How to avoid bringing clutter home from vacation

It’s all too easy to get caught up in buying a little something here and there while on vacation. Vacations have us feeling freer to buy that t-shirt we’ll unlikely ever wear at home, that scarf (because it fits in our bag, not because our wardrobe needs it), or that tiny sculpture that seems irresistible at the time.  Years later, you find these mementos lurking in the closet.  Instead of smiling at the memory, you curse the cluttered closet!

One client of mine has the perfect solution to the vacation clutter creep.  She sends herself postcards from the destination, written in the style of a journal entry.  She has a beautiful, soulful collection of these cards, truly immortalizing the moods, lessons, inspiration, and adventures she’s collected.  Here’s a sample line from the South African postcard pictured here:

“You petted a cheetah!  The landscapes took your breath away. The animals and the open safari were majestic.  The creative garden spaces inspired ideas for my backyard green and floral oasis…"

Start collecting memories, not things.

Do you already do this as well?  Do you have another way of very mindfully capturing the essence of something, instead of the something itself?  Please share in the comments below!