Why Do We Collect Things?
Are you a collector? We humans have collected, saved, and displayed the things that please us for thousands of years. Often the things we hold onto remind us of people or places we’ve loved, trips we’ve taken, or things we’ve accomplished. Sometimes they just feel good in the hand, or delight us with their looks. They remind us of the things we want to do, make, or be. But one thing is clear: Though collections sometimes hold investment value, the reasons why we collect tend to be emotional. We collect because the things we hold dear say something about us that we find important. Our collections make us remember, hope, wish, dream, and feel.
Occasionally, our collections don’t mean much to us at all. Maybe the paintings just match our decor, or we buy books because they make us look refined and intellectual. Collections can announce status or pedigree, family connections, or wealth and material success. They imply characteristics we’re keen to possess (or wish we did). Some remind us of favorite characters, both fictional and real. Collections make silent statements about our interests, values, upbringing, social status, obsessions, and senses of humor.
The Beginnings of Collecting
Long ago, human beings collected things that improved chances of survival: food, tinder, leather, fur, building materials. People fashioned amulets and dolls from the things they collected, and made things to play with, pray to, or admire. Soon they altered objects to make tools. Ancient folk made holes in shells, nuts, or beads and strung them to use as decorations or money. They adorned themselves with these collections for beauty, or to show status.
Over time, many built homesteads so they could stay in one place. They began farming instead of gathering wild food, and collected and stored more things. Those with larger collections grew more successful and powerful. But they also inspired envy in others, risking attacks or theft from those jealous of their wealth and influence.
Power, Prestige & Fun
People who collect valuable things have held power over others since humanity’s early days. Gathering more than we need (i.e., hoarding) helped early people live through times of scarcity. But hoarding is generally frowned upon today. Even collecting things no one else wants is viewed as eccentric.
Collecting expensive objects not necessary for life (like shoes or luxury watches) may not directly deny people of life. However, extreme collectors’ conspicuous consumption still offends many who wish the rich would use their money to help others live safer, better, healthier lives instead.
What you collect makes a big difference in how people judge it. A wealthy CEO who collects fine art is lauded. A reality TV star with 100 fancy watches is both envied and derided as vulgar and overly self-indulgent. A poor person with a hoarding disorder whose apartment is filled with 20 years’ worth of newspapers inspires pity in some, disgust in others.
The reasons why we collect may include a desire for prestige. It’s common to want to look or feel powerful or beautiful; to wish to inspire love, lust, or envy; or to make others admire us. But most often, we collect to gain comfort, to soothe ourselves or those we care about, or to improve our mood. Some collections provide entertainment (e.g., books, recorded music, movies, and games). Others display power and prestige (e.g., art, fine furniture, and jewels). Many more reflect hobbies and interests. Today, people frequently like their collections primarily because the things they’ve gathered make them feel good, and provide distractions from life’s difficulties.
Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going
Reminders of the past
Collections can remind us where we’ve been. Not just the souvenirs we’ve gathered from travels, or objects from past jobs. Sometimes they’re about the lives we’ve lived, and the lives of those who came before us.
Maybe you’ve inherited pieces you kept for nostalgic reasons. Even if they’re ugly or broken, you care about the people who left them to you. You might even feel it’s disrespectful to get rid of gifts you don’t like from people you’ve loved. One of the reasons why we collect pieces we don’t even want is the fear of losing memories, or of feeling guilt for letting go of things once loved by people who’ve passed on. Since these collections don’t bring us joy or comfort, it’s worth asking ourselves why we keep them.
The pain of letting go
Will your late ancestors know or care if you give away things they owned? Would it hurt Grandma if you sold her Hummel figurines? Does your late cousin care if you get rid of her nativity set with the glued-together Joseph and the chipped donkey?
Perhaps you fear you’ll damage or lose your memories if you give away things you associate with those you loved. But does letting go of their belongings really mean forgetting them?
