Re-exploring Key West

Monday, August 12, 2013

Hoarding or Collecting

If you have been following me for awhile, you know I like my stuff.    I love yard sales and I am quite experienced on EBay and Etsy.   I do lots of swaps and have  TONS of miniatures, lots of ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) and now I am doing charms for charm bracelets.     I have a small house (about 1600 square feet); the house was smaller when we bought it, about 1200 square feet but we enclosed a porch that added to the space and gave us a TV room and eventually for me a little art studio space.

Now why would I bring this up.   One of my friend has apparently been mentioning my acquisition tales to her friend.   It just so happens that her friend owned this house quite a few years ago.   Her friend  asked "Is Sheila a  Hoarder?"    My friend was adamant that NO, she organizes her stuff.  

Now what do I consider a hoarder.   I know there is a technical definition, but I believe a hoarder puts their health and safety along with the health and safety of their family at risk.   I don't do that.   Have I mentioned that my husband runs his business out of our home and has clients showing up all day.    It would be a severe problem if his clients couldn't get into the house. 

Now, what is a collector.   In my opinion, it's someone who collects items that complement a larger grouping of the same and/or similar items.   Generally, and certainly in my collections, it is someone who purges their collections from time to time to improve the quality of the collection.   

I collect Raggedy Ann's Here , snowmen Here,   doll chairs Here, dollhouses Here, elephants Here  and probably a lot of other stuff that I forget from time to time.  Here's a picture of one half of my living room (the other half is my husband's office)   Here

I don't understand people who don't collect things.   I collect lots of things and my life is always interesting.   Never confuse a Collector for a Hoarder.  

I'm giving you a little link to a YouTube video.   My sister tipped me off to this video.   She thinks I must have been that way as a child because I've always liked my stuff.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg&feature=player_embedded

3 comments:

The grandmommy said...

I love your collections! Your red wall is beautiful! Now I know...I am a certified hoarder! ahahahaha

Raggedy Kingdom said...

So sory about that; sometimes the truth is unattractive. Enjoy.

FabShabbyRoses said...

I'm with you! I don't understand people who don't have hobbies either. How can you not have a hobby? Even if you aren't a creative person you should still have a hobby of some kind. That just blows my mind! I'd be a crazy person if it wasn't for my hobbies and creative outlets!