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Post by disarray on May 20, 2008 11:29:18 GMT -5
I collect stuff. Lots of stuff. Sometimes stuff I don't even like, but I "accidentally" start collecting it. Take my bell collection for example. I bought an entire box of bells at an auction because there was something else in the box I wanted. The bells were just extra, but I now have a bell collection. I don't even like bells. So my problem is I have all these collections (Beanie babies, porcelain dolls, McD toys, etc.) that I no longer want. They take up so much space and I don't really enjoy them. I'm having a garage sale this weekend, and part of me wants to just rid myself of all these collections. I want to mark them cheap and be done with them once and for all! Unfortunately for me, one of my main hoarding problems is that I think I'm wasting money. "I spent twenty bucks on this doll. I can't put it on a garage sale for five! Anyway, I bought this doll years ago. Who knows, it might have gone up in price!" I have such a hard time getting rid of stuff because I think it might actually be worth more now than what I originally paid for it. Have you ever seen that show, what's it called? Antique Roadshow, I think. Where people bring their junk in and then realize that the dish they bought at a garage sale for two bucks is actually worth $15,000! I know it's unlikely that my stuff is worth anything, but I still hang onto it just in case. Can anyone help me? Any advice? I spent hours last night searching ebay to figure out the going prices of beanie babies. Looking at the completed listings, it's looks like no one's buying beanie babies anymore. (Most had zero bids.) So I guess it's safe to sale those really cheap since no one's buying them anyway. (I'm thinking a dollar a piece?) That sort of puts my mind at ease about that, but unfortunately most of my collectibles don't seem to be listed on ebay. Without knowing what they're really worth, I have a hard time parting with them.
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Post by neveropentheclosets on May 20, 2008 11:53:37 GMT -5
Hi disarray, I can relate. I don't collect a lot of things but those I do... I collect American Girls historical dolls (yes, I'm 37 and still play with dolls. Not afraid to admit it!) I've managed to keep a decent lid on that one. But - my big problem is books. I have tons and it's agonizing to get rid of them. It doesn't matter if I've read them - I think I'll read them again. Or haven't read them - because I need to read them sometime... And I buy more and more. Sometimes I buy multiple copies because I've lost the first one and I haven't read it yet, or, worse, I forget I have it! It drives my husband nuts. But we've finally agreed to let this go while we work on everything else. We're moving at the end of the summer and there is way to much to do for me to spend an entire afternoon agonizing over parting with twelve books (yes, I once spent an entire afternoon and only had twelve books to show for the effort - and I almost took three of them back out of the giveaway pile at the last minute!) So now I put all books in the spare bedroom (otherwise known as the "Den of Doom") I'll have to deal with them someday... Which brings me back to your question. First, isn't it funny how easy it is to solve someone else's problem? The advice I'm about to give could soooo be applied to me and my book issue. But try to do it and I'll tell you a million ways from Sunday why it's "different" ! I understand your concern about the money. Both money spent and potential money lost. I think you've done the right thing with the Beanie Babies. You've researched and discovered that they are not the valuable collectors items they once were. One dollar each sounds about right. Don't think about the money you spent - it's gone, whether you clutter your house or not. And once you've sold the Beanie Babies don't torture yourself later by looking up Beanie Babie prices. (I do this with the lottery - I can get a little obsessive, but try to reign it in by not playing regularly. I have special numbers, just silly family numbers: but if I don't play, I don't check the numbers. If my numbers come up when I haven't played I do NOT want to know.) As for the McDonald's toys. I think you're really safe on those ones. It's unlikly that they are worth anything, there are soooo many. And don't worry about the money spent - think about it like you spent money for the meal, not the toy. Personally, I wouldn't worry about your other collections just yet. Take the easy stuff first and don't stress out too much. It may be easier to part with two of your collections if you're not trying to force yourself to get rid of them all. There's time enough later to pare down some others. I'm all about the baby steps here! Good luck, notc
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Post by mellowyellow on May 20, 2008 20:07:03 GMT -5
Urghk... I too have too many collections. I also collected dolls from the time I was a young teenager. Most of them were packed away, because to be honest, I didn't even like a lot of them (gifts). And the ones I truly valued? They were mostly in my dungeon of dispair. It's amazing how a basement flood simplifies what to do with a bunch of dolls. Old composition dolls do not interact well with dirty water and mold. Ahm.
In a way, it was a relief that most of them got damaged, because then I didn't feel guilty throwing them out. Not to say it was easy, and that I didn't mourn the loss of some special ones... but throwing things in the garbage quickly was very important for me.
