One of the themes that has been a part of this blog has been the constant struggle of what to share. Just how personal can one dorkette get? I have gotten pretty personal on here. You were all there for me when I momentarily lost my career and my marriage. I have made you all laugh and even cry a little with my nutty toy stories. You are all always there for me with your kind words and supportive ways. I truly appreciate it. That support means the world to me, especially when I feel as if I have fallen into a very dark place.
Ya see dear readers, there is a hidden side to being a toy collector. Sometimes we talk about this hidden side but more often than not we only look at the shiny fun aspect of toy collecting. The joy it brings is also met with a certain type of madness when you lose control. At least it is that way for me. I have been steadily collecting toys since I was a kid. I have amassed a toy collection over 30 years in the making. I feel very strongly that it is trying to kill me or make me insane. (Does breathing in all that plastic cause lung problems? I am curious.)
I have been silent on here for awhile because while I am ready to take pictures and share new toy stories and continue on with the saga of toy Miss M, I have a far more serious issue to attend to. So for the past month I have been working when I am able to at trying to organize and shape up my toy collection. It is not easy. I feel very anxious just thinking about all I have to do. However something has to be done. I am about to share with you some images that may be shocking and disturbing, viewer discretion is advised.
Part of the entrance. Magical colorful ponies great any guests.
I don't usually get many guests because I am nervous to share this with people.
On the other side of reality, a familiar set of play sets from All My Toys!
One too many toy Miss M figures! (Can you ever truly have enough?)
Dusting is a pain. Plus there are spots where nothing seems to fit or belong together.
Can't forget the dolls.
Nor can I forget the Marvel Legends. So many Marvel Legends.
A batch of freshly opened toys. I am trying to figure where they will go.
Dolls and more dolls.
These photos only cover maybe 80% of what I own. I don't even know if it is 80%. I could have taken more photos but the purpose for these photos is not to be some bragging annoying chick about owning all this cool stuff. It is more so a dilemma that I face. I enjoy my collection but I also feel like it is making me lose my mind.
Now before anyone tries to psychoanalyze me do realize I am a therapist so I know a thing or two about what goes on in my brain. I do not own all this stuff to fill some void in my life since I am single and childless. I also do not have some compulsive addiction. I am not going to be found on My Strange Addiction or something. I know my limits, even though it does not look like it right now.
My goal is to get this stuff in tip top shape. I don't like living like this. One thing I am thinking of doing involves throwing away certain toy packaging that I have no use for. I have plastic bins filled with opened toy packaging because it just seemed like a good idea to hold onto at the time. However it is serving no purpose!
I want to get back into blogging on a regular basis but I can't because all I think about is trying to make myself look like a nice sane person instead of carrying my own full season of Hoarders. So that is where I have been. I have been in a strange place trying to situate my life. It is not easy.
I live in that space daily. I see that giant toy collection daily and I am reminded that I have created a space that might frighten the majority of the people in this world. Personally I could care less what everyone thinks but this massive collection is getting to me. I am not sure how much I can enjoy it when it is this big. Not to sound like a size queen or anything. Ba-da-bum. I also realize that this particular problem is a total reflection of my privilege in a world that allows me to be materialistic to such an extent. However I am not trying to write a college thesis on this. This is my life right now and I am trying to figure it out.
Fortunately I do have friends that look at my collection and find themselves in awe. Positive awe. Not the kind of awe that is like, "Oh poor Michael, she is going to die a lonely old woman and they won't find the body for awhile because it will be buried under doll hair." I won't be that woman. I refuse. Although come to think of it, going out under a bunch of doll hair does sound pretty bad ass.
So this is what I have been dealing with. I have not gone anywhere. I just want to really take care of this massive endeavor before I return to my regular posting abilities. For now I will do the best to post whenever I can but do know I am still here. Unless there comes the day that I am in the news for being the local girl that died under doll hair. It would be awhile before they found me because all the scented toys in my collection would mask the stench of my rotting corpse for a moment or two.
I hope you are all doing well. Most of you communicate with me in some way shape or form but I do hope that everyone has been up to wonderful and exciting things. Also, if anyone has any tips on taking care of a massive toy collection leave your comments below. I need all the help I can get. Take care everyone, thanks for reading, talk to ya soon!
While not even close to the size of your collection,I can get a little bit of anxiety as well when It comes to having to take everything off display to dust and reorganize.I do find that half way into it ,It becomes somewhat entertaining.Finding out who will go where and what will be spotlighted this time around.I throw on Pandora and go to it.It's sort of like a reconnecting with your collection.
ReplyDeleteI have music playing too, but from my iPod. It helps a lot. The dusting does get to be a lot to deal with. lol I enjoy finding out where everyone will go but I also shake my head in disbelief when I find stuff that I forgot I owned. lol
DeleteAladdin's Cave of Wonders didn't have this many treasures!
