I can't stop acquiring "things".

[BossLackey]

I feel kind of stuck at the moment. On one hand, I love the idea of a minimalist lifestyle. However, I also collect things I love, mostly paper products and it's slowly taking over our living space. My wife and I live in a fairly small, 950 sqft apartment. I've always picked higher quality versus square footage when it comes to living spaces, so we don't have a ton of extra room.

We'll get a house at some point, but until then, I feel like my belongings are beginning to weigh me down. I have about 300 movies, half DVD half BD. About 14 short boxes of comics which grows every week. Dozens of volumes of manga. A few dozen trade paperback comics and several dozen books including quite a few large hardback art books (video game and also not). About a dozen consoles, a few handhelds, a TON of controllers, and then several dozen physical games. I also have a bearded dragon that takes up a lot of space and just recently rescued an adult tarantula which is in a fairly large (for a tarantula) enclosure since it's arboreal (Avicularia Avicularia for my spider nerds). I have another tarantula, but he's juvenile and in a much smaller enclosure.

And these are just the things I collect. We of course have other "normal" belongings besides this.

I would have no problem selling a lot of my novels that I won't re-read and some of my comics, but outside of that, everything else has been very meticulously curated. I didn't buy any of these things on a whim, it was all carefully selected over many years. So how do I let go of some of this? And should I? I know that's really only a question I can answer, but at the moment I feel like I'm beginning to drown in my belongings. But they're things I love.

Any advice?

 

[scare_crow]

How many of those movies do you actually watch? Those would be first on the chopping block for me.

 

[Diarrhea Day-Lewis]

I'd say if it's not a problem on your relationship or finances just enjoy it even if you don't use it. Don't beat yourself up. You may not always have the time or means to live like this, so have fun

 

[Stop Motion Pornography]

You could rent a storage space for the stuff you want to keep but occupies too much of your apartment.

 

[gig]

Sounds like a form of (albeit, organized) hoarding. Do you have anxiety when thinking about getting rid of these things? If yes, therapy would likely help.

If not and this isn't connected to any emotions, you should consider shifting to collecting digital things instead. That's how I honed my tendencies. Start a Plex server.

 

[nsilvias]

move to digital hoarding. get rid of the physical books and movies

 

[BossLackey]

How many of those movies do you actually watch? Those would be first on the chopping block for me.

Click to shrink...

Honestly? Many of them. I absolutely love movies and I only ever buy my favorite movies or something I really like that's simply hard to find. However, I think this is a good starting place. There are certainly many in my collection I would have no problem parting with. Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 99254]

You can eliminate a lot of that collection by ripping the discs and replacing the books with epubs. Do you have a storage unit with the apartment?

 

[Liam Allen-Miller]

One thing that really helped me was putting stuff that I was actively disinterested in revisiting in boxes in the closet. By the time I revisited those boxes a few years later, I was comfortable getting rid of almost everything in there except the video games (I've found I have a harder time letting go of those). Nonetheless, I halved the size of my bookshelf and reduced my movie collection by over two thirds. Unfortunately this method is evidently not very fast, haha. :P

EDIT: A little while ago I helped a friend move his entire movie and game disc collections from their original packaging to big disc folders. While it's a pretty contentious idea among those who have big collections, I can't deny that the fact he reduced their footprint to less than 5% of the original size was pretty appealing, too. This is obviously a more extreme thing, but if you're really scared of permanently ridding yourself of your discs, this could be a good middle ground.

 

[jelly]

We have way too many books but it seems like a waste to part with them but kinda stupid as I won't read them again but passing them onto the kids feels right, I dunno.

 

[Klotera]

How much do you care about the boxes for your DVDs/Blu-Rays? If that doesn't matter, you can definitely save space there. I put my DVDs into a disc binder and my BDs into DiscSox sleeves (which allow me to keep the art and also don't put as much pressure on the disc as a binder would, which is a bigger issue for BDs than DVDs) and got rid of the boxes. I compressed a large shelf of discs to a couple small containers that just sit in our utility room until I need a disc.

