How Many Tote Bags Do You Really Need?

So, a few days after the last note rang and the last film ran, we're all just about recovering from the lack of food, sleep, and healthy behavior that adds up to the SXSW hangover (or, as this week's guest page 2 author Kevin Smokler has termed it, SXSaRS.) And now we contemplate the real long-term impact of SXSW upon our lives here in Austin: the endless piles of free swag, junk, doo-dads, gew-gahs and promotional schtuff that was thrust upon us by visiting PR people. (Actually, mostly from SXSW Interactive: no-one hands out free stuff like a tech firm.)

Not that we're complaining (hey, saves buying Christmas presents), but while we have your attention, a quick plea: if you ended up with half a dozen free t-shirts that you'll never use, don't just drop them in the back of the closet or use them to mop up spills. There's probably a good charity store near you that could make great use of them.

Click on the image to see some of the more bizarre objet de freebie and lessons learned that did the rounds.