What Drives Us to Collect Stuff

collect-stuff

It’s Friday and time to join Kate Moutang and #FiveMinuteFriday. Today’s prompt is Collect. Of course my shallow mind turns to thing and hence my post is about stuff. Read on…

Some days I think I have a problem. Of collecting stuff. I in no way think I’m a hoarder but there are certain items I can’t get enough of. Such as….

  • soap (specifically bar)
  • cleaning supplies
  • food (I like to stockpile the freezer)

So what drives me to purchase and collect these things no matter if I already have enough at home?

Grocery Bags with Food

Well my motto for soap is that you can never have too much. It’s used daily and makes great gifts. True enough even though I can buy 12 bars at the drop of a hat it’s not long before my stash is dwindling and I need to purchase more to keep the family nice and clean.

For cleaning supplies I’m always hoping the next one works better than the one before it. I’m trying to remedy this collecting habit because too many cleaning products only breeds confusion. I do like my cleaning products. Especially when there is a sweet scent attached but it makes more sense to keep it to the necessities. I think in addition to looking for the next best cleaner I like trying new things.

When it comes to food it could be I have not so fond memories of living overseas as a child where barely anything covered the grocery store shelves. There is an underlying fear of not having enough food so when I see something on sale, at a really good price, I tend to “load up”.

What about you? Do you collect anything?

Closets, bins, and boxes are a real necessity. Storage does not mean unnecessary hoarding; it means definite planning as to bin, box, or closet and the systematic arrangement of the contents of each – a place for everything.

~Housewifery

 

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14 Comments

    1. If you read “The House that Cleans Itself.” the author has you go through everything and bring like items together so you can see how much you have of certain items. For example how many pairs of scissors are in the house? It’s amazing what we unearth when we dig 🙂

  1. I have never thought about the reasons I might collect things but it is definitely something to think about. Hmmm – thanks for the challenge with this. A reason makes it a good thing to do but just collecting for no particular purpose? Maybe it needs to go.

    1. Yes. I am going through my house right now and being thoughtful about what I find. I’m not a minimalist by any means but I don’t want to be a hoarder either.

  2. I’m not a huge collector of stuff, but I do collect food. I didn’t look at it as collecting. I can in the fall, buy a whole cow once a year and stock up when there is a good sale. We could eat good at our house for a long time if we needed to.

  3. I like your soap stash. I love bar soap. It just smells soo good.
    I think I collect friends. Lol. I love to make new and more friends ! And I would collect books but my husband grew overwhelmed at my books and I consensed them greatly to mostly on my kindle or library borrows.

    1. Thank you. The picture above isn’t my personal stash (although I would love it to be). Mine is more eclectic and has several brands in it. I’ve got tons of books on my Kindle too. And the library knows me by name 🙂 Great minds think alike 🙂

  4. My husband is really good about this. I never know what is a good deal or not so I never try unless it is pretty obvious. But it is interesting about your reasoning for each of them. It kinda gives us a glimpse of your heart and who you are. visiting from #4

  5. I do the same with paper products when they’re on sale. Sometimes my garage looks like a mini warehouse but then it’s nice to know that I can go six months without wondering if I have enough. Visiting from FMF#41

  6. Visiting from FMF. It is interesting to think about the reasons behind us collecting certain things. Where I have a problem is with collecting books. There are always so many books I really want to read but I never find time to read them all and so I end up with a collection of books I haven’t read.

    1. Thanks for dropping by. I actually didn’t think we had that many books until I started going through the house and realizing there was a collection in most every room!

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