Collecting: a Hobby or a Habbit?

I have been a Collector for over 30 years. It all began with a die-cast 1967 Mustang by Hot Wheels that was given to me when I turned 8. It was so cool. I already had a keen interest in real sport and muscle cars. My Uncle let me work on cars in his garage with him as early as I can remember. Since I wasn't old enough to drive yet, Hot Wheels were the next best thing and I traded, bought, and pushed for a different one every chance I got. Today I own over 20,000 Hot Wheels. Of course being a young boy I naturally also started collecting Matchbox cars, baseball cards, marbles, coins, stamps, comic books and baseball caps. My collecting fever kept get hotter and I added candy and bubble gum dispensers, tins, magnets, wind-up toys, action figures and bobble heads. When I reached my teens and got closer to driving age, I added larger scale vehicle replicas to my car collections and started accumulating bicycles and magazines. Next on my collector's list were items based on famous celebrities (Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, James Dean), movies (i.e. Wizard Of Oz), TV shows (I Love Lucy, 3 Stooges, Little Rascals), and fun household name-brand merchandise (Coca-Cola, M&M's).

Once I started working and I had to start doing the buying on my own, I expanded my collections to include anything genuinely antique or vintage (i.e. gramophone, vinyl records, books, telephones, advertisement displays, clocks, light fixtures, pinball machines, slot machines, arcade games, vending units)with the justification that not only would I get enjoyment out of them, but also that they were an investment (since I was advised they would increase in value over time). When Ty Beanie Babies first hit the scene I jumped on board and started collected them as well. When I hit 30, I started collecting skulls and more adult type items such as watches, knives, lighters, cameras, NASCAR branded jackets, autographed sports memorabilia, and signed production cels and limited edition figurines, in addition to paintings, guns, swords, mugs, and neon signs.

Throughout my years of gathering merchandise, I've unconsciously made "collecting" a habit and have an large, unnecessary amount of less significant items (i.e. slippers, vacuums, keys, radios, door knobs, ashtrays, bar stools, chimes, unactivated gift cards, etc.) and I created a museum of hardware and other equipment. I can't seem to bring myself to get rid of anything. About a year ago my friends started making fun of the fact that I even accumulated a large collection of vacuums, keys, pet dishes, slippers, and the list goes on and on and on – its never ending. After it was necessary to add-on to my home (which also meant adding to my hardware and power tools collections) just to house all this stuff. I finally realize it is time to start sharing my collections with others before I run myself out of house and home. Visit my online Gifts & Collectibles store at: www.CollectiblesAndMoreInStore.com