Collecting is in our nature. Our ancestors were hunters and gatherers before turning into farmers and pastoralists. While some of us have less urge to gather or collect things, collecting still runs strong in others. Collect, collect and collect some more.
In general all Swiss collect to recycle. Glass, paper, metal, cans, cardboard, I’ve talked about this before, this post is not about that kind of collecting. It’s about collecting ‘just because’.
Americans Collect
On my side of the family only my mother actively collected anything that I know of. For some reason turtles tickled her fancy so she ended up with a petite collection. Other than that, we weren’t big on collecting.
Certainly not all Americans are like that. I remember my best friend’s father collected things. After I moved to Switzerland she asked us to buy some Märklin model trains for him. Her father wanted to expand his collection. Once she showed me his collection of $100 bills. Really? $100 bills? I can think of lots of things to do with them and collecting is definitely not one of them.
Swiss Collecting
I think the majority of Ben’s side of the family inherited the collecting gene. Ben’s parents were both big on collecting but that was probably more about living through shortages during WWII than genes. It was things they thought might be useful later. His mother collected little pieces of used string she tied together to make a big ball or Christmas wrapping paper. I’m not sure if she ever used the string but I used the paper once to make Christmas cards. She said she knew they would come in handy one day.
His father had a huge collection of old, used, rusty nails. He said he kept them in case there was a shortage. He could hammer them straight and use them again.
They also collected things ‘just because’. Ben’s mom had a stately collection of espresso cups with silver spoons. Ben’s father collected coins and lighters and I’m not talking about Bic plastic lighters either.
I think probably all three of their children were collectors with increasing degrees. Their eldest, Ben’s brother, had a modest collection of model trains but no real motivation to collect. I believe his sister doesn’t collect actively but doesn’t like to get rid of things that might be useful later. That leaves her with stacks of magazines until she can sort through them to make room for new ones. Her handicraft closet is full of odds and ends and every grandchild’s dream of heaven. Being the third child, my husband is the most avid of collectors. I’m glad they didn’t have a fourth child because he or she would probably have been a manic collector.
My Husband, the Collector
Hubby is a collector big-time but thankfully not manic. Well, not too manic. If I ever had an urge to collect, every effort would pale in contrast to him. Fortunately he doesn’t collect just anything, we don’t have enough room. But luckily we don’t live in the Palace of Versailles, who knows how quickly he would fill it. What’s nice is what he collects fascinates him. Books, computers, clocks, toy cars, Mickey Mouse comics; the list isn’t finite.
I think the key to collecting is being organized; the better organized, the more you can collect. He is one of the best, if not THE best organizer I know. He has all his ducks in a row and can find anything in the drop of a pin. Want to see the sixth Mickey comics from 1958? Hang on. Okay, here it is.
Like I said, luckily he doesn’t collect just anything. We both shook our heads when the craze was collecting the tops of portion sized coffee creams. As far as I know the decorative, collectable tops were only produced in Switzerland. The strange thing being that no one we knew collected them for themselves. It was always for some relative or friend. A quick look in ebay under “Kaffeesahne-Deckel” produces results in the 100s. Lots of people selling, sometimes by the kilo, very few buying. Thank goodness that craze is over.
The Next Generations
Collecting is in our blood, so of course it has continued into the next Swiss generation. Ben knew his father’s lighter collection was in good hands when he gave it to his niece. She is also a third child and understands about collecting. She started her collection of elephants at an early age. I’m glad to announce that, to date, there are neither live nor taxidermy elephants in her collection.
Non-Collectors
The opposite of collecting is getting rid of things. Our brother-in-law is a non-collector. He contends that collecting is basically a waste of time and energy. First you collect. Then you have so much that there is no more viable room for it in the apartment. You then pack it air-tight and move it to the attic. Then there is no more room in the attic. So you go through it again, sort it out, repack part of it and throw away the rest. You do this until you have completely gotten rid of your collection.
So the question remains, why not just throw it away or not collect it in the first place? Imagine the energy, time and space saved.
Well, that sounds easy enough, but it just doesn’t work that way. You collect for the love of collecting and you get rid of things when the space gets tight. Ben downsizes slice by slice, granted, it does cost more energy. However, in the end he ends up with the pearls of his collections and can showcase them without the clutter.
Getting Rid of Things
But how do you get the objects to the people who want them? We live on a moderately busy street. We set the things out with a “Free to take” sign and they disappear within hours or minutes. Everyone does it. Nothing easier and never have we set out anything for longer than a day. It really disappears quickly and everything finds a new home, nothing needs to be thrown away. Amazing how well that works.
However we know of people for whom it didn’t quite work out the way they thought it would. They were moving themselves and had already filled their moving van a couple of times. At the end of the day they had carried the rest of their furniture outside for the last load. They were almost finished and everything fit into the truck except their couch. They decided to make a next-to-last run to the new place, unload the truck and drive back for the very last load. So they left the couch there and left. When they returned an hour later it had disappeared. Someone had seen the couch sitting outside, all by itself, thought it was being given away and took it. Natural mistake.
Still, sort of an involuntary way to downsize.
-
-