Hoarding and Collecting
News
Friday 27 January 2012
We all have a little bit of 'hoarding' in us whether you're brave enough to admit it, or not! Join Kate as she gives us a little bit of insight into the life of a hoarder.
I’d like to dedicate this post to all the Creatives in the MC community who, like me, have good interests at heart, but don’t always get it right, and sometimes use too much space in their homes for their creating. On behalf of my fellow hoarding Creatives, I apologise to our housemates, partners and children for taking up the entire spare room and lounge room floor with projects and “useful” items.
I am a hoarder. I only discovered this over our recent festive season, when I looked up from my “sorting” to see my sister in-law’s horrified face as she exclaimed, “Kate, I can’t believe you’ve kept an old pants zipper… Is that a toilet roll?”
In my defence, I only hoard things that are useful. I was planning to use the pants zipper for a future (yet to be determined) craft project, and FYI, toilet rolls make fantastic seed planters. That was, until I threw both out in shame.
My hoarding journey began as a child, when I kept in a securely placed box every sticker my teachers ever gave me. There was another box for scraps of paper that could be used for future projects (but never were) and yet another full of all my textas and pencils that didn’t work properly (I have since thrown out the textas, but the pencils remain).
I’m not what you’d call the traditional hoarder. I like to keep my house tidy, and my hoardings are well hidden. I’m not an emotional hoarder. In fact, I’ve thrown out far too many childhood memories and 90’s pop cd’s. I’m a much worse kind of hoarder. I fit somewhere between rational and visionary hoarding. This essentially means that I have a somewhat logical answer for every item I keep, including a plan for future transformation and practical use.
A few examples are
• a broken outdoor chair that will one day be user friendly
• six drawers full of material that will one day form several floor cushions, handbags, children’s toys and maxi dresses
• 300 CD’s that will one day make for wonderful art pieces on someone else’s wall
I blame my heritage. I come from a long line of well-meaning hoarders. It’s in my Irish-Catholic and Scottish blood. I have thriftiness (and an unwillingness to pay for something I could make myself) running through my blood.
It’s part of the curse of being a Creative. We see the potential in all things. I know I’m not the only one in the Markets Central community that loves a challenge. We have the skills to make change. We have the right tools. But do we, with our visionary right-sided brains, have the commitment to follow through?
As they say in AA, the first step is coming to terms with your disease. So here I am, finally aware of my hoarding ways. But what next? Do I justify those ways by finally finishing a thrifted project? Or, do I hand my beloved To-Do’s on to the next hopeful?
I’m in such a pickle, for which there are 37 jars hiding in my wardrobe.
Tell me, friends, what do you hoard? What are some things that help you finish projects?
Leave a comment below and let us know your hoarding specialities!
