Is it Collecting or Hoardering?

I started collecting vintage toys over ten years ago. My first real job was working at an antique mall where I was surrounded by collectables and vintage items daily. It's hard not to start collecting something when you work in an environment full of temptation. Items that may remind you of your childhood or items from a completely different era that simply just fascinate you. My collecting all started with one tiny Smurf figurine....


Smurfs were a huge part of my childhood. I remember playing with the cute little figurines and watching the cartoon daily. At the time when I started collecting it seemed really harmless. I bought a few figurines here and there. Soon though it turned into over 150! Then the mushrooms houses came, along with anything else that had a Smurf on it. I currently have four totes devoted to just Smurf items. Only for the first years of my collecting I had it all on display. Fast forward through time, I moved into my first house and got married. After that most of the toy collection ended up just stored in plastic totes stacked to the ceiling. You need a lot of room to display an entire collection.

The Mickey Mouse in the photo is actually from my childhood visit to Disney World.
That entire collection turned into also collecting CareBears, Rainbow Bright, Wuzzles, lunchboxes, books, many little figurines, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Little People, My Little Ponies, Trolls, Garfield, PowerPuff Girls and many more items. (I think you get the idea.) While working at the antique mall the business of reselling vintage items really sucked me in. I sold items in my own booth for awhile. It was really fun. That meant shopping for inventory on a weekly basis. While thrifting I would find vintage toys almost every time. Making my collection grow larger and LARGER!! When you find a cute stuffed animal for nine cents it's hard to pass up. Looking back now I wish I would of!


All the things that I am sharing photos of are things that are currently displayed in my office. They are the items that I seem to still be drawn to. When we moved across the country almost two years ago I realized how much stuff I really do have. Especially when it comes to my collection. Sadly I "thought" I had downsized before our big move but I will never forget the day when the semi-truck came to our tiny apartment with all my stuff. I counted thirty totes full of just my toy collection alone. Please know that as I'm typing this I'm busting out laughing at myself. Thirty totes? Really? I have never ever considered myself a hoarder. But that statement of thirty totes doesn't help my case.


However there is a light at the end of tunnel for me. I am finally sick of moving totes and more totes around the country back and forth. I'm not ready to get rid of everything yet, but I am planning to downsize the collection. Some of my collection is some of my original toys that were mine from my childhood. I still have my very first baby doll and some of the Barbies I played with. I am a very sentimental person. I get attached to items very easily because of a memory attached to that item. Even though I know that I won't lose my memories. Of course I find that's not entirely true because over time we do forget things and it takes something to "trigger" a memory to bring it back. This happens to me all the time.



Lately I have been spending a lot less time glued to my computer. It has been awesome! Giving me more time to do things like go through tons of totes and make tuff decisions on who goes and who gets to stay. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be just because I've changed so much. Items that I used to be very fond of mean nothing to me now. I am literally just storing it. Cody and I are always talking about our future. Where the next place will be that will live, etc.. I may not know what state or city I will end up in but I do know I will probably have a lot less space. I think that collecting is fun. I know why I have always done it and why others do it. The hunt becomes rather addicting and a hobby. It's been a long time since I've really bought a vintage toy because I know my collection is rather large.



So far I have three totes overflowing of vintage toys that I plan to sell or get rid of. I also have a huge box full of vintage stuffed animals. I am very confident that there will a lot more that I will be parting with. I figure I shouldn't keep holding on to items that I have no love for anymore. Especially when there is someone out there who would really enjoy having it.



I even have Harry Potter Valentines. I guess I could mail them to people next year??? (I'm kidding)
My newest collection is the Disney Vinylmations. Geez, was starting this probably a mistake!!!

We got sucked straight into these cute little guys. Trading the duplicates you get is addicting. Once you take a step back from it you realize all this. But sadly by then it's too late and you own two hundred of them. hahaha The way I look at collecting is it's great as long as you don't let it take over your entire house or life. Having things to decorate with is pretty cool and fun. For me the main problem is the amount of times I move. I just have to downsize my entire life sooner or later because I've realized I'm probably just going to keep moving. Having a huge collection of adorable things just isn't for my lifestyle anymore. I hope that this proves that I'm not a hoarder after all. :)

I hope you enjoyed this post. It was fun to share. I hoped you picked up on my humor. Yet I think that hoarding is a serious thing. I've watched the tv shows about hoarding and it breaks my heart every time.
Do you collect things?

You can view photos of all my toy collection on Flickr HERE.
All my blog posts featuring Vinylmations HERE.