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MagicToenail
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13 Feb 2012, 3:33 pm

Ever since I could remember I was collecting things. As a kid it was pinecones and rocks which I would paint. Later it was history books, then comic books, and then sports cards (particularly Ice Hockey, which was a short lived obsession for a few years). Now it's dolls, which is weird because I hate people :wink: It's gotten serious, although dolls are my only indulgence, it's threatening to put me into credit card debt. The dolls I collect are not so much Barbie but the more obscure Integrity dolls and Japanese dolls like Momoko. http://www.integritytoys.com/page/landing and http://www.momokodoll.com/en/index.php if anyone is interested.

My therapist says that this obsessive collecting is an Aspie trait. I think it goes a little deeper. My collecting only became really obsessive after I came down with Lymes and developed a tremor in my right hand for a couple of years, which left me unable to draw or paint, so I had no other creative outlet rather than collecting. I'm only now beginning to draw again and very clumsily to write fiction, so I hope that it can "fill a void" that collecting satisfies.

Any thoughts? Any other compulsive collectors out there? Doesn't have to be of dolls. Do you agree that collecting is creative in itself, or is it a purely intellectual exercise, or simply a greedy desire for stuff?



kestrel
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13 Feb 2012, 3:38 pm

I collect strange plants (mainly epiphytes, but I'm branching out a bit). I also collect original paintings I find at thrift stores, regardless of how much some of them suck.

It would seem that I collect empty tin cans (steel cans, technically). Coffee cans, tobacco cans, holiday popcorn/cookie tins, etc... I only just noticed this, looking around my room. I have stacks of the things and I'm not sure why.

I collect musical instruments, though not as extensively as my tin can collecting.

In terms of the plants, it's purely intellectual with a smidgeon of the aesthetic - as a result, but not as a motive for the collecting itself.

For the tin cans.... I have no clue.

For the paintings: some of them are actually rather good.



IdahoRose
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13 Feb 2012, 4:51 pm

I collect My Little Pony toys and Alice in Wonderland things. However, I decided to put a stop to it and put everything in storage after my room became uncomfortably cluttered with them. I kind of miss having my collections out in the open, but on the other hand, I hated feeling smothered by them.

I also collect books and DVDs. The thing that irritates me about these collections is that I almost never use them after buying them. As a result, most of them are sitting in storage too.



Fudo
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13 Feb 2012, 4:53 pm

Kinda.. And a bit of a hoarder, but on a break now so as to not lose a load more stuff. Mostly films because I would eventually get around to watching them but have collected books, hats, magazines, Pokemon cards, a few crystals, guitars and a few other bits and bobs... All gone now except the guitars but they're waiting to be sold



USMCnBNSFdude
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13 Feb 2012, 5:19 pm

Half of what I keep in my room are broken toys I've collected over the years but not had to throw away.



the_curmudge
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13 Feb 2012, 6:26 pm

I've had many collections in my lifetime: books & magazines, records & CDs, VHS tapes & DVDs, anything Hippie-related, mid-century modern antiques and whatnot shelves. Most of these items were just stored, rather than being displayed or used. I felt justified because I paid very little, in fact bargain hunting was my main form of entertainment, and I had no confidence that I would be able to afford these items on a retail level. I also needed them to furnish my private world.

It is only now that every available space is filled, and then some, that I can see the sick side of this collecting. My acquisitons are way down, but I still have trouble giving up anything I bought in the past.



AliTatt
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14 Feb 2012, 12:43 am

I collect almost anything cat-related. Books, figurines, knick-knacks, clothes, you name it. I even used to collect different kinds of cat treats but that was more to treat my cats and any other that crossed my path xD


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CockneyRebel
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14 Feb 2012, 12:53 am

I have only one word for you about my main collection.

ImageImageImageImageImage


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justalouise
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14 Feb 2012, 3:16 am

My mom was/is rather cluttered, so I developed an aversion to it. Also I lived with my boyfriend at his mom's house for a couple months (he became suddenly very ill and we moved back to his home country so he could get health care) and she is a severe textbook case hoarder. After that my aversion to clutter and excess became MUCH more pronounced.

The only things I tend to collect are art and craft supplies, but those are things I use both creatively and professionally, and I make a point to have them stored neatly and I periodically comb through them and purge the outdated stuff.



collectoritis
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04 Mar 2012, 10:15 pm

My nick.......fairly obvious :lol:

I spend too much on autographs and collecting in general , I just can't resist good deals or very rare stuff :roll:



Sparx
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04 Mar 2012, 10:24 pm

I collect all kinds of things... I've yet to stick to just one or two main focuses.



CosmicMonster
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04 Mar 2012, 11:48 pm

I collect a lot of things: records, comic books, vintage clothing and accessories, make up, sci-fi books, DVDS- but my biggest collection/obsession is make up and beauty products from the 1910s-1970s.
I spend almost all of my time researching 20th century cosmetics, scanning and restoring vintage magazine ads, searching ebay and other websites for rare powder compacts, or browsing antique shops.



IdahoRose
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05 Mar 2012, 1:08 am

IdahoRose wrote:
I collect My Little Pony toys and Alice in Wonderland things. However, I decided to put a stop to it and put everything in storage after my room became uncomfortably cluttered with them. I kind of miss having my collections out in the open, but on the other hand, I hated feeling smothered by them.

I also collect books and DVDs. The thing that irritates me about these collections is that I almost never use them after buying them. As a result, most of them are sitting in storage too.


Update: Decided to bring out my My Little Pony collection again since I missed it too much. I also started collecting Lalaloopsy Minis.