 

[BossLackey]

Sounds like a form of (albeit, organized) hoarding. Do you have anxiety when thinking about getting rid of these things? If yes, therapy would likely help.

If not and this isn't connected to any emotions, you should consider shifting to collecting digital things instead. That's how I honed my tendencies. Start a Plex server.

Click to shrink...

Yes, I have anxiety when thinking about getting rid of these things. Not all of it, but I mean something like my collection of Berserk volumes for instance would be completely out of the question. But does that mean I'm a hoarder? I don't know.

 

[scare_crow]

Honestly? Many of them. I absolutely love movies and I only ever buy my favorite movies or something I really like that's simply hard to find. However, I think this is a good starting place. There are certainly many in my collection I would have no problem parting with. Thanks.

Click to shrink...

Cool. I just want to make it clear that I wasn't trying to be dismissive. I'm sure it's difficult to find out where to start with this type of thing.

 

[Gunny T Highway]

I do a purge every two years to make sure I am not building a collection of stuff that is just taking space.

 

[ReginaldXIV]

I used to be like that, collecting stuff to collect it and never actually engaging with any of it. Books, albums, games, movies etc. It took up so much space.

The only solution was technology meeting my wants. Bought a Kindle for books, i only buy digital games and albums now. Subscribe to streaming services etc.

 

[Barrel Cannon]

What type of movie collection are we talking? If it's like criterion stuff I can understand your pain. Also how do you have your moves displayed currently?

If it's regular old dvd/BluRay/4K discs, I'd suggest building your own NAS server and connecting it an Nvidia shield Pro. Make a nice Plex server that has all your movies ripped. You can store away all the movies in a big storage box after which should clear up a decent chunk of space.

I'd keep your books still.

If your other stuff brings you happiness still, keep it.

Draw out your room minus all your shit and rethink how you wanna display it all. Consider doing custom shelving and storage. It'll help you organize things much better and use your space Moe efficiently

 

[BossLackey]

How much do you care about the boxes for your DVDs/Blu-Rays? If that doesn't matter, you can definitely save space there. I put my DVDs into a disc binder and my BDs into DiscSox sleeves (which allow me to keep the art and also don't put as much pressure on the disc as a binder would, which is a bigger issue for BDs than DVDs). I compressed a large shelf of discs to a couple small containers that just sit in our utility room until I need a disc.

Click to shrink...

I've had this thought a few times. At the moment, this may be the only practical solution for movies (plus it would be SO much easier to look through). I might do this (and get rid of some movies I don't need in my collection at the same time).

 

[Deleted member 27938]

Even after you move into a house, it'll fill up quick and that stuff will eventually worse. No need to depress yourself by getting rid of things you enjoy but you gotta split the difference somewhere. Label some boxes: sell, keep, and donate. Go through your stuff together and sort out all the excess. It's OK to keep stuff, especially for when the house happens and you find you've got a ton of extra space. Just not for everything. For sell, put that shit on ebay and be OK with the fact you might take a loss. It's fine and the real goal is to reclaim the space; getting some money back is a bonus.

 

[TangoTango]

I understand what you're going through. Because of Covid, I had a lot of extra money just sitting around because I couldn't travel. I started buying LEGO and transformers to entertain myself. But I barely build any of the LEGO and I never open any of the transformers. I just have them all in boxes in my closets and they just sit there. And there's a lot.

 

[Walter White Walker]

Stop buying shit

 

[Kyrios]

Yes, I have anxiety when thinking about getting rid of these things. Not all of it, but I mean something like my collection of Berserk volumes for instance would be completely out of the question. But does that mean I'm a hoarder? I don't know.

Click to shrink...

I don't think you're a hoarder at all. I have plenty of stuff I would never throw out, I just get stuff I know are meaningful. I feel like sometimes nowadays people get shamed for collecting stuff. As long as it doesn't interfere with you space-wise, financially, and you know, you actually want it and use it/display it then go for it.

