There is a fine line between collector and hoarder.

[multigraincracker]

I have way too many small flashlights, at least a dozen. I really like the small good quality metal ones. 3 or 4 of those. But I'm too cheap to pay retail and buy them second hand. I have learned to never buy one at a garage sale that can't be tested. They never work.
The other one is old match books. I have 3 one gallon ziplock bags full. One of those items I feel will always go up in value as they don't make em anymore. Right now some do have lot of value. If you look on eBay some have crazy asking prices, but if you look on sold items, not many went that high. Some day.

[Mike 03]

1. Earlier this year when I was doing a massive throw-out project

I came across a couple of matchbooks from the Cliff House in San Francisco from around 1980. The matches still lit!

As far as collecting, I sometimes look at ebay for really offbeat items and I'm always surprised by how low the asking prices are. I don't know what is happening with collecting. I used to (and occasionally still) collect first edition hardcovers/signed first editions and it seems to me like the prices are dropping, not rising, except on certain authors (Cormac McCarthy is still expensive, but fairly IMO). Maybe because Climate Change and current world events are casting a shadow over the notion of the "future", or for financial reasons, I see books in particular, but other collectibles, losing value from what they had 15 years ago when I was a much more active collector. One illustrator I follow died a couple of years ago and the prices on his artwork have dropped! Complete puzzle to me.

But closer to the kind of thing you are talking about (matchbooks), I sometimes look at old Las Vegas souvenirs or Oakland As memorabilia from the 80s. The stuff just seems so inexpensive.

But in general, there is a buyer for almost everything. even old matchbooks. I found a night light on ebay made by Sharper Image 30 years ago that I always really liked and bought it on the spot for something like $25. It hasn't arrived yet--I hope I didn't get scammed.

[multigraincracker]

3. Markets change daily. Right now, not much of anything is selling.

I like to search "most bid on items on eBay". Watches seem to do well. Don't have to be old, just good quality. Working or not. I've traded broken Seikos to the local jeweler for some cleaning and repair jobs. He loves it.

[Mike 03]

7. That's interesting. You know how to get the most out

of the Ebay analytics. I'll bet you've seen some interesting patterns.

[OldBaldy1701E]

15. Oh no... barter???

The government spend a lot of time and money destroying the idea of barter back around the beginning of the last century. The powers that be discovered that they could be getting a piece of every transaction in the country if they controlled the method of payment. But, there is no exchange of representative value in a barter transaction. You decide that you will give them X and they will give you Y in return. So, they went on a propaganda spree, making sure to deride and ridicule barter as completely exploitative and predatory. They also made sure to make laws that remove the ability to get anything without using their printed paper. By the end of 1950s, large scale barter had been all but removed from our society thanks to the desire of the rich to stick their nose into your life so that they can take as much from you as they can get away with.

Of course, as humans, we are prone to taking advantage of anyone we can, so barter was problematic at best. However, it was an accepted methodology for centuries. It can be done correctly, just as capitalism can be done correctly. But, it requires serious restrictions to curtail those who would corrupt the practice for their own gain. And, serious consequences for those who would usurp it for their own gain. One cannot simply try to always rook others in the name of their own greed.

But, it is the American Way (r)...

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Collecting was a buzz.

People need new homes to buy collectibles. Not so much storage space these days. Magazines were a buzz, as were stamps, LPs, CDs. Only things that matter today are smart phone, gas and transportation, food. Unfortunately we're beholden to corporations for all these modern things streamed into our lives.

eBay is changing to high priced items and larger sellers. It's been a disaster this year.

[multigraincracker]

9. Electronic games and toys, which I have on interest in.

Setting up at flea markets might be the best idea. I just hate to barging with anyone, and sit there all day.

[Mike 03]

12. Excellent points. Fascinating. This is sort of what I figured.

You are really right. As a collector of old Blade Runner stuff, some of the spin off books and magazines about that 1982 film used to go for hundreds of dollars. Last time I looked, they weren't even close to that.

