- I bought my kids bubble wands and myself a Christmas Ornament and 1 pin. We also got a few pressed pennies. I can go most places without buying anything and try to be very careful with what we let in these days. I have no regrets buying less souvenirs!

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Messy Minimalist March 15, 2018 at 3:28 pm

Oh pressed pennies! I absolutely love those for souvenirs! We didn’t get any this trip, but when my daughter is a little older, we’ll surely bring back some pressed pennies wherever we go. 🙂

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