We don’t stop loving people just because we don’t own their belongings. What we love about them isn’t a set of ceramic children or a cracked crèche. Our memories don’t disappear when we stop letting unappreciated objects steal space we could use for the things we enjoy.
Letting go of things we don’t really like gives us room for things we actually want and use. Getting rid of clutter that depresses and frustrates is a freeing gift you can give to yourself and your family.
Take a picture, it’ll last longer
It can feel scary to let go of unwanted objects if you fear you’ll forget them or the people who once owned them. So before you let them go, photograph them. After all, holding onto memories is one of the reasons why we collect. We can let go of unwanted objects while keeping the memories they evoke when we take and save meaningful photos of them. That frees us from unwanted clutter while honoring the people and memories we cherish.
Get lots of photos from multiple angles, and store them somewhere safe. Then let those belongings go. This won’t diminish a lost loved one’s place in your heart. But it will be a step toward valuing your own space and life.
Hopes for the future
Sometimes we collect believing we’ll fix things up or repurpose them. The promising improvements we imagine encourage us to keep things we don’t currently enjoy. We might turn them into something beautiful or useful. We might feel proud and happy when we do that. But they give us no immediate return on emotional investment. They make us feel guilty for what we haven’t yet done every time we see them.
Such things remind us of opportunities not yet taken. Getting rid of them means letting go of fantasies that hold us back. Admitting we may never again enjoy these old things feels like giving up on an imaginary better future. That’s why a simple box of unused stuff can act as a subconscious reminder of aging and mortality. No wonder you don’t want to clear out the basement!
Feeling like a failure each time you notice damaged or dated things hurts the heart. Objects that feel like rebukes instead of inspiration don’t serve you. They bring guilt instead of pleasure, and diminish happiness instead of enhancing it. Instead, why not put energy into things that bring satisfaction today, and help you build on that satisfaction tomorrow?
If you’re not ready to let go of something, put it someplace less accessible and out of view. If you haven’t missed it after six months or a year, it’s probably time to let it go permanently. In the meantime, you won’t judge yourself or feel embarrassed every time you see it. Now, won’t that feel good?
When Collections Become Invisible
It’s common to stick collections on a shelf and forget them. They may sit in plain sight for decades, but we cease to notice them after a week or two. Or they might as well be invisible for all the attention we give them. They don’t delight, they aren’t functional—but they sure do take up space!
I rearrange things often so I don’t become blind to them. Remixing old and new objects keeps them feeling fresh. I store pieces I’m not using in cabinets or closets, then rotate them in and out. That helps me enjoy my collections. After all, pleasure is a major reason why I collect things in the first place!
If I haven’t displayed or used things for a long time, I consider whether someone else might enjoy them more. Letting them go frees up space and makes me feel lighter. When I donate them to my favorite thrift shop, they raise money to help other people, and everybody wins.
If you don’t have a charity thrift shop nearby, consider nonprofits with regular charity drive pick-ups in your neighborhood. Many—including Habitat for Humanity, the Big Brother Big Sister Foundation, and groups that support veterans, animals, or people with disabilities—offer curbside donation pickups. Though many won’t take furniture, the Furniture Bank of America does, then provides it to people who need it.
Some nonprofits send trucks around a few times a year to gather donations from porches or driveways. Look up your favorite nonprofit’s website to see if they offer this service, then get on their pick-up list. They make it easy to get rid of things a bit at a time, without even having to leave home.
The Anti-Collectors
Many people dislike clutter so intensely that they’re drawn to minimalist aesthetics. If something isn’t functional or deeply aesthetically pleasing, away it goes into storage, the donation bag, or the trash. If, as organizing maven Marie Kondo says, an object doesn’t spark joy, it may not belong in your home. Its presence may actually lower your quality of life by squeezing out other things that please you more, like tidy, serene, and uninterrupted space.
Minimalist homes have little room for collections unless they’re functional and in regular use. Such homes tend to be easier to clean, and take less time to organize. It’s harder to lose things in a minimalist home, and each object on display has greater visual weight. Every object placement is intentional. Many people find this way of living restful and soothing.
