When does a large collection become hoarding?

Hm...just downloaded the scale and filled in the customer enquiry, wonder what they think about my answer on the famous "How did you hear about us?" question.

 

Very interesting thread! I've read it through and I mainly agree with the statements that collecting is NOT necessarely the same as hoarding. So according to most of your definitions, I myself define me as a collestor and not a hoarder.

I have to admit though, that there has been a period when I had my BJD shopping impulses not really under controll.

I'm 23 and I'm in this hobby for over 4 years now. The first 1-2 years I was just a high school student and then college student and since I didn't work, I had little money to invest in dolls. Then I left college, because I didn't like what I was studying, and decided to work one year and think about what to study again.

And that's the moment: I finally had money to buy the dolls I've always wanted and started buying what I liked most, regardless if I really needed them or not. This period went on for at least half a year, when I suddendly realised that I was loosing the overview. At that time I had around 30 dolls. But happily, I was able to handle the situation and started selling the dolls that I bought just to have them and only kept those I really really liked most.

I've started putting my dolls in reletionships, so that even if I now see a doll that I like, I wont buy it if she doesn't fit in a relationship with the ones I already have. And since then I have a more balanced BJD shopping habit. My doll "family" counts now 15 dolls(3SD and 3MSD, the rest all tinys) and they are all ordendly stored in a closed shelf(Billy system from IKEA). And I've also put myself a limit of dolls to own, which is of 20

 

"Doll website" might be a refreshing change, since they probably get tired of reading the same thing.

 

Hmmm, I don't think the size matters it's what you do with it. I am a "collector". I go through periods of enmassing collections. This can last for a year or several years. I've done it with manga, videos, cd's, clothing etc.
I think what saves me from being a hoarder is the Minute things start getting out of control I purge. I go through old collections I don't "play" with anymore and get rid of everything but my favorites. I find places for things and just clear it all out.
I'm not an organized person so I Have to purge. I don't fool myself into thinking I can have more than one or two large active collections without being overwhelmed.
Being in school is bad enough having to attempt to hold onto notes, books and previous projects!

I think to be a hoarder you just can't purge. You can't separate yourself and self worth from "things". You don't keep things because you like them or because you have fun with the items you purchase. It's the aquireing and enmassing of stuff. Plus hoarders Say they love what they own but most of the time they don't take care of it properly or even remember what they have.
Which is why I always make sure I go over my doll collection frequently. If I find myself not instantly charmed by Any of them, off they go! I must want and care about all of them to keep them. At 30+ I just have a big heart. XD


Though I must say, I'm doomed when it comes to books. I need a library. @_@

 

Several people upthread have linked hoarding to the relative value of items, stating that collecting junk (stacks and stacks of newspapers, etc.) is hoarding, while collecting valuable things (like BJDs) is not. I don't see the relationship. Yesterday my local humane society took in 95 cats and 2 dogs from a hoarder. Tell me those animals are not valuable, even if she acquired them for free!

Being unable to let go, feeling anxiety when being forced to let go, and feeling compelled to acquire more, more, more (even when you have the same or extremely similar items, or when there is no room to store them) constitutes hoarding to me.

 

This! Plus what you said about value. I've seen Hoarders who don't aquire junk at all but have hundreds, even thousands of things that most people wouldn't even consider a bad thing normally.

 

I would say that collecting becomes hoarding when you refuse to get rid of something, even when you are not using it, and are constantly striving to purchase and acquire more. I personally think that an important question for almost everyone to ask themselves is, "would I really be okay without buying anything (other than groceries and basic need items) for the next 6 months?" (Note that this includes paying for items on layaway). I personally think that if the answer is no, then it's a sign of possible hoarding. Like one of the pastors at my church says, "You can't let your desire to acquire go haywire."

 

I am a yarn/fibre/fabric/pattern/book hoarder for certain, for me actually ordering my first BJD (SD size) has given me the impetus to begin to rid myself of the stuff I've been hoarding for years, sell some yarn to pay for the first doll and genuinely feel like I might actually be able to reclaim a storage area or two (AKA Dining room and Bedroom). I haven't felt mentally stable to deal with it up until this point but when I have energy to I feel like I'm making a difference. I may well go beyond the two dolls I have yet to recieve but I'd really have to go some to match any of my other hobbies ;-)

 

That's awesome! Congrats on getting things under control and having a system to maintain them. ^_^

 

I was called a hoarder AFTER my mother watched Hoarders!
I will be honest, I am a broke teenager who organized every single doll my parents bought me. I call myself a collector, not a hoarder! I don't have a BJD but I do have a lot of dolls (64 of them! I counted. Yeah pointers for me. 4 are Historical American Girls and 1 is So Truly Real) They were all placed so neatly around my room for years then suddenly it's; "You are a hoarder, you must get rid of these dolls! There are nice charities you can give them to."

