Enjoying Your Collections
† Thursday, September 23rd, 2010What is it that makes collecting so satisfying? The idea of collecting probably goes back to the times of the caveman. The cavemen went out collecting anything they could find to make their life a little easier. The clicking of the mouse to get what you need has replaced the idea of fighting off dinasuars for our food. What has not changed is the smile that lights up our face when we find what we were looking for, just like when ancient man found his next meal.
Primitive man didn’t have to restrain himself from collecting. The only thing that held them back was the environment that they lived in. In todays’s world we have to have artificial ways in place to keep us from adding more than we should but do we know what they are?
During a lifetime a person will have ups and downs with their collectibles. They begin at certain points in life, but the time and intensity involved often keep a person holding on to a collection long past real enjoyment of it. It is common for a parent to get a child started with some type of collectible that they enjoy. People have a tendency to keep their childhood collectibles stashed away somewhere in their house even if they are not worth anything more than the space that they occupy.
In addition to time spent and the energy invested in a collection, cost can also factor into whether a collection, or parts of it, can be let go. A collectible frogs set could be an example of this and a person will find them selves finding a place to display their latest additions even though there is no room left in their house because they spent $500 on something and feel they have to put it out because of that.
A great way to determine if a collection, or part of it, has outlived its purpose is to ask yourself questions like: “Do I still feel a positive charge when I look at the collection?” and “Is it displayed or is it packed away?”, or “Could I get more of enjoyment out of my collection by selling it on a website like www.myfrogcollection.com . Some items that a person has collected might still be be in the person’s background even when it is out in the open in their home. Sometimes we become numb to our surroundings, especially if they are cluttered, and those dusty dolls on a shelf may as well be in a box in the basement.
I was inspired to start my collection by an article titled Collecting Frogs – a Fun Hobby for All Ages but as time went by that enthusiasm faded and I knew that not properly caring for a collection is a sign that I had moved on and it might be time to let it go and in fact it would have been better to have parted with them 20 years earlier since at this point they went into the trash bin.
If you’re unsure about whether to keep a collection, one option is to store it for a while and rotate a different collection into view. If you’re tired of your tea pots but can’t part with them yet, box them and bring out your quartz crystal collection for awhile. More people will get to see all of the things you have if you are constantly changing them. As time goes by, you might find that you no longer enjoy one particular thing and that is a sign that you should get rid of it. Do not buy more collectibles unless you are willing to part with something that is already in your collection.
You can think about saving a collection to hand down to children or grandchildren. If you decide to do thism you need to realize that you had more fun searching for the collectible then you did storing it. Maybe you would be better off donating your stuff to a second hand store and teaching the young kids how to become a collector them selves.