When does a large collection become hoarding?

I wish you a lot of luck with that one, dear, because I had the same thought. I was like "If I buy two, I'll be happy because they'll be a couple and that's all I want." 9 months later...I have 6 dolls and a ton on the way. It's sooooo hard to stop when you start this hobby.

 

This is a really intresting question. Especially since I oftern get accused of hoarding thing. But from a psychological point of veiw collecting and hoarding are very differnt things. I think what has to be taken into consideration is that people who have a hording problem will be forced to keep EVERYTHING. They will buy many tinny little things and keep even the packaging it came in, in the fear if they throw it away they might be getting rid of something useful. Aquiring many dolls and things that go alongside the dolls such as clothes and props is a collection. But I think if someone was keeping every single bit of packaging and paper and rubbish that had ever come with a doll or clothing order then thats signs of a problem.

But that said even if ending up with 20 dolls isnt hoarding I guess it could become a problem. If your being pushed out of your own house unable to sit down because of all the dolls or cant walk accross the room without tripping over a doll box your probably in trouble. But the way I see it, is if the dolls are all carfuly thought about rather than just bought on a spure of the moment "well I thought it was pretty and had to have it" basis, its not unhealthy its just a hobbie. I only start to be concerned when I see people with 10+ dolls who cant even remember there names and havnt taken them out the box or moved them from the same shelf in months. To me thats just having something for the sake of having it, not really enjoying it.

I think as long as I can remember the names of all my dolls and continue to find time to take photos and dress and design clothes for and write about all my dolls I will keep collecting them and wont see that as having a problem. But I would never get another doll if I felt I wouldnt have time to enjoy it or it wouldnt have a part in my writting and photography

 

I found more articles about hoarding at Suite101.com.

Compulsive Hoarding
Hoarding as a Mental Illness
What Is Compulsive Hoarding...
27 Signs of Compulsive Hoarding

There are a lot more than these four. I just didn't want to clutter a post with every article.

 

I've seen users on here with 40+ dolls, hell one of the girls in my doll meet group has at least 25-35 dolls!

Hoarding is constituted by basically not being able to live your life because you're overwhelmed by your hobby, like if you do OTHER things besides dolls (well you sew for them, that's productive) and some people have more intense hobbies (like if you collect cars just for show for example, one car could easily go over 7k...)

 

there are so many hoarders in my family (thank goodness I don't live with them, I wouldn't be able to stand it) but I really don't think that you can classify someone as a hoarder based on if they have other interests or not, or whether or not they can throw anything away. For instance... a hoarder in my extended family can throw away junk mail but not newspapers. She doesn't hoard anything hobby related but she has 6 huge broken t.v.'s that she never plans on fixing. She can hardly squeeze through the hallway because it's blocked off with furniture that she has no use for. I can't say when collecting becomes hoarding, but I know it when I see it. When stuff is piled to the ceiling and being walked on, that's a red flag.

 

A collection of 30 dolls or more doesn't look like you think it would. I have 30 and if you walked into my house right now you'd see maybe 3. The rest are boxed and neatly stacked in various places in the house. They aren't in the way of anything.

I don't think a large collection makes you a hoarder, anymore than owning 1000+ comic book collection or having a room for your toy trains.

Real hoarding is a mental disorder and applies to EVERYTHING not just one item like dolls. If you "hoard" only dolls you aren't hoarding in the mental illness sense of the word. You just have a lot of dolls.

Now if someone say- bought every Volks Williams in existence and never sold them so that they were the only person on earth who could have a Williams, then that would be hoarding in a different sense of the word. But that seems pretty unlikely.

 

I've seen situations where I think people are hoarding them, but they're few and far between. I just got my first doll last month, and I've already ordered another one. I kind of feel like an idiot for doing so, but it's not because I'm bored of my first doll, or that I just want as many as I can. it's because I was already planning to have two and ONLY two and they were both reshells of characters, this doll popped up and happened to be perfect. so I ordered him on the condition that he's the last. at least for a couple years. then I might consider a third. and so I'm clear I don't have any problem with people having lots of them. it's just not my preference. in your case I wouldn't call it hoarding at all. hoarders are usually very attached to their items and won't let them go for the life of them. if you're selling them so easily once you're not using them anymore, then I wouldn't call you a hoarder at all. my Mother was also REALLY quick to call me a hoarder when I had a messy room. which was stupid because it was all clothes I needed to wash and that was it. she's OCD as well, I think it's just easy for them to mistake a bit of disorganization with hoarding, especially when it involves a lot of the same thing.


