Today’s Memories are all about childhood collections.
So I may or may not have mentioned my childhood bedroom. I collected everything. EV-RE-THING. It looked like a tornado had come through, tossing Barbies, Barbie clothes, books, dress up clothes, Cabbage Patch Dolls Little People, She-Ra, My Little Pony, trolls, cassette tapes, key chains, buttons, pins, patches, birthday cards, photographs, and a crap ton of LEGOs around like a boss. The piles of single socks, clothes, and toys that adorned the floor of my bedroom was astounding. In a not-cool sort of way. For some reason if everything was “organized” in a pile, it was okay…for me anyways.
These days, I still have piles of clean laundry (in a laundry basket, though). But my crazy collections have finally ceased. Sort of. okay, fine not really.
The Nook (and then the Kindle, and even Audible) helped with the book hoarding. At least a little. Until I started using Book of the Month Club again…I save only the cards that have personal notes in them. Or the ones that were from my grandparents. Or the really funny ones. The Barbies and their accessories are boxed up in my basement…collecting dust (except for the occasional days I, a grown ass woman, pull them out and play with them), but who cares. They’re freakin’ Barbies! With pretty dresses! The trolls, little people, she-ra, and the ponies disappeared, though I’m not sure where. (Although now that I have a child, our Little People collection abounds yet again). Mom gave away all of my children’s books (and now, I’ve recreated that library for my child). I suppose that’s what happened to everything else. I mean, I’ve still got the important stuff. The original CPKs.The BARBIES. The Disney VHS tapes…You know…the important stuff.
Now I just collect…clothes. And shoes. And purses. That I don’t wear or use. And seashells. And craft supplies. And small kitchen appliances. And Mickey Mouse plushies, figures, etc. And Haunted Mansion paraphernalia. And Disney Lorcana. And Halloween decor. And Christmas decor. And board games. And hobbies. And children’s books. And and and…I might have a problem.
OK. So maybe I’m still a hoarder. Just a little bit.
Did you collect strange things when you were a kid? Did you collect anything?
12 Responses
You forgot bouncy balls…EVERYWHERE!!! I still find an occasional one in the backyard. Then began there journey with you and Brian, opening your and his window. With that you guys would bounce away,the patio,sidewalk,trees….whatever it could hit,it did.
OMG! DAMMIT! I DID FORGET THE BOUNCY BALLS!
Yeah, this doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. In. The. Slightest.
I didn’t think it would.
OMG I need to come organize your stuff. Seriously. Apparently when I was little and went to play at other kids houses I used to “organize” their toy box. No joke.
I had several friends whose goal in life was to organize my toys. It was great.
We need to start a campaign to turn the word “hoarder” into something positive and awesome that other people wish they could be. That way we can keep all of those clothes and cards and nonsense we never use, but can’t seem to get rid of!
Definitely. Good plan. I love memories.
I wonder what it is about being a child that makes you want to collect things. Maybe it’s an absence of any other currency, or lack of control in other aspects of their lives? It’s fascinating 🙂
I’m too OCD to collect things any more, the downside being that I accidentally threw away my W2 tax forms, my best friend’s Save the Date, and pretty much every essay I wrote in grade school!
OH! That is an excellent observation about currency and control. LOVE it.
oh man! I wish I still had all of my old essays. I have a few, but not all. 🙂
My OCD tendencies are absurd. Some things require meticulousness and others—throw that shit to the wind!
I had a lot of Barbiers, too! Now my niece plays with them so I guess its the nice part of keeping them for all these years…:)
Now I “collect” high heels and…dictionaries. The nicest combination, isn’t it?
I hate “e-” versions of dictionaries or grammar books. I really need to have something printed out in order to be able to trust it 😉 So there it goes: English-English Merriam-Webster dictionary (that weighs over zillion kilograms, I am sure!), Russian-English, Polish-Russian, German-Polish, Russian-German, Latin, Latvian…I even have Turkish-Polish even though I can only say a couple of sentences in Turkish…But well, maybe one day I will need it! 🙂
Dictionaries! That’s AWESOME! I love grammar girl. Love her. She’s my grammar idol.