Others find greater pleasure in variety, or in the nostalgia we feel when gazing at things from our past, or from people and places we’ve loved. Such people may find minimalism emotionally unsatisfying or chilly. If you ask collectors, we’ll tell you the positive emotional impact meaningful objects have on our psyches is a primary reason why we collect and display things in the first place—to warm up and personalize our spaces.
A Maximalist’s Perspective
Those of us who gather objects like to make our spaces feel less anonymous. The urge to personalize surroundings is a major reason for us to collect.
I like a joyful mix of styles, colors, and objects in a home. But not a random mess! I enjoy a clean and tidy space with good flow, and lots of interesting combinations of objects. Some find open expanses of bare walls soothing and restful. I find homes without art on the walls sad, like rooms without windows. I display elements of multiple collections in each room: framed musical manuscripts and sheet music, interesting prints (old or contemporary), original paintings, vintage or antique porcelain plates, textiles, masks, portraits, photos, and artisan glass. These objects make me feel more engaged with a space, and more welcome.
Large picture windows with views or beautiful wallpaper can also bring delight without taking up floor space. I just want to feel I’m not stuck in a bland box. Reminders of the places I’ve been and images of places I haven’t yet seen keep me interested. And I like to surround myself with history, including my own. Such visual cues evoke a whole world of possibility.
Collecting as a Social Good
The impulse to collect can be obsessive, expensive, and messy. It exposes covetous impulses. Collecting has perils and downsides. But the desire to gather also inspires collectors to rescue objects that others don’t value, or may even dislike. Then we clean and repair them, and give them new life.
It feels good to own something special. You can run your hands over it, look deeply into it, and enjoy it whenever you want. A beloved or beautiful object can make a person feel lucky, special, even fancy. But, of course, things (including money) can’t bestow virtue, or make you a smarter or better person. And no one can keep an object forever. We’re only temporary stewards of everything we own.
To me, looking after beautiful or meaningful objects feels like I’m in charge of someone’s future joy. If I’m doing the work for some complete stranger whom I’ll never meet, that’s fine. I can’t take pretty things with me when I go, but I want to make it easier for others to enjoy, use, and admire them long after I’m gone. It’s so sad to think of beautiful things made with skill and care being chucked into boxes, separated from their history, chipped and cracked, and ultimately thrown into landfills to be crushed and lost forever. Making sure the things we value last beyond our own short lives is a major reason why we collect.
I dislike waste, or buying poorly made objects created unsustainably. Saving things from an unnecessarily early and wasteful end is another reason why people collect. But what happens when we no longer use or enjoy things? When we don’t have room for them in our homes? Then they can cause us more trouble than pleasure.
Collections That Become Burdens
Today, few people have time or space to collect and use formal dishes and furnishings. Purely decorative objects can feel like burdens. Baby Boomers’ children are turning down unwanted pewter tankards, dark cherry dining sets, and crystal vases. Their parents complain when their kids don’t want fusty old china cabinets or dated liqueur glasses. But do they find such things beautiful, useful, or pleasing? Are they even safe to use? If so, is there room to store them? If not, honestly, why should they keep them?
Outdated objects, even lovely ones, disappear when inheritors see no use for them. Rare hand-painted porcelain, cut crystal, and delicate hand-sewn textile arts often go into the trash. Many, probably most, people see no reason to keep them or pass them on.
I’ve emptied the homes of loved ones who’d been hoarders. It’s a miserable, depressing, overwhelming job. People want it done with as quickly as possible. Even people with energy to donate on a mass scale find that thrift shops won’t accept everything. Do you offer such things on Craigslist or FaceBook marketplace and hope people show up as promised? Move unclaimed furniture to the front lawn with a FREE sign and hope people take it before the rain comes? Pay a clean-out company? How far do you go before you’re tempted to rent a dumpster and throw it all away for good?