EDIT: when I say I'm reshelling characters I mean OC's...I don't want anyone thinking I'm unoriginal or anything D:

 

That's a very clear explanation of hording. Being a collector, even with a large collection, is a different animal.

 

I don't really think the size of the collection is that important regarding hoarding. I have 20 and they're all neatly arranged, and actually take up very little space. I would easily have enough room in my house for over 100, and my house is quite small. I think doll collecting might be considered hoarding if one has dolls they no longer really like very well, but they keep them because they "might come in handy" someday, which is a hoarder mentality. I'm guilty of this with both dolls and accessories. I have some eyes/clothes that I don't like, but I'm hesitant to get rid of them because I think I may someday have a doll that would look good in them. I also have some dolls that I don't appreciate as much as my others, but I think, "What if one day I decide to get a good camera, learn to take decent pictures, and need this doll to pose with another doll?" or "I shouldn't sell him, because one day I may find a wig that makes me like him better". Thoughts like these seem really irrational, and they remind me of hoarders who retain useless items because they think they may need them at some point. Then again, sometimes the oddest things do end up actually being useful in the future...

 

The term "hoarding" sounds like another negative name for collecting. When I hear hoarding I think of that "Hoarding: Buried Alive" show on TV, except that of course is a very extreme case of it. I think purchasing dolls is just having a collection that you can showcase in your house and with others with pride. It's really no different than collecting other non-jointed dolls or anime figures or even other hobbies.

Dolls don't take up that much space and can be placed on shelves and overall just fancy up your house! I'm guessing though that people just call collecting dolls hoarding because of the price, mostly. Especially in this economy, others that aren't into this hobby don't understand the willingness to invest in "pretty looking dolls" so they become a little spiteful and say "hoarding"! Having 100 dolls seems like a lot because that totals up to thousands of dollars, but really it's just the equivalent of...100 pillows i guess lol, physically speaking. I honestly used to think like that too but now I have my own doll and I understand how expensive this hobby is it really is worth it C:

Whenever I hear my friend talking about how she's bought a box full of new manga books to add to her already large collection, I don't really understand why she'd dish out money for things like that; her room is filled from the ground up with books, and her shelves (which line the entire length of her walls as well as closet) are completely full... to me that's considered borderline hoarding lmao (but maybe i'm just being spiteful)

 

Hoarding =/= collecting. Collecting is healthy; hoarding is not.

I meant to post this a day or two ago, but I came upon a chart talking about some very interesting statistics about this topic. Click on the chart once or twice, and you can read what it says.

It's much more quantity than price when it comes to hoarding. Actual hoarders will collect used paper bags, or other things with absolutely no value. Not to say that price doesn't contribute to why non-doll people might find the hobby distasteful. Like you said, some people just don't get why you'd spend $200+ on something that's just going to sit there - but I think people would be more apt to gripe about price when price is their main issue, rather than accusing you of hoarding if you have a small amount of dolls.

And like I said, people tend to assume that they're experts on hoarding when they watch enough of these TV shows. People think they're experts on other psychological problems if there's a special on TV. People only look at Schizophrenia as being paranoid or seeing things, but it's a lot more complex than that. People also assume they know OCD because they see people washing their hands 100 times a day, but there's more to OCD than being afraid of germs, or wanting to organize.

 

...I'm seeing a lot of comparison to OCD in different posts. I understand where people draw the parallel as there is debate about the connection in a variety of current research articles.

I look at the topic of hoarding as a psychological illness as one of those things that is joining the culture of over-diagnosis. As I have noted in some of my current classes, it won't be long before we have "lost toy syndrome" to describe the apparent turmoil a child goes through and mild depression when a toy can not be found. I'm not saying that compulsive hoarding is not a disorder. It is obvious that someone who has walled themselves in by possessions to the point that functioning is impossible has a need for professional assistance. However, it is my belief that hoarding is more a manifestation of the inner psychological conflict. To me, hoarding is a visible symptom, but it is now being labeled as a condition unto itself.