I always like saying "Don't spend money just to spend it".

 

[gig]

Yes, I have anxiety when thinking about getting rid of these things. Not all of it, but I mean something like my collection of Berserk volumes for instance would be completely out of the question. But does that mean I'm a hoarder? I don't know.

Click to shrink...

Hoarder? We're not going to be able to tell you. Hoarding tendencies? Absolutely. If you're not against therapy I think it would be beneficial (though if it's not interfering with your daily life, priority may be low). They'll be able to give you better tactics than anyone on Era.

 

[Ultima_5]

If it doesn't bother you or your SO I️ wouldn't worry about it. Just purge every year or so.

 

[BossLackey]

I used to be like that, collecting stuff to collect it and never actually engaging with any of it. Books, albums, games, movies etc. It took up so much space.

The only solution was technology meeting my wants. Bought a Kindle for books, i only buy digital games and albums now. Subscribe to streaming services etc.

Click to shrink...

So for one, I do engage with it. All of it. Only exception would be comics that I just haven't gotten to yet.

As for digital, I don't find digital versions of a lot of things to be a replacement for physical versions. Books? Yeah, actually a better reading experience digital and I might just go that route for books. But that doesn't work for art books and the physical aspect of comics is a large part of my enjoyment of them. But movies I think are the big one I couldn't go digital in. Not only do I not trust those services, but digital movies are compressed for streaming and simply don't look as good as physical and I'm a huge stickler for that. And for games, I actually was slowly transitioning to just digital, but I'm always wary of not really owning certain games that get delisted in the future (because they will).

Luckily I don't collect music, so I'm 100% streaming there. I might just get a kindle and sell most of my novels and I have quite a few comics and movies I could sell. I just don't see myself going all digital for anything outside of novels.

 

[gig]

So for one, I do engage with it. All of it. Only exception would be comics that I just haven't gotten to yet.

As for digital, I don't find digital versions of a lot of things to be a replacement for physical versions. Books? Yeah, actually a better reading experience digital and I might just go that route for books. But that doesn't work for art books and the physical aspect of comics is a large part of my enjoyment of them. But movies I think are the big one I couldn't go digital in. Not only do I not trust those services, but digital movies are compressed for streaming and simply don't look as good as physical and I'm a huge stickler for that. And for games, I actually was slowly transitioning to just digital, but I'm always wary of not really owning certain games that get delisted in the future (because they will).

Luckily I don't collect music, so I'm 100% streaming there. I might just get a kindle and sell most of my novels and I have quite a few comics and movies I could sell. I just don't see myself going all digital for anything outside of novels.

Click to shrink...

Have you thought about a Plex server? How's your media center setup? I get a ton of satisfaction around storing my movies/shows digitally, tinkering with the metadata, and then proudly displaying the library on my TV for myself and friends. It scratches that collection itch. Steam is similar games-wise.

 

[BossLackey]

What type of movie collection are we talking? If it's like criterion stuff I can understand your pain. Also how do you have your moves displayed currently?

If it's regular old dvd/BluRay/4K discs, I'd suggest building your own NAS server and connecting it an Nvidia shield Pro. Make a nice Plex server that has all your movies ripped. You can store away all the movies in a big storage box after which should clear up a decent chunk of space.

I'd keep your books still.

If your other stuff brings you happiness still, keep it.

Draw out your room minus all your shit and rethink how you wanna display it all. Consider doing custom shelving and storage. It'll help you organize things much better and use your space Moe efficiently

Click to shrink...

Good advice. I have my DVDs in storage and blurays in my entertainment center 3 rows deep. Doesn't even look like I have as many as I do. So honestly, movies aren't one of the big ones. I've thought about a NAS server. Might have to look into that again.

 

[Kyrios]

I understand what you're going through. Because of Covid, I had a lot of extra money just sitting around because I couldn't travel. I started buying LEGO and transformers to entertain myself. But I barely build any of the LEGO and I never open any of the transformers. I just have them all in boxes in my closets and they just sit there. And there's a lot.