And dare I admit...I also threw out some perfectly good ones... Urgh..I'm cringing as I write this part... I keep erasing it and retyping it. I actually threw some out because I knew I would never sell them... I knew I had no one that I wanted to give them to... and I knew that it would break my heart to see someone "ruthlessly take them and sell them for profit". Weird eh? As if they have feelings. So now.. most of them are gone.
But there is plenty more of my collections to go... *sigh* Looking for ideas.
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Post by disarray on May 21, 2008 1:03:20 GMT -5
Don't think about the money you spent - it's gone, whether you clutter your house or not. That's sage advice. Thank you so much for the responses! It means a lot to me! Notc, I took your advice to heart. My beanie babies are all set up in a box and ready to go, and I've been labeling bags of McDonald toys for the last several hours. It's insane how many McD toys I have! Most of them are still in their original, sealed bags. Why in the world was I collecting these? I don't even have kids, and if I did I doubt they'd want most of these. Mellowyellow, I received a lot of my dolls when I was young too. And I know exactly what you're talking about when you say throwing things out is a lot easier when they're damaged. For example, I'm trying to put clothing I don't wear on the yard sale this weekend. If a shirt has a spot on it or it doesn't fit me anymore, it makes my decision soooo much easier. But if a shirt's in perfect condition and it's just a matter of me never wearing, well then it takes me forever to make a decision and half the time I end up stuffing it back into my closet to never be worn.
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Post by BDG on May 21, 2008 2:11:39 GMT -5
My daughter took all of the porcelain dolls I had purchased for birthdays and holiday gifts (around 30 dolls) for her to a shelter for children of some sort, I think it was an abuse shelter for children where they could get counseling and live until they were able to be sent to a foster home or to live with a relative and gave them to be given to the children.
Anyway her giving the dolls away was not something I had ever considered, but I was glad that she took them to where they were needed and would be loved. Sometimes just knowing that the item will be valued by someone else makes it easier.
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Post by canna on May 21, 2008 5:04:43 GMT -5
Hello. Collections. Mine is candles and candle holders. Pillars, tapers, votives, scented and unscented, all colors, and all kinds of holders, glass, ceramic, metal, etc. One of my buffet tables shelving and drawers are just full of them. !!! At least I can close the table doors so the hoard can't be seen. I use them, though, every day, and always have a few candles lit at breakfast lunch and dinner and in the evening! I have given away some of the holders, but just can't part with this collection, I really like it. However, I have stopped buying holders. I would visit garage sales/resale shops just for candles. Too many. Stopped buying candles, too, until I use up the ones I have, which will be quite a while.....
Also, books. Those are hard to part with also, and I do read them but keep them. Lots of Hemingway, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Wharton, etc etc. I did purge a lot of others a few months ago to a resale shop, that was hard to do. Too many books.
Collections are harder to part with than the usual clutter mess.
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Post by skitter on May 21, 2008 5:48:43 GMT -5
I had just about every stuffed animal my daughter had ever owned. Most of them I had carefully selected for her. She has moved across the country and is ready to let all but two go. I gave away all but one rubbermaid container full to a charity. I have tried again and again to let go of the last few, but I'm just not ready yet. It is so hard. I just love nice stuffed animals, I even have a couple of my own!
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Post by canna on May 21, 2008 6:15:41 GMT -5
Skitter, Oh yes stuffed animals. !! I have a huge box of them. They belong to my daughter, who had a really big collection. She gave away most of them years ago, but I still have these. She does NOT want me to give them away, oh no, not these special ones, and said: "They all have names and personalities and I love them". She lives in a small apartment no room for them. So I have them in this box in the closet. They are really cute and bring back memories of when she was little. So they'll stay with me.
I have a little cute-face stuffed animal puppy which I found at a garage sale, it seemed to say"take me home", so did.....ha
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Post by mellowyellow on May 21, 2008 17:01:09 GMT -5
I forgot that my biggest collection is my teaching paraphanelia. And not just any stuff either. It's items that my mum started to gather when I was a teenager. Already in those days, I knew I wanted to work with children, so she amassed a truly ridiculous number of puppets, craft items, books, toys, etc. etc. These boxes and bags of things are hogging up half of my garage, and this summer I hope to go through them and see what I can pass on to others.
The sad thing is that some of the stuff is really cute or really practical or useful, but the garage is so cluttered that I just can't reach anything.
And because everything was a gift from my mum, painstakingly gathered at garage sales and second hand stores... I fight my guilt to eliminate anything. Urghhhh
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masmom
New Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 32
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Post by masmom on May 21, 2008 18:49:50 GMT -5
I remember at one point I had a collection of children's toys and they were fairly popular and it was too overwhelming to get rid of them individually. So, I listed them as a group on Craiglist.
