CRBWildcat wrote:I could never understand how people could collect that much and still have enough space in their homes to walk around. Man... a hobby is a hobby, but this...!
Meh. At least for me, not the case for me at all, and I see nothing wrong with it.
You are not giving collectors and organizers, or those with obsession with positional awareness near enough credit, it is *not* the same as say hoarding, which I find quite disgusting. Nor the same as those that literally fill their house, garage, shed, and even the yard with stuff.... Say like what Yomiko Readman did in the original ROD OAV.
Having large and/or multiple collections is quite easy if you are organized and good at space management/positional awareness... I keep everything clean, neat, presentable, and in a fashion to maximize interior room and minimize presence. I happen to have a reasonably small house and I have no issues from having large collections whatsoever.
Consider my entire set of collections, all carefully grouped and organized:
- Star Trek book collection - some 400 paperback, hardcover, large print, and tech manuals... carefully organized onto two medium sized bookshelves in my bedroom.
- Scifi/Fantasy book collection - some 100 paperback, hardcover, large print, and tech manuals... 1 bookshelf in my bedroom off of the computer desk center.
- Computer books / software collection - all the install discs, hard backups, blank CD's DVD's, manuals, and packaging, codes, plus the box and critical information for my dumb pay as go cell phone plus backup unit. 1 bookshelf in my bedroom off of the computer desk center.
- Scifi DVD collection - Includes things like All Star Trek series and movies, all Stargate, all Buck Rogers, all Space 1999, all original Galactica and Galactica 1980, other stuff. 1 bookshelf in main floor living room surround sound media center.
- Comedy/mystery/miscellaneous live DVD collection - Including things like Remington Steele, Ellery Queen, Sherlock Holmes, Diagnosis Murder, A-Team, Zorro, etc. 1 bookshelf in main floor living room surround sound media center.
- Manga book collection - see list above for a slightly outdated summary, 1 bookshelf in basement *next to* but not part of the basement great room surround sound media center.
- Anime DVD collection - see list above for a slightly outdated summary, both bookshelves in basement great room surround sound media center, and a small cardboard box in my bedroom closet of unsorted/unwatched material. Those will eventually be moved to the basement great room surround sound media center bookshelves or pitched as I watch them.
- 130+ Old 45 records, on top of the basement surround sound media center bookshelves, in 4 special chrome carrier racks with wood handles designed to hold about 40 records each.
- Several hundred 35mm slides... on top of the basement great room surround sound media center shelves with the 45 records... in 4 plastic holders with covers designed for long term storage.
- 30+ audio cassettes, on top of the Manga bookshelf next to the basement great room surround sound media center in portable nylon holders with covers.
- 20+ VHS video cassettes, a recent acquisition from an Aunt... Highlander series. Currently in the Basement media shelves in the little remaining free room in them.
- Couple dozen Non-Anime Audio CD's, on top of the bookshelves surrounding the living room surround sound media center in boxes designed to match the look of the bookshelves..
- Couple dozen Anime Audio CD's, on top of the bookshelves surrounding the basement great room surround sound media center in boxes designed to match the look of the bookshelves..
Note that the basement great room is 500+ square feet, and the surround sound media center area is less than 1/4 of that area. plus I have a spare bedroom with only minimal stuff in it, and a attic crawlspace that has literally nothing but two attic mounted antennas in it and is completely empty of storage. My own bedroom closet, except some suits, shoes, blankets, and the one box, has tons of room in it.
Having that much material *unorganized* would be a pain, messy, and pretty unmanageable, and probably disgusting. As it is, thanks to well planning, I have tons of room for expansion if I wanted.
Possible expansion: My one aunt has a whole bunch of old various format 8MM movies and even home movies, been tempted to get a 8MM DUAL mode projector and add it to the basement media center, already have the slide projector on it. Once do that could ask for the movies... some of them are quite astounding... Star Wars the original 8MM release for example.