Click to shrink...

Honestly? Keep them in your closet if you don't plan on building them. Lego sets appreciate better than freaking gold does. Hold on to them and then check their values after a few years.

 

[DoofTroop]

So for one, I do engage with it. All of it. Only exception would be comics that I just haven't gotten to yet.

As for digital, I don't find digital versions of a lot of things to be a replacement for physical versions. Books? Yeah, actually a better reading experience digital and I might just go that route for books. But that doesn't work for art books and the physical aspect of comics is a large part of my enjoyment of them. But movies I think are the big one I couldn't go digital in. Not only do I not trust those services, but digital movies are compressed for streaming and simply don't look as good as physical and I'm a huge stickler for that. And for games, I actually was slowly transitioning to just digital, but I'm always wary of not really owning certain games that get delisted in the future (because they will).

Luckily I don't collect music, so I'm 100% streaming there. I might just get a kindle and sell most of my novels and I have quite a few comics and movies I could sell. I just don't see myself going all digital for anything outside of novels.

Click to shrink...

If you digitize your library and set up a Plex server the quality wouldn't be lower.

 

[AliceAmber]

If you decide to declutter books and movies, I would suggest donating them to your local library.

I just finished doing a lot of decluttering myself, its worth the effort!!

 

[FriendlyNPC]

I was collecting videogames on and off during various parts of my life. At some point I just came to the conclusion that owning stuff doesn't give me any joy and that's basically when I stopped caring. I still buy videogames I want to play because I love the experience of playing a great game but I don't hoard stuff I might play eventually anymore because it feels pointless.

Do you get enjoyment out of collecting/having all this stuff? Is organizing/managing a collection fun or just a chore? Depending on the answer to those questions you might get an idea of how to proceed. I don't think collecting stuff is an issue if you enjoy it. It's your money and your choice on how to spend it. Now, if this actually results in problems with your relationships you might need to consider toning it down but if your partner is fine with it I don't see the problem.

 

[TangoTango]

Honestly? Keep them in your closet if you don't plan on building them. Lego sets appreciate better than freaking gold does. Hold on to them and then check their values after a few years.

Click to shrink...

Oh I know, I could easily get double the money I've spent on them, but it's just such a waste of space and I'm starting to run out of room.

 

[Desi]

I understand, I appear to have a spending addiction. It is crazy I tell ya.

The only thing that stopped me from buying any more copious amounts of video games was a flood that destroyed the majority of my stuff. Don't think I will ever complete Steel Battiolion at this rate.

 

[Rosebud]

Do like me and only hoard digital stuff.

 

[Deleted member 8752]

Have you considered in investing in some quality shelving for all of it? If I didn't have good shelving and storage for my controllers/games/systems, my 750 sq ft space would be a total mess. But with good shelves, none of that has been an issue.

 

[AlgusUnderdunk]

If they bring you joy, no worries, it's all good.

If not, consider selling, binning, or giving them away.

 

[TheLastOfPizzaCrUSt]

Instead of not spending or buying alot, buy...less? Ive had to do that with collecting games, i play them but damn i had to at least scale back.

 

[gozu]

I feel kind of stuck at the moment. On one hand, I love the idea of a minimalist lifestyle. However, I also collect things I love, mostly paper products and it's slowly taking over our living space. My wife and I live in a fairly small, 950 sqft apartment. I've always picked higher quality versus square footage when it comes to living spaces, so we don't have a ton of extra room.

We'll get a house at some point, but until then, I feel like my belongings are beginning to weigh me down. I have about 300 movies, half DVD half BD. About 14 short boxes of comics which grows every week. Dozens of volumes of manga. A few dozen trade paperback comics and several dozen books including quite a few large hardback art books (video game and also not). About a dozen consoles, a few handhelds, a TON of controllers, and then several dozen physical games. I also have a bearded dragon that takes up a lot of space and just recently rescued an adult tarantula which is in a fairly large (for a tarantula) enclosure since it's arboreal (Avicularia Avicularia for my spider nerds). I have another tarantula, but he's juvenile and in a much smaller enclosure.

