107 - How to declutter collectables and collections

Summary

In this episode, Heather untangles the fine line between a comforting collection and overwhelming clutter. She explores why collecting feels so soothing for neurodivergent brains, how it can quietly shift into pressure or guilt, and what questions to ask if your “treasures” have taken over. You’ll learn how to spot when you’re keeping things for love, nostalgia, or the hope they’ll be worth something one day, and how to keep the joy without drowning in stuff.

Chapters:

Intro: When Treasures Take Over

Why We Collect

When Comfort Turns Into Clutter

Are You Still Enjoying It?

Holding On to Past You

The “It Might Be Worth Something” Trap

The Emotional Layer Behind Collecting

Keeping What Truly Matters

Redefining What You Keep

The Sunk Cost Reminder

Loving Collections Without Letting Them Take Over

Transcript

Heather Tingle (00:01.08)
Hello, Untanglers, and welcome back to another episode of Decluttering Untangled with me, your host, Heather Tingle. Today, I want to talk about a topic that gets people a bit defensive and also very emotional, and that is collectibles, your collections. You know the ones, the shelves of figurines, the boxes of old magazines, the Beanie Babies, those Beanie Babies that might still be worth a fortune one day, maybe.

So if you've ever said, it's not clutter, it's my hobby, it's my collection, then you are in the right place for this one. So let's untangle that line between collection and clutter, especially if you've got a neurodivergent brain and things hold a little bit more meaning and emotion than other people might understand. Now, collecting itself is not a bad thing. So I think it's really quite a healthy thing to do. I think it's a hobby, it's a good,

way of spending time and it's something that many of us with ADHD or autism find deeply comforting. I think there's a dopamine hit when you find that missing thing or a sense of order when everything's like lined up and it looks great because you've got a full collection or just that feeling of belonging when your collection reflects who you are or what you love. So what you're interested in you

part of something bigger than yourself. And I think, especially if like me, when you're growing up undiagnosed, sometimes it's hard to feel like we fit in and sometimes having a collection makes us feel like we're fitting into something almost. So I think it can be quite soothing, especially when everything else in the world, let's face it, feels a bit unpredictable right now. So you might look at that shelf of like, I don't know.

vintage cameras or magazines that you collected weekly and think, do you know what? This makes sense to me. Nothing else does. This is my thing. But the problem comes, I see it so often, is that that comfort becomes, I was gonna say uncomfort, but that's not a word, it? Discomfort, that's the word I was looking for. That comfort shifts. So the joy that came from collecting turned into guilt, pressure.

Heather Tingle (02:23.094)
pressure is a definite one that I see. Obligation or just like noise. There's just stuff and it's not necessarily collection anymore. It's spiraled from collection and has become problematic. You stop seeing the items as individual things. You see because there's just too many of them. So you see it as a big thing or you're unable to see it at all because there's no room for it.

and it's had to be packed up or boxed away or maybe you've moved on from it and it can't fit in with your current life so it's up in the loft or it's in boxes in cupboards under the bed or whatever and then that becomes problematic because you then don't have space for all the things that you need in your home. So that excitement about finding another thing can then turn into dread about where you're to put it or you think well it doesn't really matter I've got that much of it anyway what's one more to add to the collection like

it becomes almost a compulsion. And that's when collections can really quite quietly become clutter. And this can happen over a long period of time, or it can happen very quickly too. It all depends on what stage in your life when you're doing the collection. So it might be if it's a new thing or it's something that you're still interested in, then it might feel less problematic than an old collection from when you were a child or a teenager, for example.

Obviously at one point it was a really exciting thing and there's so much emotion tied to it but now it can just be a reminder of something that you once went all in on but you spent so much time and money over it's therefore impossible to let go. So I'd really like to talk about reframing that a little bit and to be able to maybe just pull out a little and look at it a little bit more objectively. That's easier said than done because let's face it we are all really sentimental creatures.

but hopefully I can give you some things to think about and I can give you permission to let things go if you want. So how will you know when it's gone from a positive to a negative in your life? So I want you to really ask yourself these questions and I really want you to be totally honest in your own heart, not for anybody else, not for me, not for friends, not for family, but just to yourself. And the main one is, am I still enjoying this? Because collections are there to be enjoyed.

Heather Tingle (04:49.44)
So really analyse, are you enjoying it? And ask yourself, if you're not, why? Is it because it's no longer you and it's no longer enjoyable in itself, or is it, it's not stored in a way that means it can be enjoyable? So really have a think about that. Are you keeping it out of habit or your obligation to your past self? I think, especially when we've gone all in on something, we feel obligated.

to that version of ourselves that loved it. I know I used to have a real thing for like Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. Who knew that an ADHD, was undiagnosed ADHD would have a bit of a thing for Tigger. And I got into it a lot older than I should have. That's a horrible thing to say, but I was in my early 20s and I went all in on it and I loved it.

But then when I looked at it again in my 30s, when I was decluttering, it felt like an obligation to past me to keep it. But I did let them go because I actually looked at the items themselves and thought, actually, I'm only keeping this because of then, because of who I was then, because I loved it then. I am keeping it for me now.

