Is There a Difference Between Hoarding and Collecting?
Do you feel as though your sense of dedication is misunderstood?
Is the smell of your pristinely kept shoe collection the sweetest smell you ever did sniff?
Do your shoulders reflexively shimmy when you run your fingers across your ever-growing plethora of 90s sitcom boxsets in the age of streaming services?
Have you become accustomed to the rainbow coloring of your tongue from your endless supply of varying water flavor packets? (I ain’t gon lie, water-tok is still a wild one for me to wrap my head around…).
If you at all identify with any of the above, say it with me,
Yes, Mrs. Kondo. Aaaaallllll uh dis, sparks joy!
As a people, we should be allowed to indulge in certain practices (WITHIN REASON, OF COURSE) even if other folks don’t understand it.
I’ve been not so slowly collecting art supplies since I graduated college in 2017. I started experimenting in so many different creative mediums over the next few years. My supplies quickly outgrew my bedroom in my mom’s house and accumulated into a mini craft store worth of art supplies.
For context, a single book left overnight on a kitchen counter is considered clutter in my momma’s opinion. This meant I needed to regroup and find a better storage solution for my ever-growing bundle of creative tools.
Did I downsize in supplies at all? Absolutely not. Instead, I upgraded to a little two-bedroom apartment that I only share with my doggo!
There is a problem that I will acknowledge with my addiction to buying art supplies. I collect them at a faster rate than I actually use them. I have an embarrassing amount of art supplies that I haven’t used in any project or even played around with. It’s bad, I know. I’ve slowed down my buying of art supplies thanks to this realization but I have yet to stop completely. I’ve been working on swatching all the supplies I have to fully get an idea of what I have to work with. As you can imagine, this process is slow going because there’s a LOT to get through.
I mentioned in a November diary entry, Not All Art Students Grow Up to Be Artists, how when I was growing up my family didn’t have money like that. I got creative with whatever I had on hand and what my mom could afford. As an adult with at least a little spending money, I’ve bought most creative things that have caught my eye just because I can. But then when I receive it, I have this fear of it running out and me not being able to afford to re-up and I end up not using it at all.
In this next year, I wanna shake off that fear and get into using everything I have. I’ve got a wide range of super interesting art supplies that I can make a lot of fun things with so that’s what I’m gonna do! I’ll probably end up buying more art supplies along the way but hey, things happen!
Now me, personally… I feel like giving into low-key or gateway hoarding is okay as long as it doesn’t have a tangible negative impact on you, your home, and the lives of others around you.
Long story short, I strongly REBUKE the title of hoarder. Don’t you dare speak or wish that upon me!
But I understand I’m not quite focused or intentional enough to deem myself a collector.
The title I’m comfortable with claiming is overly prepared gatherer.
We are GATHERERS! We don’t have “a problem” which means there’s nothing to fix!
That’s my story and I’m stickin to it!
P.S. Make sure you share this story with anyone in your life who you feel misunderstands your loyalty and commitment toward nourishing and continuously growing your gathered goods to their fullest potential.