ReplyDeleteAs morbid as it may sound, dying under doll hair actually sounds kinda cool. You wouldn't even need a pine box, just get Rapunzel and Lady Godiva their braids together and carry your corpse to the funeral home. Personally I plan to die in front of the TV with a bad movie in the player so that everyone will say "The movie is what finally did him in!" I just have to pick the perfect title.
Pleased to see you are doing well! I can certainly relate to wanting to getting back to blog more regularly. It looks like we're both on the same page, mining for new material with a refreshing housekeeping exercise. Remember, creativity is a marathon, not a sprint.
Take care of yourself too. Though I'd be less concerned about falling piles of toys as much as that skeleton hand you're wearing. It looks like its trying to cop a feel!
Maybe the solution is to have a bunch of friends over to play with all these toys, then meet together in a writer's room to type a year's worth of storylines! I'd gladly volunteer for that job!
ReplyDeleteI think your idea on how you will die with a bad movie is very interesting! I am doing my best to do well. lol It is not always easy, but I know I will get through whatever it is I am going through. That skeleton hand is trying to totally cop a field. lol
DeleteAlso we need to make this happen with everyone coming over! Playing with all the toys and then creating one massive story sounds epic. There is so much we could do with that. lol I hope you are doing well!
I see C.U.T.I.E.s! (Lovey Doveys might be my favorite set!) I see a Hollywoods doll! I don't see any Wee Wild Things. But maybe they are too wee to be seen!? I see a whole lot of stuff! I think if every single one of those things sparks joy, keep it, find a home for it, make arrangements that make you happy, get more shelves, get more shadow boxes, and curate curate curate! But if you have doubles or you have something that doesn't spark joy, pass it along, donate it, sell it. You'll free up room so you can see the things you love the most and you'll spread joy to other collectors. Who knows why we collect all the things we collect or why we seem to "need" them. I don't have a problem with that. Who am I to judge? Look at all my stuff! But if it makes you anxious or overwhelmed... maybe less is more? Just don't get rid of the Lovey Doveys. But I can always find a home for the Hollywoods. Just sayin'. ^.~
ReplyDelete- TJ
TJ I adore you. Thank you for this comment. The Wee Wild Things are on one of the shelves. They are there! In fact there is also one mint on the wall but it might not be in the picture. lol Lovey Doveys is one of my favorites too! Hollywoods are great and I love love love that Aurora doll I got from you. One of my favorite items. I hope you are doing well. I am going to figure out what to do with this collection. I will get it back into shape.
DeleteI adore you too! Awww, Aurora! She certainly is a special doll with her twinkling eyes! So funny how some of the things that weren't enormously popular can end up being so super special to us. Like everyone knows She-Ra and Jem, but only a special few remember Wee Wild Things, ha! Stay well!
Delete- TJ
You collection is amazing and I know how you feel about it getting under control. I auctioned off about 100 pieces last summer and I felt better for trimming away the fat and sticking with the pieces I really want and like.
ReplyDeleteI know it is coming to that. I have things I will want to give away but I also know there are things I will sell. I just have too. I can't keep up with it. Plus there are things I really want to open. I hope you are doing well!
DeleteI have a pretty large collection and I've often had similar feelings. Here are some ideas that you might want to try based on what has worked for me:
ReplyDelete1. If you can, designate a display area in another place. This has been one of my tricks. Not everyone has this kind of space, but I have both a study with lots of shelves and my toy room. While my toy room gets a bit cluttery, my study is a nice display room with some rotating collections or stuff I'm currently collecting. It allows me to appreciate some things on a smaller scale. It's also what I show to regular visitors and guests to my home who may not be ready for a shelf full of Plano boxes stuffed with Star Wars figures. If you don't have the space, even try one bookshelf for a collection or two in a prominent area such as your living room. You know, if that's how you roll. You'll feel like your enjoying your stuff, you can have fun rotating it, and you can focus on making the hobby room manageable, which is a big step before making it look good.
2. For right now, in your hobby room, focus on really nicely displaying just a few collections. Pick your favorites.
3. For the rest, find a safe way to store them. It looks like you have plenty of totes, which are extremely helpful. Over the past year or two I've moved many of my "less displayable" collection to totes. I can still easily access them if I decide to display them or if I need them for review or photography purposes, but they're safely tucked out of the way and look nice, neat, and organized. Once you get things back to being manageable, you can work out other details.
4. It sounds like you have a lot of packaging. Unless the packaging would provide safer storage for a high end item (statue, bust) or is considered part of the figure (like a One:12 collective or Hot Toys product), either A. Chuck it, or B. Cut out the elements of the package you like (art, bio card) and find a way to store just those elements. I trashed a bunch of packaging last year, cut out the card art, and put it in a small art portfolio binder I bought at hobby lobby.
4. Currently, I'm going through a process of trimming some things down. I also have a collection of toys that I've collected since 1986, so there is a lot of stuff in there. Some is sentimental. Some is part of a pretty slick collection. Some looks awesome on display. And, of course, some is excess. Go through and trim stuff that you really don't care for anymore down little by little. It helps you make space, it might help another collector, and it might bring it some additional scratch to by something new you are looking for.