My jaw dropped! This was coming from a woman who had about 6 pair of jeans, a coat (I think) and like 10 shirts in her closet she didn't even know about because she buys too much! And, I, the broke teenager, am the hoarder?! Now my room is (in my eyes) naked with only my 4 expensive dolls because I had to put the rest in the basement and throw the other one away!

What have I done to deserve this...?

 

Thanks kaschan502! I have to admit it wasn't easy but I'm happy I've managed the situation

Stampederidr: You've done absolutely nothing wrong and I wouldn't have put your dolls away, such a pity It's normal that you treasure them, above all if they were presents and you can't afford them otherwise.
People really should stop believe everything TV preaches <.<

 

i only have one but anything over 10 is too much i would say

 

my limit is 5 but i dont think i will get anymore after 2

 

This is not helping a horder. This is mean. Bordering on child abuse.

 

Counting the collection today... I have 17 dolls and just 2 more I have on a wish list. Since I only take 2 or 3 out at a time for seasonal dressings and pictures, I lose count of how many I have at any one time. I would never sell any of them, because they also serve as models for costumes I sew for clients. Hoarding? No. Marketing my sewing & craft skills? Yes!

 

While I have yet to receive my first doll, which is to arrive next year, I can definitely relate since I collect figures. I definitely feel only a small percentage of collectors actually turn into hoarders. For me it's when you reach a point where you buy things just to have them and once you have them you immediately move on to the next thing you "have to have". My grandmother is a hoarder (her house almost looks like the ones you see on Hoarders!) and I used to live with her when I was a child so I can tell the difference between just collecting and hoarding. As my collection got bigger and I ran out of space I sold them (as difficult as it was), but to me if you do not display your collection and have it forever hidden away somewhere then there's really no use in having it at all. Your collection, no matter what it is, is to admire, enjoy and love.

 

It's hard to say... some of the bjd doll is very tiny and they doll take too much space... so I think I will say 20 Tiny, 10 MSD and 5 SD ... I love them all... but 35 doll will be my max.

 

While I am new to the world of BJD's I had almost 50 blythe dolls before I became overwhelemed and sold off about 20 of them.

I think its hoarding when it has a negative impact on your life. Be it finances, or lack of living space etc...

Untill then the more the merrier I say!

 

I think hoarding has more to do with how your collection makes you feel than the number or size of objects, value of said objects, etc.

Some people are detached from their [massive] collections, which can fill a room but organize and sell their objects easily and at will. They're not hoarders...they're collectors. Other people are so emotionally attached to their collections, it not only cripples their emotions but also their relationships and finances, what have you...they're hoarders.

Then there's a whole human spectrum in between these two extremes...

 

I admit I'm a doll addict...lol...ok maybe not addict as in I feel like I have to have more dolls to survive or make it through the day or anything just an intense love of dolls. Always have but...I don't consider myself a hoarder at all. I at one point had over 80barbies(getting thinned out as we speak since I've moved on to other dolls and BJDs). I currently have over 30 BJDs and about 10 more on my list.They all have names (ok maybe not 2 of them yet) their own set characters for my photostories. Its a hobby that I enjoy and can share with people. I'm lucky in the fact that my boyfriend does not mind. He has his World of Warcraft (well I occasional play as well) and I have my dolls. As long as I'm not refusing to go out socially to non doll events or ignoring my boyfriend and coming straight home and playing with my dolls until bedtime...then I don't feel I have any kind of problem. They do take up a bit of space and right now due to no shelving unit to display them (this will be changed very soon) most of them are in their boxes.

I agree with what a lot of people are saying... its not hoarding unless you can no longer function in a normal way and have stacks of dolls that you don't know what you have. The shows on TV are the extreme cases of hoarding, it doesn't have to be to that point to be consider hoarding in my opinion. That being said I can almost say I hoard more fabrics than anything..lol. But I don't feel like I'm a hoarder because I know I need to downsize certain things, go through them and organize what I need, can use and what not. I think as long as you are aware of those things and do something about it then its just a collector. I don't "have" to have every RS sculpt, but I want them because they are beautiful and they are perfect for my stories.