Souvenirs — Why?

~ humoringthegoddess

This morning I needed some hand lotion for these dry,  chubby hands, so I pulled out a mini container I found in my bathroom drawer.

It was a cute little bottle, square with curly-q lettering and designs. A hotel personal size bottle. And I wondered.

Where did I get this? Which hotel did I go to that I thought it neat to take my room sample? How old was this bottle?

Admit it. Many/Most of us have at one time or another taken home hotel soaps and shampoos and hand lotions for future use. Or souvenirs. And then promptly forgotten about them.

Why do we feel like we’ve won the lotto when we bring home a little something “extra”?

Why do we want to keep a souvenir of something that, half the time, we forget about?

I’ve been “downsizing” for quite some time now, going through and (hopefully) getting rid of stuff that I once though was cool yet haven’t looked at in years. I keep the kids art projects and that’s about it.

I feel like the little old man who keeps pieces and sets and odd items “just in case I need them someday” and winds up filling up the basement and barn with maybes.

I’m not a hoarder, but I have cleaned out the house of one. Twice.

I’ve seen the stress on those who are left behind to sort and throw away and pack away things that someone else at one time thought important.

I know people who have grandma’s china and grandma’s grandma’s china and great aunt Mabel’s china all packed away in boxes hidden in the basement. I know people with libraries full of books that they’re either read and never going to read again and books they hoped to read were either forgotten or not interesting anymore.

I know people who kept grandfather’s watch and grandfather’s broken watch and daddy’s first watch and uncle Pete’s watch that’s missing a stem all in a box inside a box inside a box stashed under the basement stairs.

All I’m saying is some things are worth saving because they’re important. That importance depends on the holder. Handing down an ancestor’s precious memorabilia is an honorable trait. 

But holding on to things that you never look at or never re-experience is a waste of time, space, and heart. Once you are gone, those who clean up after you will have no idea of the “importance” of all of the things you’ve collected through the years and will wind up sending it to Good Will anyway.

I laughed because I didn’t want my kids’ last memories of me to be some souvenir bottle of hand lotion that has never been opened.

Go through your stuff. Keep the important things. The meaningful things. That’s why you kept them in the first place. But you don’t need to forever hold onto some else’s memories. Recycle them, sell them, toss them, give them away.

Keep memories alive by sharing them with others instead of keeping physical reminders buried in your bottom drawer.

 

 

Published by humoringthegoddess

I am a writer of fantasy fiction that often surrounds middle-aged women. I am a married mother of two and granny to three, a BoHo Chic kinda gal. I am recently retired and busier than when I worked 9-5. But writing and blogging is my main game.

16 thoughts on “Souvenirs — Why?”

  2. The older you get the more you realise you don’t need that much.But it is not always easy to choose what to keep and what to give away.

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  4. No grandkids just yet. Though I am picking up crochet again in readiness (ha ha). I’m OK shedding clothes. I had to find good homes for 2 old ‘phones.

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  5. Of COURSE you keep gifts from your children! And Grandkids if you have any! My house has a lot of my kids stuff hanging on the wall from 20 years ago! For me it’s the holdovers from the BnB I owned 25 years ago and clothes I haven’t fit in in ages and donating 6 pairs of old OLD glasses still in my dresser drawer. THOSE are the kinds of things we don’t need to keep!

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  6. I am with you. Don’t misunderstand — I still have too much “stuff” in boxes and and in curio cabinets. It’s a delicate process, and it takes a lot of time. But when I look back on my life, the few times I’ve moved and had to downsize, it’s really not as hard as it seems.

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  8. I also have gone through everything, and I mean everything, with a fine tooth comb. Every so often I get a strong urge to purge anyway, and yet some little things had survived many previous culls. By serendipity, a sewing group lady asked for unwanted sewing projects to make into bags for fund raising. That helped to make that parting easy. And as you said, a few broken watches went that way too. The old shorthand textbook from the 80s and the college magazine with cringe inducing articles have also gone. Strange, when I’ve always passed books on and hardly keep any . I’ll keep the little letters/gifts from my children when small.

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  9. I consider myself a pretty tidy person, but I am dreading going through most of my belongings this spring/summer, for this very reason. I don’t want things just hanging around for the sake of.

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  10. This is so true ! But I too have been working to trow away stuff we don’t need anymore or I give it to a charity shop if I think it can be usefull for someone.

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  11. You have my heart. I’m trying to take a break for my kids. I remember cleaning out two hoarder houses and it made me think… at one time, one flash-in-the-pan time, these trinkets and games and cards meant something to the homeowner. But that was long ago and they’ve long forgotten about them. Plus, on a side note, some things DON’T keep well through the years. That’s why I’m sharing and sending to second hand stores things that are still pretty or useful — maybe someone ~else~ will cherish what I’ve saved. You never know.

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  14. I love the lotions and shampoos in hotels as they are perfect travel sizes. I take them but I also use them. If they’ve been opened, they have to throw them away anyway. I agree, we shouldn’t keep too much stuff as our kids will have to weed through it all. Moving to Spain I got rid of 75% of my things. So that helped. I’m trying very hard not to pile things up again. If I get a new book, I have to get rid of one. If I buy a new top, I have to get rid of one etc. It works.

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  15. I don’t take free things when offered.if I bring home something from a hotel I use it right away. If I do get a swag bag I either use the stuff or give it to someone else to use. Collecting random things ways is down.

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  16. Nicely written. It sounds like an easy task, but I find that, even after I have decided to discard some memorabilia, I hesitate. I am loath to put the stuff in the trash can.

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