Toycon just happened last weekend and while the hauls were impressive and the memories timeless, a question that lingered on my mind was whether or not I was a hoarder. A friend asked me just a couple of days prior if I was a hoarder and it’s these little moments that make you question yourself even if you vehemently deny it but to even consider myself hoarder to begin with, it all starts with understanding whether I’m even one to begin with.

When you look up the psychological definition of hoarding, you’ll be prompted with this:

Hoarding disorder is a mental health condition in which a person feels a strong need to save a large number of items, whether they have monetary value or not, and experiences significant distress when attempting to get rid of the items. The hoarding impairs their daily life.

This prompt in a way already attacked me because even the little things I’ve gathered actually contributed to something way deeper than I expected. Toys were cool and all but the stacks of cards staring back at me from years and years of playing and opening booster packs. This doesn’t even include the random trinkets I’ve collected over the years but then it hit me, was it a hobby, was it a habit or was I really just hoarding?

Am I Really a Hoarder or a Hobbyist?

Is this piece really talking about typical hoarding tendencies or is this really just to justify all the purchases I’ve made over the years and all the trees that were sacrificed to just be left in a box? Whatever it is, it gave me that realization on how the biggest differentiators between being a hoarder, having a hobby and even just having some messed up habits depend on how much of an investment you’ve made in that hobby, the willingness to let go and the mindset during the chase.

Let’s say you were a kid in the 80s and you see these things called beanie babies. They’re all the rage with it being bought out left and right but down the line, you see, the one. It’s not a perfect beanie baby but it’s the one for you with it staring down your soul and you feel a connection. You bring that beanie baby home and depending on what you do next, would make you an enthusiast or hobbyist, a hoarder or a reseller.

Quantity and Quality Control

We go back to the beanie baby example with you having 1 beanie baby. And you feel like its lonely so you get a second one. You feel that they might get sick of dealing with each other and get a third. Fun comes in pairs and so on and so forth. And the beanie babies keep piling on and on. Having a shelf filled with them is fine and all but a couple never hurt anyone up until the shelf gets overloaded and it collapses on you. Your bank feels empty but your room’s so full and that’s when you realize you’re a hoarder. You don’t care about their condition but the comfort in having a hoard surround you keeps you at peace but in reality it’s suffocating.

Let’s run it back a bit and go back to that shelf. You have a bit more self control and you only buy the ones you like. There’s no fake excuse like healing your inner child because let’s face it, if you don’t need that much, you probably have a fond childhood with it and you just want a couple because they make you happy and you lost your childhood. You’re beginning to collect more because apparently there was more in store growing up that you didn’t know about but only the ones that you like. Here’s the clincher though. Not only are you keeping them, you’re even making sure to budget your spending and oddly enough you don’t care about the condition. You have a meager list and you don’t need multiples without good reason. Look at that, you’re a hobbyist.

So far it’s the quantity that determines whether you’re a hoarder or a hobbyist and that feeling of contentment with what you have being a factor as well but what if you hoard but actually have the intent to sell? That just means you’re an investor. Investing on hobbies is a whole can of worms that might take a while to explain but the gist of it is, you’re not in it for love, you’re in it for money.

Closing Thoughts

At the end of the day, there’s nothing wrong with hoarding here and there because let’s face it, stockpiling supplies is needed for emergencies too but there’s a limit to how obsessive one could get over things. Finances also play a factor in even being able to sustain a treasure trove of hoarded goods but as long as you’re happy with the decision and it’s not impeding your life, go as hard as you want to. As for me though, it’s time to take out the bulk because this stack of Magic the Gathering cards isn’t going to sell itself.