Bad for inheritors, good for collectors
Many antiques that commanded astonishing prices 20 years ago now have almost no market. They’re hard to even give away. The upside for collectors is that such treasures are readily available for very little money. For just the right person, this is a fantastic time to gather outdated objects that may become coveted rarities in future. I often see exhibits in museums nearly identical to pieces I’ve bought at estate sales, thrift shops, or online auctions for under $10. People rarely know how valuable their inherited objects once were. Even if they do, things may not be worth keeping if they provide no value or use to their owners.
When lovely things no longer function
Until the 1970s, porcelain and ceramic items were often covered with leaded glazes or paints. Fine crystal was made with large amounts of lead mixed into the glass for greater strength and sparkle. People today avoid consuming food or drink from them, with good reason. Lead can lead to developmental delays or illness; children are especially vulnerable. Some older objects, even those with some lead in them, can be safe to use occasionally around food or drink; others are too heavily leaded to be safe. They’re still beautiful, but few of us have enough display space to use them simply as decorations.
Similarly, laws governing the sale of baby furniture are often updated as more risks are identified. Organizations that assess children’s furnishings for safety no longer deem the crib and carseats I bought my daughter years ago to be safe. They have choking hazards, such as slats that are too far apart, or latches and fasteners that fail. It can be hard to turn down expensive and beautiful objects from relatives who don’t get why we don’t trust these things around kids. But awareness of risks grows with time, and it’s important to take new knowledge seriously.
Rarities Grow Rarer
Some objects are rarities that still draw collectors. They’ll always have a market because they’re unusual, even if no longer functional. My 19th and early 20th century children’s dishes held food for babies and children, or decorated children’s tea parties. Their storybook illustrations are charming. But since the mass production of unbreakable children’s dishes, who wants to serve reckless toddlers dinner from fine china? What’s more, old dishes often have leaded glazes. No one wants to feed babies lead.
When beautiful but non-functional objects go out of style, people trash them, store them, donate, or sell them. They’re not immediately worth much, so few save them. But over time, few remain to delight new generations. Designs and manufacturing techniques are lost. Beauty and context disappear. What a shame!
Examples of antique technology—early typewriters, lightbulbs, sewing machines—are fascinating. But though they’re attractive conversation pieces, they’re honestly large and useless. How many people can afford to display attractive but impractical dust magnets like these?
In the past, when homes with storage space were affordable, people kept obsolete items. We chucked things into the basement or attic and forgot them. But with rents and purchase prices obscenely high, we’re sharing homes with others to make ends meet. Storage is at a premium. Who has room for useless things?
A Great Time to Collect
Collectors with plentiful storage are lucky. Many wonderful objects are available to snap up at bargain prices. Vintage and antique books, well-made glassware, china, lace, hand-knotted carpets, tools, and collectible art prints by established artists are easy to find at incredible prices right now, if you know where to look.
Luxury crystal is often dirt cheap. Much looks outdated and fussy to modern eyes. But many vintage pieces are exquisite, and some are clean and minimalist enough to fit with contemporary decor. My mom couldn’t afford Waterford, Orrefors, Kosta Boda, or Lalique. I find flawless pieces by these makers for a small fraction of what she’d have paid for them 40 years ago (and much less than they go for on eBay or Etsy). Sometimes I’m lucky at estate sales or thrift shops, but my best deals come from local online auctions.
Here in New England, people often keep the same home in one family for many decades. Beautiful but unwanted antique furniture may sit unloved in a basement for decades. It may sell at online auctions for next to nothing—sometimes people can’t even give it away. Even inertia can be the reason why we collect—it’s just too hard or expensive to give heavy but unwanted things away.
Midcentury modern pieces are much more popular and coveted than older pieces, and they sell for more. But you can still find great deals on them at estate sales and thrift shops; just rent a pick-up for the day for $20 and you can haul one home by tonight. Are you willing to restore these pieces, or pay to have them refinished if they need it? Then you’ll have beautiful, well-made wood furniture with personality and history for less than you’d pay for new but uninspired mass-market furniture from your local furniture store.