That is not to say that compulsive hoarding does not register as a "disorder" as there are psychological components to the compulsive need for gaining/keeping items. However, the compulsion behind hoarding is not to be confused with the term "obsessive compulsive disorder." It is a compulsive disorder, but it is not on the same level as OCD. Saxena, Maidment, Vapnik, Golden, Rishwain, Rosen, Tarlow, and Bystritsky believe that compulsive hoarders have a "more disabling variant of OCD" (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11838621 Note: You will only see the abstract unless you have access through EBSCOhost or another form where they offer the full paper).

Frost, Steketee, Williams, and Warren state that 'hoarding' by itself is "a component of obsessive compulsive disorder" (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11060936 ). By this note, we can gather that one can hoard without having compulsive hoarding. Research also strongly seems to suggest - and I have many more resources than the two I have posted related to this commentary- that obsessive hoarding should be distinguished from obsessive compulsive disorder (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18483134 ).


Differentiation comes between variants when the hoarding impedes the functioning of the individual. Generally, any time you talk about a disorder, we are talking about a condition that impedes functioning. I know plenty of people who hoard objects to the point that it can look like clutter, but I personally have only known one compulsive hoarder who happened to be a mathematical genius at the first university I attended. You could not walk into his office for his collection of glass coke bottles and newspapers.

As for ball jointed dolls, provided that your collection is not keeping you from functioning normally, I would argue that a large collection does not equate itself with compulsive hoarding. However, collecting can become obsessive. I will not make the claim as to what number is appropriate as individual owners should make the decision for themselves.

Regardless, when your collection has taken over your life, then we edge over into murky ground. I would propose that anyone who 'collects' asks themselves the question, "Why do I want this?" and take the time to thoroughly examine internal motivators. You may not be hoarding, but you may choose objects for reasons that surprise you.

Now less seriously...

As for me? I have two darlings and an overflowing basket of junk that goes with them. I would love a third one, but can ill afford it. While to be honest, I stare open-mouthed at people with large collections, it is not because I'm passing judgment on them. Sometimes I'm just flat out curious about how the heck they can afford it (Ask Kiya how many times I've gone, "How in the world...?!" at her). Sometimes I stare open mouthed because a room full of eyeballs staring at me freaks me out just a bit. I am surprised though how my BJDs don't affect me with their eyes. Maybe it's because I'm used to them? Familiar faces! Y'know... Though clothes are very present (we've been spoiled by gifts from Chris' "Uncle Wicked" whom you know as WickedStitchery, and beautiful things that Kiya sent us), shoes are not. ...We are a barefoot clan of happy human and resin individuals. ...*chuckles.*... Well, they're barefoot unless they fight over the one pair of boots that preceded them all. I have shoes. ...Lots of happy, happy shoes. Am I hoarding them?
Hmmm.... Well, my shoes and my doll darlings are treated like the lovely objects that they are. They are used, loved, admired, and put away when necessary. Last I checked, I function just fine.

 

I see 'hoarding' as more of a junk trait. People who keep stacks and stacks of full magazines they have read years ago, even broken things that cannot be fixed. I have a friend I always tease for hoarding, he would even keep the broken tooth of a comb! I would question him on that and in the end I would have to throw it away for him, because he just can't bring himself to.

I have a lot of dolls but I collect them.

 

There is not quantitative for how many dolls, how much money is spent, or any of that nonsense to define when someone is a hoarder of these dolls. I could successfully have a collection of every single Volks release ever, -if- I had that unlimited money, and still not look like hoarder. It takes organization skills, one of the first things that goes when someone suffers from complexes like hoarding. It's a trade mark.

Although I have enjoyed reading some of the personal experiences of those who dealt first-hand with a complex like hoarding, I just feel uncomfortable with this debate on this forum. It is passing judgement on a subject few of us know anything about. This is a discussion for the psychological community, not a community of a doll owners who still bicker about whether or not there is a Volks conspiracy going around.