It allowed me to get at least a little bit of money from the collection and I sent it all at one time instead of piece-meal which would have taken forever to get rid of. If no one had bought it I would have donated to good will or whatever but I"m glad to say I got $60 out of it. Granted I could have gotten a lot more for it individually but I was thrilled with the space I created and the money I got !!!
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maizy
New Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 5
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Post by maizy on May 21, 2008 20:19:54 GMT -5
I got over the 'but I spent ____ dollars on this, I can't get rid of it! trap by realizing that I had ALREADY wasted the money. Those dollars were actually thrown away the second I bought that ridiculous (whatever it is)! I didn't need it, I didn't want it, it takes up too much room and I have to keep it clean or take care of it, therefore, it was a bad purchase TO BEGIN WITH. That bell collection was a bad deal for you the second you put money out for it. THAT'S when you wasted the money. If you sell it for even 1/10 what you paid for it, you're now 1/10 AHEAD! Toss it, sell it, burn it, wrap it up and send it to your nasty cousin... anything to get rid of it. Once it's gone, you'll FEEL way ahead, even if you didn't get any money for it. Maizy
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Post by missmaggiee on May 21, 2008 23:44:23 GMT -5
I also collected so many different things, figurines. I was lucky enough to run into people that loved my collections so I passed many of them on to them or their children. I felt better giving the things away to some one that loved them as I did than trying to sell them. I still have too many collections but I am much better off and feel really good about how much I have trimmed off.
One thing I do do is rotate my favorite figurines in one glass cabinet. I keep the ones not on view in the two bottom drawers of the secretary and the display collection of the month or season in the glass cabinet. This limits what I could keep or add to. It REALLY works for me. It feels like Christmas all over again when I change the collections around. I cleared out unneeded paper work and desk clutter to be able to empty the drawers that store the other collections.
Maggie
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Post by neveropentheclosets on May 22, 2008 0:11:00 GMT -5
Hi disarray,
It sounds like you've made tons of progress. Way to go! Beanie babies ready to go and McD toys on their way. (They are kind of addicting...) Let us know how your garage sale goes!
Hopefully, you can throw some of that advice right back at me later this summer when I attempt to clear out the "Den of Doom" and my beloved books...
notc
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Post by Script on May 22, 2008 6:32:07 GMT -5
Unfortunately for me, one of my main hoarding problems is that I think I'm wasting money. I spent twenty bucks on this doll. I can't put it on a garage sale for five! You are describing the Sunk Costs Fallacy: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costThis describles the terrrible dilemna that is really common in business when struggling to make a decision about 'moving on' from some poor investment. "We spent all this money developing this widget: we just HAVE TO KEEP TRYING to sell them. No matter what!" What REALLY REALLY HELPS ME when I am getting rid of something that COST A LOT: I think about the good side of passing it along. Maybe you can try to focus on some kids who will really enjoy your items, because they can afford them. Luv from Script
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Post by syzygy on May 22, 2008 21:07:24 GMT -5
I'm a book collector; it's hard to get rid of any. The last time I went through them was when I moved- and would you believe it, one of the books that I sold ended up being one that ended up being part of my studies!
I find it much easier to give away things to people who need them. I've given away a lot of stuff on Freecycle and to charities (ones that pick up stuff). It helps when I can look at something and say, "Would it be better to keep it in case I need it someday or would someone else be able to use it right now?
When I did my last big purge of good stuff, I sold a lot of it on Ebay. But remember that Ebaying takes time- you have to take pictures, type descriptions, learn how to get the picture and desc up, answer questions about the item, get boxes/bubble wrap/tape/envelopes to pack the stuff in, have a scale and access to postal charts so you can tell someone how much it will cost to mail, then box it up and mail it out.
It costs time, money, and space- I had a small room dedicated just to Ebay. I ended up making some good money, but it was because I also did research ahead of time on what would sell (which also took time), and sold a ton of stuff.
It was worth it then. Now, although I have a few things that I could try to sell on Ebay, I'm not sure it's worth the trouble.
Ebay is good for checking prices on things. It's best to look at the "completed" items to see what things actually sell for. The McDonald's stuff is worth next-to-nothing. If you hang onto it, it will still be worth next-to-nothing in 50 years because everyone jumped in and started collecting them. Things get more valuable because there aren't many of them around.
And instead of thinking about all the money you spent, think about all the space you can get if you donate the item!
If you really think you have something valuable, there are sites on-line that will give you estimates. Or you could take some pictures (make sure you include any markings) to an antique store. Oh- and promise yourself that if it's not worth anything, you'll get rid of it.
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