A bad time to buy fine jewelry
Unfortunately, this is a bad time to collect sterling silver or gold items. With their prices currently at record highs, many people are selling old pieces of gold or sterling jewelry or solid silver dining accessories for just the value of the metal. That means a lot of beautiful and rare vintage and antique objects are sold as scrap. Some will be resold as is; other pieces are melted down to make less well-crafted, easier-to-sell contemporary objects.
With so many people living paycheck to paycheck, there’s been a rush to turn family heirlooms into quick and necessary cash. Of course, it’s understadable to put paying rent, gas, and food above storing jewelry and candlesticks we’ll never use. But it means that unusual, even one-of-a-kind pieces of historic design are being lost forever.
Changing Styles Impact Collections’ Value
People’s tastes have changed dramatically since the 1990s. Gilded excess is unfashionable; sleek and simple is in. Furniture—even custom furniture—tends to be boxier, simpler, and easier to fabricate. It’s hard to find unusual colors or patterns in upholstery unless you’re willing to pay a huge markup for custom work. The kind of hand-carved woodwork, architectural details, and elegant upholstery our parents grew up with is tough to find in contemporary furniture.
Today, most buyers prefer pale furniture finishes and fewer details. Dark pieces with fussy carving or moldings are out. Restorers, pro and amateur, are painting, bleaching with lye or other chemicals (which dries out wood, and provides uneven results), or fully and carefully refinishing furniture. Your collection of wooden pieces with old yellow, orange, or dark cherry finishes isn’t so popular now. But restorers take these old pieces and make them look fresh and marvelous with paler, cooler painted or stained finishes. They can earn good money for upcycled furniture. Thank goodness—it keeps useful objects out of landfills. Restoring old pieces also lets you furnish your home with higher quality at more affordable prices.
“Brown furniture” makes a comeback
“Brown furniture” has been out of fashion for a while. Beautifully made but darkly stained wooden chests, desks, tables, bookshelves, and chairs sell for next to nothing in online auctions. People can hardly give away many gorgeous, museum-quality pieces in these colors.
Remember how black, white, and grey Modern Farmhouse style became popular around 2010? Since then, pale birch, beech, and white oak furniture has been much easier to find than dark or colored pieces. But now, designers say Modern Farmhouse interiors and grey or monochromatic rooms are going out of style. Rooms are becoming more colorful; neutrals are moving from greys to warmer cream, beige, and honey hues; and patterned upholstery is more popular, too. Vintage furniture with a new finish or a fresh coat of paint is actually chic again.
Solid wood furniture is making a true comeback. Even pieces in dark hues are getting love when their finishes are stained with browns that have grey rather than red undertones. This gives me hope for the high-quality but dated wooden furniture out there. Up-cycled solid-wood pieces are a sustainable, affordable, attractive alternative to flat-pack, built-it-yourself, fast furniture. There’s well-made new furniture out there, of course, but it’s so expensive! Cheaper furniture pieces often feature poorly applied veneers that chip and end up in landfills in a few short years.
Use Upscale Collections in Casual Ways
I’m glad to see lots of collectors finding ways to repurpose “fancy” objects in unfussy ways. Why not top old silver-plated trays with clusters of pillar candles, or use them to gather together pretty but chipped mugs or glasses full of make-up and brushes, or markers and other art and craft supplies?
I fill clustered vintage bottles, juice glasses, and pretty porcelain coffee and tea pots with wild flowers. And antique saucers and bowls that cost about $1-3 apiece make lovely soap dishes and jewelry holders.
Taking something once considered upscale and using it in a not-so-precious way isn’t new, of course. “Shabby chic” homes have done this for decades. But now that sustainability and upcycling are more fashionable (and economically necessary), collecting things once deemed old fashioned or too formal and using them in fresh and functional ways feels just right.
At top:
Open kitchen shelves display the author’s collection of black and white porcelain and ceramic pieces. A few pieces of faux coral add complementary texture | Photo by Laura Grey
