{"id":5653,"date":"2022-09-26T11:53:19","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T15:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/?p=5653"},"modified":"2022-09-26T11:53:19","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T15:53:19","slug":"collecting-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christensensplantcenter.com\/news\/collecting-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"Collecting Plants…. or Hoarding?"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"

When Does Specializing Turn Into Hoarding?<\/p>

I\u2019ll just come out and say it. I am a Collector. Over the years I have built - and dispersed \u2013 so many collections, in categories such as craft supplies, books, glass paperweights, pink flamingos, Westmoreland milk glass, hardy geraniums, hosta, tools and hardware, office supplies, and for a while in the 80\u2019s, budgerigars. At one point I had 18 of them in a giant flight cage. Good times.<\/p><\/div>

\"Decorative<\/span><\/div>

It\u2019s an all-American pastime as shown by the popularity of reality shows about hoarders and people who bid on the undisclosed contents of abandoned storage lockers. I haven\u2019t slid so far; I prefer to do my collecting one piece at a time.<\/p><\/div>

\"Collection<\/span><\/div>

But when does \u201ccollecting\u201d cross the line into hoarding? To me, collection is all about doing a deep dive into a particular subject and learning as much as you can about it. When I am studying a new topic, reference books get involved, and talking to experts in the subject, joining Reddits or groups, and getting as much hands-on experience as possible. For instance, I have collected figural cast iron - doorstops, bottle openers, party favors, door knockers and bookends \u2013 for years and I am pretty good at spotting reproductions and knock-offs.<\/p><\/div>

\"Outdoor<\/span><\/div>

When you really love something it\u2019s easy to get caught up into accumulating, and it can be a rude surprise to look around one day and realize there is not one more square inch in your garden to wedge a single additional hosta, even though you are pretty sure you DON\u2019T already have one virtually identical. That\u2019s where we get to the critical difference between a \u201ccollector\u201d and a \u201choarder\u201d. If you can\u2019t part with your duplicates or lesser-value pieces; the books you\u2019ve read ages ago and won\u2019t look at again, stuff that\u2019s broken or stuff that you MIGHT find a use for \u2026someday\u2026 well, now you\u2019re slipping into hoarder territory. News flash: your kids don\u2019t want your stuff. You might want to winnow down your belongings before it gets bad.<\/p><\/div>

\"Indoor<\/span><\/div>
\t

I am not quite there yet. Yesterday I spent ten or twelve hours moving all my house plants back indoors after their summer vacation. Somehow there are more of them now than what went out this spring. I don\u2019t know what happened! I have plants all over the house, on shelves and \u00e9tag\u00e8res, under lights and crammed into the windows. I am kind of proud of the fact that I also said farewell to a few of them! I am not a hoarder after all. Just don\u2019t ask me how many house plants I have.<\/p><\/div>

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