Steven contacted Collin regarding a psychology course assignment on collecting and hoarding. Since Collin and I had just been discussing this very subject, Collin directed Steven to contact me as well. I thought it might be more fun (and embarrassing), as well as helpful to Steven, if I replied to his questions here. Feel free to put your answers in the comments (or contact me via email and I’ll put you in touch with Steven).

When did you first start collecting? Around what age was this?

I can’t recall a time when I wasn’t collecting in some sense… I come from a family of collectors/dealers; similarly I’ve been buying to keep and sell (including buying to keep for a bit then sell), even as a child.

Would define your collections as being orderly? That is they are clean, relatively tidy? Are most of your other possessions organized or just your collections?

There is little tidy & organized in this house. Things may be grouped (books by subject, figurines together) yet covered in dust… or just as easily, things shelved or boxed, but not with any real organization other than “stored”. Even household things, I fear, are similarly so: dishes in cupboards, but mail in piles on the counter; books on shelves, but also open and read on tables and nightstands; for all the vintage sewing patterns correctly stored, there are sewing projects “in process” on the sewing machine. This household consists of interesting, active people who live, create and collect more than we clean & present.

Around how much, estimated, do you think you’ve spent on your collections? That isn’t to say the total value (because some things may be found or accepted as presents) but how much you personally have spent in total. Also perhaps a monthly expenditure.

I’d have no real idea on this in terms of total… Not only is it a lot of years, but we buy things at auction in lots, keeping a few items for ourselves and selling the rest… Also as we have a very tight budget, we have no set amount for spending. When we have $20 we head to book sales, rummage at thrift stores, auctions etc., but it’s strictly what money is available to “blow”.

Have you ever gone in debt because of collecting?

No.

What would your reaction be if your home were broken into and your collections were stolen?

It would be similar to the loss of photo albums and family scrapbooks for many of my collections. Some, however, are less important. But who would want to be robbed of anything?

Along the same lines, what if your family sold off some of your collection.

Are we talking a truck in the middle of the night — while I am alive?! That would not be acceptable. If after I pass, well, I’d hope the kids would keep what held memories (some of my favorite pieces, those on display they remember fondly) and that they would at least know there is value in the items and consider museums and private collections rather than donating or even undervaluing it at a sale on the front lawn… But I don’t expect all of my things to carry the same weight with anyone else as they do for me, even my kids.

Would you sell your collection for a reasonable amount of money?

Reasonable being relative, that’s pretty difficult to answer. Some, yes; others no… Well, everyone has their price, I suppose, so it might be more accurate to say that there are some collections or items which could only be sold at above market prices.

Do you think you will ever stop collecting?

No.

However, part of my collecting is research oriented and I can’t imagine a day when neither the hunt for the object nor the desire to learn more about something ends. I think losing such interest and desire would literally mean the end of me.

How do you feel when people take a negative tone towards collecting?

One one hand I feel sorry for them — they miss thrills I adore. On the other hand, that means less competition for me. lol

But I also think lots of people aren’t aware that they are indeed collectors… They would rationalize a shelf of books as research, a stack lot of postcards as documentation of the town’s history, or a box of things as preserving family history — but still not say they are a collector.

How would you feel if you were classified as having OCD? Do you think there is a relationship between hoarding and collecting?

Having a special needs child, I’ve spent hours & hours in waiting rooms & reading about mental illnesses, and I am of the opinion that it’s all on a continuum. In this case, the need to collect and store is rather normal and the trait has direct ties to human survival. We see this in food mostly clearly.

While my boxes of junk are less important in that vital sense, accumulation with a purpose (from warn fuzzy memories to the soft and fuzzy definition of one’s collection) is very natural. Many, including myself, would say that these sorts of collections are about preserving history, culture, and the story of humankind; which is our collective survival in a sense. Yes, even if it is silly toys from your childhood or plates depicting pop stars.

I think the distinctions for a real mental illness have to do with awareness, perception, and how much this affects your life, particularly in a negative way. In the case of hoarding, the clinical distinction is made when a person not only feels too much pain to part with something they can’t state a need for, let alone a reason for having it, but also cannot see how this has negatively impacted their lives — or if they have, cannot find a way to part with the objects. In Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the action just replaces the object. (Grossly over-simplified, but the general gist.)

Sometimes the distinctions can be as tricky as “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” For example, have you ever seen Conspiracy Theory with Mel Gibson & Julia Roberts? In the film, Mel’s character confesses that he often is compulsively driven to purchasing copies of The Catcher In The Rye. He’s never read the book, but he finds purchasing a copy is one of the few things that makes him feel normal.

On one hand, this compulsion is odd, and certainly outside of his control; but on the other, his “habit” isn’t ruining him financially or otherwise. If it is but one symptom, it’s likely not such an issue. If combined with others, or taken to such extremes that buying multiple copies of books not read (nor likely to be read) affects the ability to pay rent, hold a job, interact with others etc., then it’s “a problem.” And I don’t just say that as the owner of books she may never read, including multiple copies of such books; I’m not rationalizing. It really is a matter of degrees.

Do you know of others who may have taken collecting too far?

I think we’ve all met people who have priorities different than our own, and it’s difficult to really know what “too far” is… If children aren’t being fed, if a collection has better storage facilities than people have shelter, then I’d say there’s something out of whack. But if a person prefers 500 salt & pepper shakers rather than the newest car model, or a vacation; or 300 figurines to stocks, or art another would call “an investment”; who are we to judge how they should spend their money?

Any final thoughts?

I’ve joked about all this, even wondered about it (for) myself somewhat seriously. I mean, what’s the point of all this stuff I have? Is it selfish? Is it crazy? But I’m beginning to believe that it’s none of those things because no one suffers for it. Not even me.

I can part with things; even if it’s only to sell one thing to have the money or space for five other things. I know the old line, addicts saying they can quit anytime they want to — they just don’t want to, but I feel in this case it’s true. If I stopped hunting for things and their stories, I’d be bored, and a lot less interesting. And I’d only read more to get that thirst sated. Who’s to say reading as escape, or researching in books, is any more important than questing for objects? Either way, your brain, soul, and shelves are full.

And I don’t mean, in any way, to imply that one collection is better than another — that comic books are less than non-fiction tomes, or that new action figures are less important than documents. Because the way I’m beginning to see things is that the act of collecting is about questing… It’s about finding more than objects, but answers.

Perhaps what we’re all doing, ultimately, is seeking the answer to “Why do I collect this?” And that answer is individual, unique. My answer will be different than your answer — even if we covet & collect the same “junk”. The joy is in finding that answer. Which is why collectors often change collections — they’ve answered one question and are off on a new question, a new quest. And this simply refutes the idea of a mental illness; for what can be more healthy than self-knowledge?

Now, Steven, Collin & myself would all love to find out what you think; so post your comments.