Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Beloved collection or dust collector?

My grandmother had a huge tea cup collection.  It filled the hutch, 2 corner cupboards and over flowed on to the shelves in the living room.  She enjoyed the cups and everyone bought her more for birthdays and Christmas.  They were wonderful cups but at some point they began to over run the cabinets so that it was difficult to see any one cup.

Collections can be a great source of enjoyment.  However, collections also have the tendency to become overwhelming over time.  It is not uncommon for someone to start a collection on a trip, with found objects or because of an interest.  Over time our tastes and interests can change leaving us with a collection that we no longer enjoy as much. If your space is feeling a bit cramped with a collection ask yourself some hard questions.

  • What does the collection add to my life?  Make sure your collection is enhancing your life in some way.  Do you enjoy looking at when you walk in the room or has it just faded into the background with the rest of the clutter.
  • Have you outgrown the "collection"?  Have your interests or tastes changed?  As we grow up and grow older the things that we enjoy and value change.  Maybe it is time to give the collection to someone who is just discovering a particular interest or donate it to a no profit resale shop like Goodwill.
  • Is the collection growing from gifts?  Do you purposefully pick the items for you collection or are the items things that others have given you thinking that you still collect everything that looks like a frog.  Many collections get out of hand because people are given the items and sometimes don't even remember how the collection got started in the first place.  Ask friends and relatives to take you to dinner and tell you about the trip rather than giving another trinket.  I began collecting small snow globes a few years back when I went on a trip.  The rule for my collection is to only add items that I have purchased for my self when I travel.  No gifts.
  • Who will enjoy the collection in the future?  Collections are often very personal but sometimes people will save a grouping because someone else will want it, they think.  I always ask them if the intended recipient has requested the collection.  Often the answer is no.  They are assuming that the person will want it.  The reality is that many people who are saving things for others are not doing their friends and family any favors.  These gifted collections end up creating clutter for the unsuspecting receiver who then usually struggle with the decision to donate or dispose of it in some way later.

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