When does a large collection become hoarding?

I think when it gets to the point where you have so many you don't even waste time trying to show display them I think that's when it becomes a problem.

 

So, kinda like me. I haven't taken photos of any of my dolls for a while now, and a lot of them ended up in storage right now, because I simply don't have the time and energy to take them out, play with them, take pics, etc etc. There's even a couple of dolls here that I have yet to actually open, aside from the cursory glance-over when I first got them.

And now I'm waiting for two more dolls. One from Volks, and one from Iplehouse. But I don't think it's a problem per se. I still enjoy dolls, and I still like "having" them. But to actually go and have fun with them...maybe in due time.

 

I am confused on the term "obsessed"; really enjoying, liking, and seeking to acquire bjds does not have to be an obsession. It sure needs to be a serious interest unless there is a money tree in your backyard. I am in my early 40s; both my daughters love my dolls, we play with them often. Our living room is sometimes a mess of doll clothes, patterns, projects. Dolls have a purpose, it involves compassion and caring for something small. Also, creativy and imagination. To be obsessed or hoarding would mean not eating for staring at your bjd collection to distraction or something equally drastic. Let's face it, everyone has intense interests; I have not met any truly "obsessed" collectors, though. In my experience people have fun with their bjd interests, so it is a healthy interest. Excess can happen in any area of life, it is always a balancing act. My real problem is most likely chocolate.

 

Oh, I agree. I so love a bit of clutter, it is cozy and creative. It is so much fun to visit a happily cluttered home; kind of like going back in time. A cluttered house with bjd stuff about would be a terrific way to spend any Saturday/Sunday.

 

Yeah! What's wrong w/a bit of organized clutter LOL I do weed stuff out mind ;D As for my dolls, I make sure I've got room for them to sit about looking nice - I don't want to store them away in their boxes cause I like seeing them in the little tableau I create for them.

 

*waves* -- that would be me!

No, I know you weren't referring to me, but I do have over 100 dolls. The thing is that in spite of the number I know exactly what and who I have, I can see them all, and I keep them nicely organized and on display in one corner of one room. I have a couple of (small) boxes of bits and pieces but they also are carefully stored out This isn't an especially large house, and we all have our little clutter piles and collections here and there (me and the hubster and two kidlings) but the house is clean and we have a LOT of open space.

It's all a matter of perspective.

Keep in mind as well that a collection that is half tinies takes up a lot less space than a collection of 100 70 cm beasties . And hearkening back to the original thread that yours got merged with - I also have weeded out the vast majority of doll boxes (pillows are next, the stupid things. They're stored but if you're not storing the dolls in boxes they become nothing but annoying dust-collectors!).

I don't show my collection on line much, but that's primarily due to physical issues in the last couple of years than anything else.

I guess my point is: It's impossible to make generalizations about "how many is too many" and "am I a hoarder" because every one of us is in a different set of circumstances. For me, the "how many is too many" is: when you cease to enjoy them.

 

I have my own 'doll oasis' room as well. It's the smallest room in the house but it's still a little crowded. ^^ I also call it my 'lady cave' and then laugh for obvious reasons as well as some less obvious ones. All my hobby stuff lives there: dolls, sewing, import video games, etc. The rest of the home I share with my husband but that room is mine and it's nice to have a place I can keep as messy or as clean as I like. You're not alone.

As far as my limited understanding of hoarding, I believe it is a form of OCD as well (I am sure this has already been discussed) and the severity is really a case by case basis. I think there are many people prone to hoarding- it's just when it gets out of control that it becomes an issue. "Out of control" meaning the cases you see on 'Hoarders Buried Alive'- where people are losing their children or being evicted by the city, etc.

I think many people who see the hobby, including well-intentioned mothers, have a hard time accepting the cost, time and space involved. I think that it is understandable but unless someone else is paying to sustain your lifestyle and/or living there with you then they really can't say much about how you choose to keep your home.

I guess since the time you started this thread and now then you're finally getting ready to graduate- congrats! ^^

 

Speaking of well-intentioned mothers, I collected comic books back in the day & when I went to summer camp one year (Jr High) she decided to throw them out. There was the 1st issue of Spiderman in there....this was ~ahem~ several LOL years ago...
My daughter stays w/me right now waiting to get her own place, so I have to keep all my dolls in my bedroom just now. When she moves out, I will have dollie set-ups all through the house! So exciting...

 

I think one gets the "hoarder" label until it actually negatively affects their life. If it doesn't and it's just a little cluttered, that person is fine despite how many dolls there are.

 

for myself - i sometimes feel like a hoarder even with only my 3 dolls (and 3 on the way). i have been "collecting" since 2004, but i just can't keep up with a lot of dolls, so eventually when i start feeling overwhelmed (and it doesn't take much), i will sell one or two. i have other kinds of dolls too - about 6 non-bjd dolls. and if i can't "play" with them all - keep them dressed, and photograph them, or at least display and admire them all - then i feel like i am hoarding. oh, and i also can't really afford this hobby, and sometimes when other needs come up, i have had to sell a doll or two. so really i couldn't be a hoarder even if i wanted to.

but i think as long as a person enjoys it - have a thousand dolls.

