On the Path: Collecting or Hoarding?

On a recent morning, while on a mission to find something in the depths of the armoire, I was greeted by the collection of porcelain bovine cream pitchers, reducing me to giggles. I removed them and displayed them on the dining table for a day or so, just because they were so funny.

The cow pitchers started with one that I was very fond of, a gift from my former Mother-in-law. One of my sons broke it and replaced it with one he found at a yard sale. Then he found another and another and so on until I now have seven. And I have no doubt that the collection will grow. Apparently they are things people acquire and dispose of frequently.

Collecting runs in my family and each of my collections – elephants, perfume bottles, cow cream pitchers and even Steiff animals – was started for me by another family member. I never meant to have dozens (or even hundreds in some cases), but as word spread, more landed in my unsuspecting hands and on my shelves. Let’s just say that the elephant collection turned into a stampede and the perfume bottle collection has had to be reduced in order to prevent it from overtaking the sleeping area of my bedroom. How did it happen? What does this say about me?

I do know that you never want to tell anyone you have a collection of anything. If you do - you will get more. People are naturally generous and love an excuse to buy. My elephant collection started small and then friends found out and pachyderms paraded through the door like nobody's business.

My sons gave me a bonsai for Christmas last year because they thought I needed a hobby. Now I have 7 bonsai to care for. Collections seem to follow me.

I researched the personality types of hoarders, worrying that maybe I was exhibiting signs. Hoarders are indecisive and start dozens of projects and never finish them. Typically they talk too much, having trouble deciding how much to say and tending to be tangential, providing every detail rather than simply answering a question. They have trouble organizing their stuff, limiting acquisitions and making decisions about discarding. Some studies show that they have a lower activity in the cingulate gyrus that runs through the middle of the brain and affects areas regarding attention, focusing and decision-making.

Please excuse me while I go make salad dressing, whip up a pan of brownies, brew a gallon of tea to ice, clean out a closet, fret over the painting and cleaning I need to do in my house, hard boil eggs for a salad, and roast two pints of cherry tomatoes in garlic, oil and sea salt.

Fall garden at the Shelburne Museum

Perhaps I have more of a problem than I thought. Although, I do finish my projects and I don't talk too much and I usually get to the point. And you should see the pile of things I am discarding this week.

Meeting House at the Shelburne Museum

Prentis House, Shelburne Museum

Speaking of hoarding --- while vacationing last week, I had the pleasure of seeing the most interesting, extensive and eclectic collection at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. Electra Havemeyer Webb (1888-1960) accumulated 20 historic structures including a 200-foot steamboat, lighthouse, covered bridge, barns, a jail, railroad cars and other buildings including exemplary period New England homes. She collected Impressionist paintings, folk art, quilts and textiles, furniture, decoys, carriages and more. There are 39 exhibition buildings on the large property and they are all packed with her collections. The setting is much like a village, with beautiful gardens and rolling hills, formal gardens and a carousel.

Steamboat Ticonderoga, Shelburne Museum

Dining Room on the Ticonderoga, Shelburne Museum

The Round Barn, Shelburne Museum

Ogden Pleissner's Studio. Shelburne Museum

Hat Boxes at the Shelburne Museum

Just a few of the woodworking tools at the Shelburne Museum

Mrs. Webb certainly knew how to channel her hoarding in a creative and useful way. Thousands of visitors view her collections and are probably as overwhelmed as my friends and I were after walking through the buildings and across the grounds for almost 6 hours. Frankly I found the collection of dolls with glass eyes, and real human hair downright creepy. But the Dentzel Carousel horses in the Round Barn, rooms filled with woodworking tools and the re-created apothecary complete with a jar marked "Leeches" were absolutely fascinating.

Ice Wagon, Shelburne Museum

Inside the Circus Building, Shelburne Museum

Part of the folk art collection, Shelburne Museum

So hoarding can have a positive impact on others and the environment and, when shared in a creative and meaningful way, provide education and other opportunities. Maybe I will donate some of my things to a museum someday but more than likely they will end up in an auction or sent to a second-hand shop. Isn’t it nice that there are recycling options for our excess? One good thing about unemployment – I am not acquiring things and I have plenty of time to weed out at home and visit fascinating places like the Shelburne Museum.