So ask yourself, do you love this? Or am I keeping it because it reminds me of a certain time in my life and it's linked to that time rather than the object itself? And I think that's a really important distinction to make and really take some time to think about that one. Am I holding on because it's part of my identity or because I'm scared to let go of who I used to be? Sometimes, especially with being through trauma,

or we've had a difficult time in our pasts, we hold on to things that were positive at that time, but actually they're not really positive for us anymore, so we don't really need them. So ask yourself, why are you keeping it? Sometimes we keep things because they remind us of a past version of ourselves. So a hobby we used to love, a relationship we've moved on from, or a time that felt easier or sometimes harder. And that's really like, you know, it's completely human.

Heather Tingle (07:10.668)
That is normal. But those objects don't have to carry the weight of that story forever. Like there is no point keeping that story forever because that story can be told in different ways or it might be a story that you want to change the ending to. So you don't need that. So the main one though really is are you enjoying this collection? Are you just keeping it because you think it might be worth something one day or you can't let it go because of how much it costs at the time?

compared to the minimal amount maybe it's worth now. I have seen so many people keep boxes of collectibles in lofts, in garages, in spare rooms because they might be valuable. But in all honesty, if it is sitting in a box gathering dust, it is not adding any value to your life right now. And it is only worth something if you actually sell it anyway. And if so, if you're not gonna sell it, it's not worth anything at all. It's worth zero. So,

Really, you've got to think about you deserve to have joy in the present and not a maybe money moment in the future because there were so many things that people thought were gonna be worth something someday and they're not. And also there were some things that people thought weren't gonna be worth anything and because nobody liked them are worth a lot. But you might not get to know that and you can't hold on to something on the slight off chance that that might be one of those times.

And let's face it, it is emotional. Collections often hold our stories. They represent comfort, control, sometimes grief, and maybe links to other people. They can also be kind of mask in like a way of saying, look how together I am, or like, this is who I am. This is my thing. When actually it's just another layer of like what's hiding underneath it all. So if someone else calls it clutter, it can feel like they're criticizing you, not the stuff.

But you remember, you you've got to remember that your worth is not measured by what you own or how neatly it's displayed or how vast this thing is. You're allowed to grow beyond what those things represent. And the stuff is not you. You are you, not the stuff. So it's not also about getting rid of everything. All decluttering is, is about keeping hold of what is most important. It's not actually about what you let go.

Heather Tingle (09:35.759)
It's really about what keeping what truly matters and letting go of the rest and being kind to yourself in the process. So really think about what you love, what makes you smile, what brings you pride or comfort, but let go of what brings pressure, guilt, overwhelm. If you're looking at something and it makes you smile, that's a really good like...

indicator of something you want to keep. If it's making you quite stressed or a bit on on tenterhooks with it, that might be the time where you can just take a bit of time to think about it and maybe look at letting some stuff, some of it go. And you can keep the story without keeping all the stuff. You can take photos, you can create scrapbook, you can curate your collection. So you really can enjoy looking at it by keeping the, might be usually the, when you start a collection,

Item number one is the most important. And then there might be another item which was like the jewel in the crown. And the rest of it in between is kind of like a, meh, I'm not really bothered about it. So keep those jewels, keep those smiley bits, the real important parts and let the rest go. You don't have to think of a collection if you get rid of it. You don't have to think of letting it all go. Yeah, obviously you can, but you couldn't separate it. You can, and you can just keep a few bits of it.

that is allowed, you you can make your own rules on this. If you've got hundreds of something, just maybe choose your favorites. Some people will say rotate them if that helps. I wouldn't do that because I think that's giving you an extra job to do, which causes issues long term. So I would definitely have a way of displaying your things, but just minimize it as much as possible.

And it's not about erasing your interest or who you once were. It's about setting boundaries that make them feel good with the space that you've got. So if you're keeping something because you think it might be valuable, ask yourself, would I actually sell it if it was? Or do I like the idea that it could be? If it's not being used, seen, enjoyed, appreciated, maybe it's time to let it move on. Also a good time to go back to episode 20 on the sunk cost fallacy. That will really help with this.

Heather Tingle (11:56.226)
So there you go, you can love your collections and still minimise them. It's not lazy, greedy or silly. A lot of people think, it's so silly to keep this. No, it isn't. If it makes you happy, then you keep it and that's okay. It doesn't matter what it is. There's always a reason why it started, but it doesn't mean that you have to be trapped in that forever. If that does not serve you anymore, you've got permission to change it and let it go. Past you might have found comfort in that, but current you might need calm.

and it might need the space and it might need the emotional energy to let them go instead. So this week, have a look at your little treasures and ask yourself, are these bringing me joy? Do they make me smile? Or are they just gathering dust? Am I holding onto the memory of who I was then or the item itself for its own merit? So have a think on that. So I will leave you with that. So until next time, remember you're not alone. Be kind to yourself and keep untangling.