 

I think hoarding is not the amount of dolls or even the amount verse the space, I think this hoby can only be considered hoarding if the collector keeps all the boxes, bubble wrap, and ever bit of packaging and heaps them into a pile that gradually takes up the floor, sofa, kitchen table, and they can no longer find their dolls eyes, wigs, shoes, clothing, and whole dolls them selves.

With me its carelessness that makes it hoarding, just squatting on a bunch of junk that your precious stuff gets buried in.

To me, some one could have 80 dolls that take up and entire room, all the shelves, the computer table, the guest sofa, vanity mirror, etc. to where they only sleep on one side of their bed ( the other side is taken by dolls), and as long as its neat and clean, and the dolls are displayed nicely, its not hoarding.

 

Great topic! When I texted a coworker that I had ordered my very first BJD, her reply was "Hoarders, Buried alive..." Ha!
I do tend to collect... ALOT... and could definately see this snowballing. But for right now, I only have Ember, and soso should be coming in April. I don't have plans for more right now.

There are TONS of beautiful dolls, but I'm trying to stick with the mentality of "if I'm not going to be terribly UNhappy without this doll, then I'm not going to get it." I agonized over getting Ember for a week. ( She was on Ebay) but when the thought hit me that I would be devistated if someone else bought MY doll, I knew she was mine. And I've loved her every second since I hit the Buy it now key.

As long as you LOVE what you have, I don't think it's a problem

 

When you can no longer see the space you meant for your dolls. And when you have to make a new home for them cause they are all sitting on top of each other!

....we're getting close in this house XD!!! (good thing we have so many tines!)

 

Basically this.

 

I wish I could visit these cluttered rooms of bjds; and see the oasis, too. How great if I found out someone on this thread lives next door to me! I just feel too positively good about my dolls to ever think they have anything but a good, happy, and creative impact in my life....no matter how little floor space can be seen when we are in "project mode".

 

The differnce between hoarding and collecting comes at the owner's willingness to let go. Buying, selling, and even trading come with the hobby of collecting. But when you become obsessed with them that you "just can't let them go" it may become a problem. not, saying there's anything wrong with not wanting to sell,but if it becomes a problem of health or the state of your own home, you might come to that line.

 

I think it starts hoarding when you don't even know how many dolls you have actually.
I asked a friend of mine yesterday how many dolls she owns now, and she said she's too afraid too count.
But she also has a bad buying addiction, she's not buying because she wants to own something but because she loves the thrill of spending large amounts of money :/
She also has an eating disorder and uses the hobby to justify the fact that she won't eat...like "Oh no, I had to buy the newest Soom limited, now I don't have money for food this month. Oh well, bad luck".
However, all of her dolls have at least one outfit, a decent face-up and so on, and even have their completely own room in her flat where everyone has a nice place to sit or stand.

So I think she might be hoarding, but she still tries to get hold of her collection.
Unlike two girls in our forum that just buy everything from Soom (and other limiteds or dolls that are just "in" right now) and just throw the dolls on a large pile in one of their rooms.
I think that is really hoarding
And yes, a pile. It's just a huge pile of thousands and thousands of dollars in the form of dolls thrown on the ground.

 

I sort of have this problem. Do I count the dolls that I have for sale and am willing to let go (they wouldn't be for sale otherwise) towards the total of my collection? Do I count dolls that I'm selling on layaway (where they won't be "sold" until the layaway is completed)? Do I count the dolls that have multiple heads (open eyed, sleeping, half closed eyes) as 1 doll or one doll with 1 or 2 extra heads? Do I count dolls that are on order? Do I count dolls I bought that are shipped, but not home yet? Do I count the heads that share a body as 1 doll with X amount of heads or as X+1 heads with 1 body? Do headless bodies count as just 1 body or should I add a random floating head and count those as 1 doll? Do hooves that are without a body count? How about spare torsos?

How am I supposed to count my dolls? I buy and sell dolls, but also parts. They come in and they go out. For example I sell the body of one doll on layaway and buy a new body for the head from a doll company, but is that 1 doll or 1 head with 1 body on order and 1 body on layaway sale?
If you ask me how many dolls I have I would answer: More than 25 and less than 30. Then I also have some heads and other body parts for which I want to get bodies.

 

Well, I have been a collector for as long as I can remember. The only thing that changes is WHAT I collect. Right now I'm clearing out my old book and anime collections to make space for the dolls.

I think it's safe to say that "collecting" turns into "hoarding" when you are only buying things to say that you have them, rather than actually getting any enjoyment out of owning them.

 

I don't think the amount of money invested in this hobby can alone determine if someone is "hoarding" or not. I only have two dolls but I'm sure I spend more than $2000 on them, including the dolls, faceup materials, clothing, commissions, and ect. I think it's more about the number of dolls owned and it varies for each person.

For example, someone like me, who don't have time, two is considered hoarding because I don't have the time to even properly dress one of them. He need to be restring and repaint, but I currently don't have to time. I don't have time to, as Viscera said, "enjoy" them to the full extend, and for that, I refuse to add new member to my resin family.