And these are just the things I collect. We of course have other "normal" belongings besides this.

I would have no problem selling a lot of my novels that I won't re-read and some of my comics, but outside of that, everything else has been very meticulously curated. I didn't buy any of these things on a whim, it was all carefully selected over many years. So how do I let go of some of this? And should I? I know that's really only a question I can answer, but at the moment I feel like I'm beginning to drown in my belongings. But they're things I love.

Any advice?

Click to shrink...

Get an iPad and a Kindle and put all your comics and books inside. This will make a huge difference to your clutter. HUGE!

Put your excess consoles and games in vacuum storage until they become valuable enough to sell. Same with any misc objects based on the cardinal rule.

The cardinal rule: If you haven't touched it in a year, consider storing, gifting or selling it.

 

[Deleted member 24052]

If you feel weigned down by your things, create a pile or box in the middle of a room with objects you would be okay with selling or donating. I try to do this once a year or so to cut down on things I own, and I find it helps me.

I also feel cluttered when I have too many things. Books are something I don't feel too badly about buying because they are easy and nice to store on shelves. But I've stopped buying many physical games or movies, and have cut down pretty heavily on the number of ones I own at this point. Having less is definitely a nice feeling, to me at least.

 

[ErrorJustin]

I want a whatever the opposite of minimalism is.

We just bought a house and I have my own office for the first time and I just want to fill it to the point of extreme distraction with all kinds of hobby junk.

Gimme those lego sets, MTG cards, magazines, art prints. Just.... pile it all in.

I've seen some old artwork of over-stuffed rooms full of referential items and game consoles and stuff and that's the vibe I'm going for. There's one in particular I wish I'd saved. It was a top-down perspective with someone I believe sitting on the floor in the middle, with shelves around the person with magical items and game consoles and stuff on them all. It's a big mood.

 

[PirateHearts]

I periodically purge physical media. If something doesn't have sentimental value, or if it could be easily replaced, or if I don't think I'll regret getting rid of it, it goes in the purge box.

And sure, there are times when I'm like I wish I still had my original hardcover Dark Souls strategy guide, but then I remember how much of a pain it was to move boxes and boxes full of large hardcover books.

 

[FerrisBueller]

I put my games and DVDs away in boxes and an ottoman. Now I have no interest in "collecting" games anymore and the thought of buying even a single DVD seems completely ludicrous.

Also, I never used to like throwing stuff out, but I did it with a few things and now I enjoy getting rid of random shit, it actually feels good.

So maybe put some stuff away and see if it stops the urge to buy, and/or sell or get rid of one or two things and see how it makes you feel.

 

[Stickyricegirl]

I've been having this same issue lately. I like too many things and need to make decisions on where my collecting habit needs to end. I narrowed it down to things related to music, books, and certain fandoms - but even still it's too much.

 

[TaySan]

See if you can move your movie collection to digital or get a disk binder and get rid of your cases to save space.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

I want a whatever the opposite of minimalism is.

We just bought a house and I have my own office for the first time and I just want to fill it to the point of extreme distraction with all kinds of hobby junk.

Gimme those lego sets, MTG cards, magazines, art prints. Just.... pile it all in.

I've seen some old artwork of over-stuffed rooms full of referential items and game consoles and stuff and that's the vibe I'm going for. There's one in particular I wish I'd saved. It was a top-down perspective with someone I believe sitting on the floor in the middle, with shelves around the person with magical items and game consoles and stuff on them all. It's a big mood.

Click to shrink...

I totally get this feeling but I enjoy it vicariously through retro game collection videos on Youtube. Then I try to reduce my actual collection, and derive satisfaction from the money and space I'm gaining.

 

[GMT Master]

My parents weren't hoarders, but they were somewhat close.