There was a time in my life when on short notice I had to move from a decent two bedroom apartment to find any place that would allow me to have a large dog, and ended up moving to a one bedroom studio. I had to get rid of half of everything I owned, including a massive amount of books (donated to the local library).

As I get older, too much "stuff" becomes a pain. I still have way too many books, even though I went through that process again last year and got rid of about 300 books.

I do feel that culturally we are losing something. But maybe every generation feels that as we grow older. But I don't see the great literary authors or the reverence for great books and authors of the past (or even modern, still-living authors). Pristine first editions of books written in the 80s by prestigious authors are going for about their 1980s cover price. It blows my mind.

Your post is really interesting, though. I want to think about that trend you are pinpointing. There's something to it.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. If hoarding disrupts your family or your space

contact your local mental health unit. As a descendant of hoarders I can say they are a bit tetched. Secretive, isolated, they manipulate their little warehouse in miniature to maintain a sense of power and control over an imaginary world. I think it's because something is not right in their interface with family and friends. Hoarding is a money sink. They couldn't use 10% of what they've stashed away. The tipping point is when hoarding restricts movement in living space, or fills the basement so it can no longer be cleaned, or the garage clutter has displaced its normal residents - the vehicles. Living with a hoarder, you need to have a conversation. The little gold mine should be auctioned to see if the delusions are true.

12 flashlights? 3 gallons of matches? You're not a hoarder. I had no idea matches have gone the way of CRTs. Makes sense. I'll hoard mine.

[Mike 03]

14. You know a lot about this. I've only seen the documentaries

and Hoarding is a really frightening phenomenon. I did know a person who really did begin to manifest hoarding. I realized it was the reason she almost never wanted anyone to visit she and her boyfriend. When I saw the house, I was really shocked. And it extended to their vehicles. I helped the male clean out his car and it was totally filled with stuff that looks to you and me like trash.

They go through this process every few years of renting a dumpster and throwing items away.

Deep down, I think hoarders are in a lot of psychic pain. In the TV documentaries I've seen, they are often very likable and sympathetic and usually have some major trauma in their past.

[bucolic_frolic]

17. Past traumas are the root of a lot of pain and malfunction in later life

Originally relegated to 12 step AA, now extended to Adult Children of Alcoholics and dysfunctional families. I think dominance and abuse-lite in families warps a lot of us. Substance abuse not a required element.

[Duncanpup]

5. I understand

Yet we may need the items we hoard one day. As it is better to have and not need than to need and not have.

[multigraincracker]

6. Always looking and can't pass up anything reasonable with vacuum tubes.

One of the reasons I get up early in the morning to be the first at a few sales.

[Duncanpup]

10. My friend I know.

My dear wife would ask how many fishing reels or rods do you need or guitars or such gear.
Only the universe knows the answer to said question.

[multigraincracker]

11. My wife is the opposite.

Everything I own is for sale. The stuff I really like has a much higher price, like concert posters. She won't sell anything. But, I love her dearly.

[rampartd]

8. my wife has flashlights all over the house

"in case the lights go out."

"a flashlight is a tube for storing dead batteries until you really need to see something in the dark" rampart sr

[Mike 03]

13. Ooops, I should have said that in my first post: You are NOT a hoarder.

Watch some free episodes on YouTube of that program from ten or so years ago: Hoarding.

There's a world of difference between having a particular collection of some item and hoarding. Actual, clinical hoarding is a terrifying thing to see. In the TV show I'm thinking of, some very compassionate psychologists help the hoarder to realize the extent of the problem and begin to clean up the mess. It's very dramatic.

I do think for some of us who collect books there is the "thin line." I was definitely on the edge in my younger days. If I really liked a book I would get two, three copies. One copy I could mark up, the others had to remain in perfect condition. Books also take up a lot of space and can become a fire hazard if it reaches a ridiculous point. But I was brought up to revere books.

