Collector, Pack Rat, Hoarder… I heard em all. Yeah I admit, I keep quite a bit of stuff. A lot of it was from my youth. I just took care of my things and valued what I did get.
Most of my friends had lots of Star Wars, GI Joe, Transformers and He Man figures as well as Atari and Nintendo games etc. I just got a few of each thing. When I wanted a new NES game or GI Joe figure, I saved all the money I could find. I used this lost retail technique called LAYAWAY. Eventually I got the game. It makes it worth so much more to you.
I know it is just stuff and I can’t take it with me. For me it isn’t about that. I just turned 40 this year and most of the old stuff has been out of sight and kind of forgotten. It has been nice to rediscover it. I have lots of boxes and bins full of old stuff. Its like opening a time capsule. I’m immediately whisked back to 1985 or whenever. I remember some of the play sessions I had with these old toys. Some of them aren’t in the great condition I kept them in while I was growing up. My nephews had a go at them shortly after I moved out of my house. My mother also tossed quite a few things and threw a bit of it in the basement. I got to them pretty quickly but for some the damage was done and there was nothing I could do. Bummer!
For me the process of remembering has been rewarding. I look it over, transform it again or whatever and then clean it up, list it on ebay and say goodbye. I’m a little sad about it, sometimes but I know it will only have to be put back into a box or bin and forgotten again. At least if I could find someone to value it, it might make it on their shelf. I have one of those too. And I know the space is limited. A good former hoarder or pack rat, No, actually a collector knows he can’t keep it all only the key items can make the cut.
I admit, some positions are revolving, they have to be. It is fun to own something you always desired but never could get, even if it is only for a short time. Then you clean it up and find it a good new home. Time to make space for a new thing.
My shelf is in my art studio. A lot of these things that I “hoard” are probably responsible for my imagination, they are likely the cause of my artistic tendencies and so I place a high value on them.
Everything gets litmus tested against the ability to fit in My Art Studio, even if it is a new item I buy to resell. I first think, “Will it fit in my studio and can it fit in someone else’s space?” I know my site is 80’s toy review. It could easily be called “stuff that I like.”
I know you like it too cause it is always expensive for me to get it or really hard to find. These are the makings of “popular items.”
Another thing I learned a long time ago about “collecting” anything if you have stuff but don’t really do anything to take care of it and enjoy it, you really just have an accumulation.
The most important takeaway here is that collections are meant to be enjoyed…
What do you think? Sound off in the comments below…
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with 80's Toy Review