What’s a Collection?

Your house is chock full of things and you’re being hounded by your wife or your parents or your kids to get rid of all your things! But is all that clutter really junk, or are you sitting on top of a mountain of items that can be classified and grouped together and showcased as a collection? A collection is defined as a group of items or things of one particular kind. And if you think that you may have a collection on your hands, you’ll be glad to know that collections are generally not seen as a hoard of useless items at all!

So how do you define what makes all these things a good collection worth the storage space it needs as opposed to a pile of odds and ends?

It seems like you have a lot of the same thing

It’s not quite a collection if they don’t all represent some similar idea across the board, or perhaps follow the same colour scheme or come from the same country. What makes these items form a collection could be something as simple as being made from a certain special material or different types of the same thing. After all, it’s not really a collection if the items are too random and don’t have a link to each other.

It doesn’t have to be useful items either; in fact, it can be a bunch of seashells you’ve picked up over the years, or even beanie baby stuffed toys! We’re sure you’ve seen Coca-cola bottle collections or a collection of snow globes or even a valuable collection of baseballe cards too! But of course the prettier the item, the more you’re going to want to show them off! And that leads us to the next point…

You have thought of or are already displaying some items

Maybe you’ve got all these dried up flowers in frames up on the wall. Or perhaps you’ve put up some shelving to keep your thimbles organized. We’ve heard of people who’ve got specially crafted cabinets to keep the humidity and heat out of your collection of Barbie dolls. But since a good collection almost always illicits some sort of wow factor when put together in the same place, why not display what you’ve collected!

It’s something that you’re passionate about!

Collections come and go, but the thing that makes a collection sustainable, is passion and longevity! Most collections start to look better when there are more and more of the item coming together in a group and while you need to stop eventually, don’t stop too soon! And if there is anything to motivate you, think about the thrill of the hunt – when you will have another unique piece to add to what you have. And certainly when you continue collecting, you’re sure to collect stories about the items too! That’s sure to make it all the more rewarding!

So don’t put off going through your clutter and have a look through your clutter and start sorting it out. Could be that it turns out that there are things that need to be thrown away but perhaps you’ve been secretly squirreling away pieces that are worth putting together to showcase to others. Maybe there are some collections waiting in your garage to begin a beautiful journey of collecting for you!