Newspapers | The printed word is always fun, especially if it’s foreign to the tongue. Cut and laminate to make placemats. Use as wrapping paper or wallpaper. Line your cabinets. Lacquer to a piece of unfinished wood furniture (like your newly built bookshelf).

Bottles | Use as vases and candleholders. Keep dish soap in them, à la Martha Stewart. Or leave them empty, lined up along a wall. In grade school I knew a snobby girl who had 14 Coke bottles, all from different countries, sitting on her dresser. It was very Andy Warhol, though we were too young and ignorant at the time to appreciate it.

Coins | Coins from other countries are a good time for all. Keep them in a big jar, or on a pretty tray. Use them as chips next time poker night’s held at your pad. Glue to small drawer knobs or a picture frame. Drill a hole through them and attach to the ends of your blind cords or to a rope like garland and use during the holidays.

Ultimately, the best souvenirs are the ones that cost nothing. I keep of handful of smooth blue stones from a trip to a Grecian beach, where my friends and I discussed the end of high school and what the future held in store for us. A clipping from the Coney Island Freak Show newsletter adorns my bulletin board, a reminder of a fun day with the Boy. And my favorite souvenir? A small piece of chipped-away cement with "Peru" stamped perfectly in the center. I found it on a sidewalk in Lima as I knelt down to tie my shoe. I couldn’t find that in a night market if I tried.