Due to that, I absolutely hate clutter and an excessive amount of things. When we bought a house a few years ago it really enabled me to throw away the vast majority of "trash" I had in my life. I gave away or threw away the majority of the stuff I had even though we had more space in a house. This included hundreds of dvds, games, just about every stupid limited edition trash collectible, and everything I could think of. You never touch those things and having them sitting around does nothing for you. They just take up space. Especially in an apartment that small.

I clear out my closet at least twice a year and donate every piece of clothing I no longer wear. In the past that has included things with the tags still on them.

I have the money and space to collect things now, but I don't want to do it. All it leads is accumulation of things you think that value, but they really don't.

 

[Landy828]

Yes, I have anxiety when thinking about getting rid of these things. Not all of it, but I mean something like my collection of Berserk volumes for instance would be completely out of the question. But does that mean I'm a hoarder? I don't know.

Click to shrink...

No. Valuable collectibles or hobby collecting is not "hoarding". Literally piling every CD/Movie/Comic you've ever touched into the corner of the room even if it would take $0.50 to replace it, is hoarding. Doesn't sound like you're doing that.

I collect sports cards. I have a TON I need to get rid of, but the majority of my sports collection (and figure collection) are rare items. I have over 300 Autograph cards of JUST Clemson football players as that's one of my main focuses in sports cards. I also collect Ruth, Mantle, Griffey Jr., and rare signed memorabilia.

All my figures/non-sports card stuff is in the garage now though. I use to have a "entertainment / man cave", but the birth of my son took that room. I now have a storage area / sorting desk in our bedroom for my card collecting. 😆

 

[Shalashaska]

A small curated collection of media is a cool thing to have, because each item has a reason why it's there. So I think it's great to collect stuff, you just have to be picky about what you actually hold onto long term.

Personally, I go through my house roughly once a year and only keep things that have sentimental value, or that I actually use/could realistically see myself using in the near future. The rest I sell or donate.

I prefer renting media over owning as well, though for some things that isn't really an option. With movies, pretty much everything is streamable from somewhere these days, and worse case scenario you can always rent it from the Google Play store or equivalent. With games we now have Gamepass, and Gamefly still exists as well. I'm not a comic reader, but I imagine something exists there as well. Just buying digital helps too, though I find that sorta just moves the problem to another platform, but it does help keep the house tidy.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

I subscribe to the "does this bring me happiness when I hold it" rule.

I've got all kinds of hobbies and knick-knacks and things that just take space - and after ~25 years of playing video games, I've got a collection of titles that I'll probably never play again. BUT! I've over time curated this list into things that make me happy.

If I hold it in my hand for 10 seconds, do I get a sense of happiness or nostalgia or the warmth of a memory or an activity I might someday do? Then I keep it. Fuck it. I bought it at one point anyway. But if I hold it and think "this is taking up too much space" or "this was a waste of money," or "I'm tired of the dust this collects," then I trash it/sell it.

I still have lots of junk, but it helps ensure I don't have a "weighed down" feeling.

Also, someday you'll probably have a basement or big garage or attic. It's honestly kind of amazing how much shelf space and general living space you can get back putting most your things in a few big storage bins in a closet or basement. All that "noise" you feel now can likely be quickly "fixed" with a $100 of Home Depot containers and a big closet in a couple years.

 

[Barrel Cannon]

Good advice. I have my DVDs in storage and blurays in my entertainment center 3 rows deep. Doesn't even look like I have as many as I do. So honestly, movies aren't one of the big ones. I've thought about a NAS server. Might have to look into that again.

Click to shrink...

It's a bit of work to set-up but once you get it going its so smooth and way less of a headache then physical media. I have so much headache sometimes with using 4k discs on my series x. My shield just gets things playing quickly and without a fuss.

 

[WillRobBanks]

I recommend watching the first Sparking Joy Marie Kondo series on Netflix. It seriously changed my outlook and view on "things". Watched it when it debuted and have loosely followed her guidance since.