I don't know what the line is for books. My rule of thumb is that if I begin to have piles of books on the floor, that's too much. One new book comes into the house, one book has to go out. Then I have actual collectible books stored in boxes, but my floors are clean and accessible.

[AverageOldGuy]

16. We are "downsizing"

In our 80's, moving from a house we built 17 years ago on acreage in rural VA to a small city close to our children.

Downsizing has led to some frank and heated "discussions."

I have dumped just about all the crap I have collected over the years. Down to one small 1X1X1 foot box that's half-full of books. My closet is almost empty; ditto for the single chest where I store socks, underwear, etc.. Down to one small handheld radio from my 55 years as a ham radio operator. Ditched the big computer for a laptop. Down to one small toolbox of handtools plus a battery-powered drill in small tote bag.

Wife refuses to let go. She taught high school English for 38 years. Our garage is home to 16 cartons of books, lesson plans, and the like that have been sealed and stored in garages for 21 years, yet, she wants to move them with us. Ditto for dishes -- we have six different patterns, 12 place setting of each. I can't count the glassware. Don't get me started on clothes, shoes, magazines (stacks going back 10 years). We have 2 of most kitchen appliances, 3-4 of every size of saucepan, skillet, etc. She ahs three chests of drawers, each one bulging. Last week I counted 31 canvas tote bags, not one of which she is willing to part with.

Moving into small 2-BR apartment. She wants to rent storage space at $450 a month to store books, dishes, magazines -- just in case.

Neighbors are buying our house, close on April 1.

I am at the end of my rope. Do not know what to do with her junk.

[bucolic_frolic]

18. There are some options, but one has to be willing to part with their junk

Your county Area Agency on Aging probably can refer you to a downsizing company or consultant to help you plan the move. Maybe an outsider would have some sway with her. They would also know of local clean out your house companies that buy contents but they are for profit and need room to make money, so you might expect 30-50 cents on the current retail dollar. Hope this helps.

[lark]

19. Seems your wife has an issue.

I had a similar issue, just not as bad. When we bought our new smaller house - 4 br to 3br - no family room, our stuff just would not fit. We went from 2400 sq ft to 1900 sq ft. We had quite a bit of antique furniture, most of it in excellent to good shape and both of us had way too many clothes and we had 300 puzzles. Husband pushed me really hard to get rid of any clothes, shoes and purses I hadn't worn in a year. Well, that was quite a lot! I got rid (just my stuff) of 4 black leaf bags full of clothes, 1 of shoes and 1 of purses to a church tht provides shelter for the homeless. We sold the good stuff - sold 270 puzzles (4 for $20 then later 5 for $20 are winning prices), then found a charity that picked up the stuff they thought was good enough and the little bit remaining went out to the front as free pickings/garbage.

When we moved, we had gotten it exactly right! Hubs thought one of our chests wouldn't fit, but it fit perfectly! The only thing we had to do was get a new couch, the old one was way too big.

Good luck with your task.

[Marthe48]

22. There are hazards to storage

I ended up with silverfish and mice in my rental that transferred with things that were in a rental storage my daughter used. As a result, I have to unpack and repack every box that's in my storage and toss the contaminated boxes and paper. So far, I've kept the critters out of my house. I also have to be wary of mold, water damage and keep a close eye on the way things are stored.

Your wife might change as time goes on. My friend taught for years and when she retired, her garage was filled with her papers, gifts, records. After a few years of retirement, she realized there was no use to keep it all, and hired a neighbor to clear out the garage. That inspired her to downsize the basement and attic. To some degree or another, we all hang on to things over the years, and then, one day, want to let it go. One process is slow, the other sudden.

[Marthe48]

20. We collected things over the years

I got to keep a lot of family heirlooms, and gifts over the years. If I described my early collecting focus on top of that, I tried to stick to pre-1920, and any bargains. For a long time, I imagined a fantasy auction, where I had at least one sample of every heading in Kovel's. If I wanted to collect one thing, like paperweights or Santas, I tried to limit the number of that collection to 12. I made the mistake of mentioning items like that to friends and relatives, so I have about 60 Santas, mostly gifts, and 30 paperweights.

