TangledThorns Posted March 10 Posted March 10 (edited) Kind of a touchy subject but thought I should share as a PSA. I've been clearing out my sci-fi stuff (books, comics, toys, etc) since 2020 that I've been collecting for almost 40 years to make space in my house. Either by selling or giving away the items for free. It's been mentally freeing to reclaim space in my house for necessary things and less visual clutter. I was also motivated to be rid of stuff since I had to clear out my mom's small apartment before I placed her in a rest home. My wife and her siblings went through same with her parents in recent years too. My wife and I agreed we don't want to put our children through clearing out our stuff when our time for residential care comes too. We also agreed not to buy each other stuff as presents and prefer experiences (spa, restaurant, trip) as gifts instead. Want vs Need basically. Moving forward some of the folk who taken in my sci-fi collection were practically hoarders. However they were not the typical disgusting people you see on TV with spoiled food and cats poop all over their house but toys, books, etc taking up floor space, covering furniture and dining table, whole garage and bedrooms. Kinda cool to see toys that were decades old but hugely concerning that they were blocking most of a hallway in a house that was neglected in maintenance too. My point is you have a huge collection be aware "you can't take it with you" and someone (eg family, friends) will be left with the burden of disposing/selling of it someday and it can be costly, financially and emotionally. Edited March 10 by TangledThorns
Thom Posted March 10 Posted March 10 It is a good idea to leave as little as possible to clean up for those loved ones we leave behind. I wouldn't call myself a hoarder, as my 'hoard' is put up in an attic space (and only a little has spilled over into the bedroom😋) and of course there are plans to build them all, but still, things happen. Both life and un-life... I wonder if anyone has contacted model clubs in their area and made any plans to donate their stash should the unfortunate happen? Would probably need to catogorize it all and keep up to date on which kits are started and which are untouched. But a good sized stash being donated to a model club, esp if they do the yearly shows, could help them out. Donated-on from there or raffled off at the show would help them out some.
Big s Posted March 10 Posted March 10 2 hours ago, TangledThorns said: We also agreed not to buy each other stuff as presents and prefer experiences A good set of concert seats and the experience it brings to you and your guests can be worth more than an expensive toy in a box in another box. Have more fun and careful not to overdo the collections. Those shared memories will last longer than plastic
Mog Posted March 10 Posted March 10 Two, okay three comments: 1). I remember reading or hearing somewhere that train collectors are having a hard time selling off their collections. Mostly due to the younger generation not being into it. Already seeing a similar issue with toys in that the new “collector” stores popping up around me are more Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh card game stores. 2). It’s amazing the amount of stuff (not necessarily toys) one accumulates over the course of life. We went through the experience of clearing out my parents’ house after their passing. The amount of tools, knick-knacks, photo albums, and papers there (with some of it originating from/belonging to us kids) was bonkers. And it’s not like the house was filled to the brim; just stuff and lots of storage space to clear out. An estate sale thankfully cleared everything out for us. As we age, it is a good idea to donate and purge stuff out. 3). When the time comes, I’d like to take some of my prized collectibles with me to the old folks home. But yeah, no way in hell would I be able to take even the half of my display stuff.
TangledThorns Posted March 10 Author Posted March 10 2 hours ago, Mog said: Two, okay three comments: 1). I remember reading or hearing somewhere that train collectors are having a hard time selling off their collections. Mostly due to the younger generation not being into it. Definitely this, it's a generation thing. Notice it with my own young children who don't care about toys like I did growing up. They play with some LEGOs and enjoy cuddling with their Squishmellows but couldn't care less about having the latest toy. They prefer digital entertainment with games on their tablets which is great as its less clutter and plastic that would eventually end in a landfill.
Seto Kaiba Posted March 10 Posted March 10 Having seen actual hoarder situations of the "legal intervention was required" level with my own eyes, I really deeply disagree with the characterization there. Being able to implement an orderly and visually appealing storage/display solution for your collection in your home is a matter of time, money, and of course space. Mostly money, if we're being honest with each other. With enough money, you can simply buy a big enough space and attractive storage solutions for your entire collection and hire someone who can do the installation work for you. Not every working stiff has the time to DIY an impressive storage solution or the money to hire someone to do it for them. That doesn't make them borderline horders. That just means they don't have the resources to do it right now. Using myself as an example, if you came to my home at this exact moment you'd find a pretty significant portion of my Macross collection and my model kit Pile-of-Shame neatly stacked in the corner of my living room. It doesn't mean I'm a borderline hoarder. I moved about a year ago, and I work 60-70 hours a week on average. Building display cases to house that collection in the space I've set aside for it is on my to-do list, but it's less important than other more expensive, time-consuming, and necessary home improvements on that same to-do list The TL;DR here is... don't judge other people like that. It's a dick move.