Hope that was somewhat helpful! I know how it is to let the ol' toy room get out of hand (mine is less than perfect at the moment) but getting it back to being awesome is half the fun of this hobby.
I really appreciate these tips. I know these are going to come in handy. I really like the ideas for the card packaing. I used to do that, taking the elements I liked and placing them in a binder. I just have not done that in awhile. I really need to get back into it. I think that will be very helpful. I really appreciate the time you took with this comment. Thank you so much and I hope that you are doing well!
DeleteNo problem! Happy to help!
DeleteAdmittedly I'm among the people who look at all those wonderful toys and are just mesmerized (you and I apparently collect a lot of the same lines to boot), but I'm glad that you're taking steps to organize and feel okay about your collection! And yeah -- getting rid of old packaging is definitely a good thing to do. I used to save mine as well, thinking I might need it if I ever decided to resell items (pssh, yeah right) or just because the artwork was cool, but I realized that I was never going to look at most of it again and (unlike the toys themselves) I have no real attachment to cardboard boxes and crunched up plastic trays. That's more space you can use for other stuff... and hey, cardboard is recyclable! Beyond that, I have no advice for dealing with piles upon piles of toys. (But I could probably use some, haha.)
ReplyDeleteAnyway -- good luck, Michael!
Hey Wes! Yeah I am leaning more and more towards getting rid of the packaging. I am thinking already about certain items that have no real reason to be kept because goodness knows I will not be reselling anything. lol Now some vintage toy packaging might be different. lol I am glad we collect some of the same lines! You will have to let me know what you are looking for if anything and if I come across anything that needs a new home I will think of you! Thanks for the luck and I hope you are doing well!
DeleteYou are not alone! I think all collectors share your pain. There is never enough room and the debate over what to keep, what to store away and what to part with can be tough. My wife and I thought that owning a whole house would ease some of the woes we felt when we were apartment dwellers. But this whole house is filling up fast. Glad you are back and know we understand and we're here for you.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jace! I am glad I am not the only one. I am very lucky to have so many people in my corner who are there for me. It really helps. I am thinking more and certainly have ideas on what I need to do but it is now reaching the part where I have to find the right time to get it all done. Or at least start it more. lol Anyways I hope you are doing well!
DeleteYep. My collection is smaller, but it has gotten to a point where I really slowed down, and scaled down by buying smaller figures as well. Just watched a Pixel Dan YouTube video on the subject- LOTS of toys! It made me clean up a bit myself, and strategize on some further reorganization. It also made me think about what could be sold. It's good to be reminded, don't sweat it.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. I have been going through things and just really looking at it like, I do not need this. I don't even know why I have it. So it is a work in progress but bit by bit I will get it taken care of. Hope you have been doing well!
DeleteYour display looks great! Toy collecting can easily take over a house.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, and it really can! If I had free reign for the whole house it would be everywhere. lol Hope all is well.
Deletedont worry about trying to get your collection straighten out miss m for we all are enttiled to what makes us happy even toy collecting besides if nothing else if hoarders ever came calling on you they would proably spend most of the time wanting to play with your stuff or share memories of when they had a certain toy as a kid. for figured something like having to oraganize and do some over due cleaning is the reason you haven't said much of late .
ReplyDeleteHa! I can see it now, Hoarders gets derailed and becomes a season of lost childhood memories thanks to the dork girl. lol That made me laugh. Thank you for the comment. This cleaning and organizing is why I have not been on as much. It becomes very difficult for me to want to take pictures of toys for a story when I feel like I am drowning with all this stuff. I will get it together. It is just going to take time. However I will be trying to write more. I miss talking with you guys. Hope you have been doing well.
DeleteI REALLY should not laugh about your collection because the SECOND we get married, YOUR collection will become MINE TOO!! And THEN what are we gonna do? Cuz I've got a GINORMOUS collection TOO!!Haha!
ReplyDeleteJust kidding-but in all seriousness, if you have a Wyrm or Modulok you wanna unload on me, I will TAKE that burden away from you!
And actually, now that you mention it, YOU ARE a SHRINK! I should enlist YOU as my new shrink! We might have to do it via the internet but I TRUST you!! You may in fact be in the ONLY shrink who could ever understand me!! Well, if I can't DATE you, you SHRINKING me COULD be the next best thing! ( Wait, shrinking me? That sounded WRONG!)
I could totally shrink you and have you on my shelf where the toy version of me and you could run off and live happily ever after, in the Crystal Castle! lol
DeleteYour comments always make me smile. I hope that you are doing well. And until that day we walk down the aisle together, be a little glad this has not become your collection too! lol Hope you are doing well Nick!
YES! We shall one day walk down the TOY aisle!! HAHA! Can't wait! And your posts equally make me smile! So keep on toying in the free world! (Or, you know, as free as the world can be with Trumpy in charge!)
ReplyDelete