I collected books, too. I got most of the books from my family's collection, and added to it over the years. I'm in a group on Facebook called Talking Antiques. There's a book dealer on there who helped me value a couple of old books I had. About 2 years ago, I started buying signed 1st editions from him for gifts.

When my husband retired, we started selling things on eBay. He really got into it. If we sold a brass apple for a few dollars, he'd look for more brass apples at sales. Just an example. The kids laugh their heads off when they're helping me sort. He passed away in 2017, and I stopped buying. The last couple of years we had together, buying got out of hand. I've been downsizing since 2019. Sold boxes and boxes to local dealers I knew. In 2022, I opened a vintage booth and I've sold almost 1400 items, out of 3200 I've added to my inventory. The basement and my storage rental are still full of boxes to unpack, but I am debating if I want to keep the booth. I make rent most months, and I think of it as storage with benefits

At least having a booth, I can see what people will buy. Advertising, 70s and 80s characters and decor go well. I keep the prices low, because downsizing is my goal, so I have some loyal customers who know they can get a bargain. I am only selling what I don't want or my kids won't take, so it's a good situation for everyone.

[Evolve Dammit]

21. Our depression era parents saved everything. It becomes engrained

[Evolve Dammit]

24. I clean my plate too..... almost never waste food

[Old Crank]

23. Match books used to be a thing.

You could get them everywhere it seemed.
I always had a few, usually in a quart sized Chrystal jar. Now with fewer smokers the need isn't there.
But I would like a couple to light some fireworks at new years. The butane lighters I have fail below freezing.
Most of matches in books went bad as they slowly absorbed water from the air.

I got rid of a few hundred books. I now have less than 20 in paper. 10 are cook books. The move to Europe made us cut down significantly. Thesame with a lot of kitchen stuff. Gets pricey to ship. All powered stuff gotten rid of. 60 cycle 110 equipment doesn't like 50 cycle 240. Not willing to deal with a bunch of transformers. Now after 9 years we have too much stuff again.. Time to move....

[marble falls]

25. A collector put tags on it, a hoarder keeps tags on it.

[Keepthesoulalive]

26. Being a collector of certain items requires a certain amount of learning.

You join clubs, you travel to swap meets, you meet people who can teach values and you have fun amassing something that gives you joy. When you are saving string for wrapping boxes to mail, you know you have a problem.

[rickford66]

27. I have at least a thousand business cards.

A couple dozen interesting pocket and fishing knives. Every piece of scrap molding left over from building my house (amazing how I've needed some over the years. Every wheat penny I found since 1971 (includes a 55 double die). Every nut, bolt and fastener I can strip from something I'm throwing out (ya never know).

[Fiendish Thingy]

28. I tell my kids it's not hoarding, it's a collection, as long as it's tidy and organized

I have thousands of CD’s, DVD’s and records, but they are all organized in cabinets.

The walls of my music and video rooms are covered with framed autographs and music and movie posters. I have several curio cabinets filled with Beatles memorabilia, old toys and more.I have a room with numerous framed pieces of animation art. My wife has two China cabinets filled with antique tea cups and other China.

Also in my music room, I have about a dozen guitars/basses on display, along with amps and other recording equipment. My instrument collection is constantly evolving, as I sell or trade instruments I’m not using much for new ones I enjoy more.

In my garage, I have several boxes of old toys (especially Star Wars toys from the 90’s/early 2000’s) that I sell at the annual mini Comic-Con here in town.

So, like I tell my adult kids, it’s not hoarding if it’s organized (and I make some money on the side occasionally). Right?

I am in the process of cataloging the current market values for the big ticket items, and have pledged to my kids I will sell or otherwise dispose of the extraneous stuff that wouldn’t even sell at an estate sale, before I die.