Mog Posted March 10 Posted March 10 Eh, I didn’t get that from @TangledThorns original post. But when stuff is “blocking most of a hallway in a house that was neglected in maintenance too,” that’s a bit concerning. To each their own. But it is kinda bonkers the amount of stuff that accumulates over the years of just living, especially once kids come into the picture.
shazam Posted March 10 Posted March 10 7 hours ago, TangledThorns said: Kind of a touchy subject but thought I should share as a PSA. I've been clearing out my sci-fi stuff (books, comics, toys, etc) since 2020 that I've been collecting for almost 40 years to make space in my house. Either by selling or giving away the items for free. It's been mentally freeing to reclaim space in my house for necessary things and less visual clutter. I was also motivated to be rid of stuff since I had to clear out my mom's small apartment before I placed her in a rest home. My wife and her siblings went through same with her parents in recent years too. My wife and I agreed we don't want to put our children through clearing out our stuff when our time for residential care comes too. We also agreed not to buy each other stuff as presents and prefer experiences (spa, restaurant, trip) as gifts instead. Want vs Need basically. Moving forward some of the folk who taken in my sci-fi collection were practically hoarders. However they were not the typical disgusting people you see on TV with spoiled food and cats poop all over their house but toys, books, etc taking up floor space, covering furniture and dining table, whole garage and bedrooms. Kinda cool to see toys that were decades old but hugely concerning that they were blocking most of a hallway in a house that was neglected in maintenance too. My point is you have a huge collection be aware "you can't take it with you" and someone (eg family, friends) will be left with the burden of disposing/selling of it someday and it can be costly, financially and emotionally. You can have all the money in the world, but you may never have enough space in your home for collecting everything you want. Know your limits and come to grips with what you need out of collecting. There are always shops that will want to buy your collectibles as there are many collectors out there with the same interest.
Dynaman Posted March 10 Posted March 10 My general rule is hoarding starts when space runs out. Having just downsized houses I know what kind of stuff can accumulate and am trying to hold the line on filling up the current house with it. In my case it is games and miniatures for gaming. I knew a person whose house was so filled with stuff it was risky to walk from room to room.
jvmacross Posted March 10 Posted March 10 Collector = A person who can easily hide their collection of stuff if they need to or want to, via dedicated "display and/or storage areas" within their own home.... Hoarder = A person whose "collection" is displayed and/or stored in every space of their home because it is no longer possible for any part of their home to be deliberately free of their "collection"... Both individuals have the same type of OCD...one is just more socially acceptable when people outside of their social network become aware of their "collection"... Definitely a fine line between both, I think that when you go from "wanting" to collect to "needing" to collect...you have become a hoarder without realizing it...
JB0 Posted March 10 Posted March 10 1 minute ago, jvmacross said: Collector = A person who can easily hide their collection of stuff if they need to or want to, via dedicated "display and/or storage areas" within their own home.... Hoarder = A person whose "collection" is displayed and/or stored in every space of their home because it is no longer possible for any part of their home to be deliberately free of their "collection"... Both individuals have the same type of OCD...one is just more socially acceptable when people outside of their social network become aware of their "collection"... Definitely a fine line between both, I think that when you go from "wanting" to collect to "needing" to collect...you have become a hoarder without realizing it... Otaku Terminator is a lot more relatable than the regular one.
Seto Kaiba Posted March 10 Posted March 10 2 hours ago, Mog said: But when stuff is “blocking most of a hallway in a house that was neglected in maintenance too,” that’s a bit concerning. Eh, maybe... I'd wager most of us have at least temporarily left some boxes sit in a hallway during moving, cleaning, or transferring stuff to/from a storage unit or new home or let a cosmetic/non-critical home repair wait a bit for lack of time, money, or some other practical reason. All the same, starting a discussion thread to publicly complain about the how someone you sold collectibles to in person keeps up their home and publicly shame them in absentia by characterizing their behavior as hoarder-like is some serious Karen-tier rude behavior. (Even if it is hoarder-like behavior, it's still rude to do it behind their back.) @TangledThorns should have kept this to themself, TBH. 2 hours ago, Mog said: To each their own. But it is kinda bonkers the amount of stuff that accumulates over the years of just living, especially once kids come into the picture. That it most assuredly is... but that clutter is part of what makes a home feel like home.
Big s Posted March 11 Posted March 11 31 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said: All the same, starting a discussion thread to publicly complain about the how someone you sold collectibles to in person keeps up their home and publicly shame them in absentia by characterizing their behavior as hoarder-like is some serious Karen-tier rude behavior. (Even if it is hoarder-like behavior, it's still rude to do it behind their back.) I don’t think he meant to do it to be rude or to call out any individuals. More as a friendly warning to be cautious and not to cross a line between collector and hoarder
azrael Posted March 11 Posted March 11 Let's just close this conversation before it gets any more personal. No harm, no foul.
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