 

I do not think 14 dolls is an excessive number or could be considered hoarding. I only own one BJD myself, so he ( a Mir Elfdoll) doesn't take up much space. I admit his wardrobe is larger than mine and I admit that I own a "hoard" of fabric, but I have been sewing for 27 years, and it accumulates over time. Do 8 large plastic tubs of fabric, carefully sorted by color, seem excessive?

 

I really like this that someone said already "Collecting is NOT hoarding in the same way that drinking isn't alcoholism." ... funnily enough, I once had a friend of mine (who knew someone with an alcohol problem in the past, so she was sensitive to it) tell me I "might have an alcohol problem" because I enjoyed getting tipsy (not drunk) on Friday nights (and never drank on any other day or night or the week). Even when I explained to her that this was actually LESS than what most others would consider normal (most of the people I know get DRUNK on Friday AND Saturday, lol) she kept insisting... so, like someone said, it's from person to person, and there's really no strict guildline for it.

However, I'd like to offer my opinions on this anyway. I just wanted to state clearly that I understand that what I'm saying here may not apply to everyone, and this is only based on what I personally have experienced in my life.

First, the number of dolls or items is not very important, I think the issues come with how the dolls or items are stored or displayed (or lack of storage and organization). There can also be issues with being physically or financially "trapped" by the items, but the actual number is usually not "telling" as a collector could very easily have more dolls than a hoarder, but you can still tell the difference between the two.

There can be a fine line between avid collector and hoarder. Personally, I am a collector, I was raised by a father who was a collector of things and valued collections of others, including mine (he kept his collections neat and out of the way), and a mother who had a penchant for throwing away or giving away items when they "got in her way" or were of no more use to the family, and kept a VERY neat home (which I had to help with, lol). So I have a very balanced upbringing with regard to collecting things and carry with me both of these traits (thank goodness).

Here is what my office room with my collections looks like currently: http://www.flickr.com/photos/natsukigirl/5851328057/in/set-72157612135784688 I collect many things, so I won't bore you with the list here. Anyway, as you can see, it's organized and out of the way. Here's another picture showing that the room is orderly and free: http://www.flickr.com/photos/natsukigirl/6145616908/in/set-72157626643178741 All my boxes that dolls came in are organized on those shelves (I use them to store my doll clothing as well!) and shipping materials are stored in that mirrored closet. This is to establish what I think a collector's stuff would look like... "a lot" but organized, and the floor is clear... etc, and so on.

Normally, I'm actually not the neatest person in the world. Our bedroom and kitchen are usually in some state of disarray lol, but with my collections I'm highly organized. Like my mother I often will get fed up with items and just want to toss them out (clothing I don't need anymore, and the recycling if someone doesn't deal with it and get it out of my house, lol). Is usually throw or give away a lot of things when I move, and thus, I LOVE moving. XD lol Likewise, if I lose interest in a doll, I just want it out, so I can make room for something else, or make room to reorganize.

In contrast, the woman my husband dated before meeting me was a hoarder. He says it bothered him to live like that with her, and he, having lived with both types of collector -her and I- can attest that you can "know it when you see it" between a collector and a hoarder. This speaks to what someone said about "person to person basis" you can't really guideline all of it... but you can usually know it when you see it, or experience it. She was not like the ones on TV, she probably had about as much (or possibly less) things than me (she was not a doll person, but she collector other things, like newspapers and other items) but the main theme he mentioned that happened with her and her things was two main qualities: a) she was disorganized and let the items block walkways and other common areas of the living space and b) she would store things away for "later" and never get around to them.

I (and I strongly believe from my own experience with other collectors and hoarders) do not have these two problems, a and b. With that, here are my own personal guidelines on the matter (I stress personal, because these are merely my opinions, and I don't pretend to know everyone)... posed here as questions:

Note * Disregard clothing and boxes... those things are "on hand" and usually out of sight, in case you want to change an outfit or ship a doll somewhere later (keeping the box can help with the resale value as well, so it makes logical sense to keep them, and not an emotional hoarding of the box).

Regarding just the dolls:

- Are ALL of the dolls able to be displayed neatly [if not displayed, then used in the capacity that you original intended them for when you got them?] (it's ok if they are in different rooms or displayed or used in different ways)?

my personal notion on this: a hoarder may keep dolls just to keep/have them, and sock them away without rhyme or reason and not look at them, but can't part with them because of attachment. A collector would want all the items to be easily on display [or used in some other fashion as intended originally] (or rotated in and out like a museum).

- If not on display, is the collection neatly organized in some way? Do you rotate dolls during the year so that you can view all of them?

my personal notion on this: a hoarder may not be very organized, they might be in it for the emotional need to have and keep dolls, the collector on the other hand would have some organized way of appreciating all the dolls while keeping them organized. the collector would not let the items take up functional space in the home, but the hoarder might.

- If you have not looked at a doll in over a year, does the idea of selling it bother you? If so, how much does it bother you?

my personal notion on this: Unless the collector is keeping a doll for several years to allow it to appreciate in value or rarity, a collector could be easily interested in parting with a doll if they do not value it with them anymore beyond monetary value, the hoarder may have a hard time parting with a doll, even if they could use the extra funds for something else.

- If you are emotionally attached to a doll(s) do you also appreciate the doll(s) in other ways beyond the emotional? Is it special in value, looks, history, or future appreciation? (sometimes hoarders have a hard time determining REAL value, or they lose sight of the other values of a doll beyond the personal attachment... a collector most likely does not.)

my personal notion on this: both hoarders and collectors are emotionally attached to their items in some way (I am very strongly attached to many of my items and dolls), but the collector consciously or perhaps unconsciously applies "real world" values (such as resale value, renewed value after an OOAK customization... and so on) to the doll beyond the emotional attachment.

That having been said, I see nothing wrong with either type of person and I would be happy to be friends with either, and would even love to help a hoarder organize their items... however, it IS upsetting when people allow themselves to be physically or financially trapped by their collections. I hope that such a person can find the help to balance their love for the dolls with a better quality of life (not being in debt, and not having clutter all over, if that is what has happened in their home).

 

Glad someone had the patience to write this out. I couldn't have put it better myself.

Btw, I love your collection. My dream is to someday consolidate my collections like that. So colourful! And very very organized.

 

I want to add that I misspoke about the hoarder not seeing the other values of the items. What I should have said was... they misunderstand, or apply more value to certain things than might really be there. I kind of said the opposite... I blame pregnancy brain. XD lol

 

I'm a part of the camp that seems to think hoarding isn't itself a disease but a symptom of preexisting compulsive behavior.

Someone can have a messy house and not be a hoarder. Where as another person, who's messy house is the result of intrusive and compulsive behaviors, could be called a hoarder. It isn't the end result that is the disease but the means of getting there.

A little off topic but I think it has become more and more acceptable to put the blame on a disease rather than it being an honest character flaw. Someone who doesn't keep house isn't lazy anymore but instead they're "hoarders." This is inaccurate and makes it difficult to draw distinctions between those suffering from mental illness (in this case obsessive/compulsive disorder) and those who don't.

I would think a doll hoarder (versus a doll collector) would be someone who is unable to stop themselves from acquiring dolls. A hoarder would forgoe their health, ability to survive and human interaction if it mean satisfying their addiction of obtaining more and more dolls. A collector is capable of stopping once it is realized that complete ruin is imminent if they don't stop. A hoarder would be someone who doll collecting is a compulsion. It's a persistent need that intrudes their daily activities and has become the all encompassing focus of their lives. These are just my opinions and have absolutely no basis.

I don't think someone can be called a hoarder just because they have a great deal of doll stuff cluttering up their homes.

 

I'm sure I've said this a few times on here, but we use psychological terms too loosely. You can tell if someone's lazy or if they're a real hoarder.

Hoarders have an emotional attachment to their things, and might feel overwhelmed when pressured to throw something out. Lazy people are... lazy. If pushed enough, they'll throw things out without feeling bad about it.

If anyone's still worried, there are plenty of websites to help you find out if you are a hoarder. There's even a specialized scale for it.