Do you have any collections?

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Red / red-black stuffs of all kinds.
There is almost no single cloth of any other color in my closet and my room is full of red-black stuff (bedding, furniture, everyday use stuffs, stuffs of no use).

I have always more than one "collection", and have never really lost interest in any of them. I started collecting early-model TV sets when I was 10 years old, and have had as many as 400 of them at any one time. These are TV sets made from the 1940s to 60s mainly, and also a sub-collection is that I have every small Sony color TV made since their first in 1967. That's about 75 models, plus every Sony plasma TV made (they only made 5 different ones in the early 2000s before quitting and going to LCD). I buy/sell/trade them, and for the last 20 years or so, I've narrowed it down to about 150 that I probably will keep permanently (unless another collector talks me out of one, which happens now & then).

My #2 collection is 1980s Toyota cars & trucks with Diesel engines, which are VERY rare in the USA. They were imported from 1981-86, and I have every model they imported those years. (Corolla, Camry, and mini-truck). I also have both versions of the (hated) GM Diesel passenger car configurations, which are also very rare; the '84 Buick Century 4.3 Diesel, and two Cadillacs with the 5.7 V8 Diesel.

My #3 collection is Cold War era air raid sirens... Not the little ones like on police cars; I mean the big ones you see ontop of poles, and which weigh up to 1200 lbs . I have 5 of those, and two of them are installed & operational at our place in Moorpark, CA.

Now with all that said, I need to say that while some might call this "hoarding", every one of my TVs is clean, working and properly displayed with earthquake safety in mind, and I know exactly what I have. For the vehicles, all 14 cars and 12 motorcycles are currently licensed, insured, and in nice presentable condition (some near showroom and some which should be repainted, etc), and all can be started and driven anywhere anytime (fresh fuel, all batteries are regularly charged, etc). And all are properly stored indoors except for the Buick Diesel, which is outside because I'm working it. So if this is hoarding, at least I'm not living in a pile of untidy or unsanitary junk... I don't think it's hoarding under these circumstances.

Charles

I want an air raid siren, but I don't trust myself with that kind of power. I'm fairly certain I'd end up in trouble when I'd use it and I would so want to use it. I love the sound they make. I realized that the sound was pleasing to my ear back in high school while playing the game Silent Hill which uses the air-raid siren sound when the world transitions from normal to alternate.



I take care of all my stuff. Once I'm done unpacking everything from the move I just did, everything goes on display. If it's not ready to be displayed, it will be made to display. I've got everything but some nice back boards to make wall mounts for my swords, and I've got a line on that from a coworker who bought a small wood mill for his property. My shield which is usable also has been made to hang on a wall as part of a display.



I forgot that I have what would be considered several more collections:

1: Rocks: Lots of low-end semi-precious material such as various quartz(smoke, amethyst, citrine, etc...), geodes, and other cool looking rocks.

2: Got a whole box of sea shells of varying sizes. Most are smaller than a thumb, but that's a lot when you fill up a box roughly the same size as a shoe box. Everytime I go to the beach, I pick up any interesting ones I find. Sometimes I make jewelry from them.

3: Digital pictures: I have over 7000 wallpaper sized pics or ones that I use as a background. All of them are random from fantasy/sci-fi to real life stuff such as photogrpahy, cars, holiday themed and other subject matter. Over 2000 funny pictures for when I need a laugh. A couple hundred ones I classify as cute when I need an AWWWWW!! !! A few hundred inspirational quote pics, or pics that are just spectacular for what's in it when I need motivation.

4: Digital music: Over 70000 music files. 99% of it's chiptunes and older formats(C64, Atari, Apple II, 1st gen game boy, Coleco, etc...)(We're talking file sizes of a few kb). I have enough music to play continuously for 270+ days straight. This is not including music that for some reason as a 00:00 time stamp and plays for a finite time or those with no time stamp that play indefinitely. I still hunt for new free music. The best thing of all is that I haven't listened to all of the music so even with what I have, I find music all the time that I like as I listen to my collection.

5: Stencils: I have around 100 stencils I use for my art. Everytime I come across a stencil that I think I can use I acquire it. I've used almost all of them at one point or another. If you go to my DA page(Link in my sig), you'll see some of the pyrography I've done. I can't freehand draw for the life of me so I use stencils to do it.

6: Video Games: Still have my NES, SNES, PS1, PS3, XBOX, and all the games that go with it.


The following two things are not what I would consider a collection but others have seen them as such.

7: Jewelry: I don't consider this a collection. Jewelry making is a hobby for me. I've had upwards of a few hundred pieces of jewelry in the shape of earrings, bracelets, anklets, necklaces, and hairsticks that I've made. I didn't buy them complete, but I did acquire all of the components and made them myself. I give them away as gifts. Sometimes I sell them, but I suck at selling things.

8: Wood Boxes: Same with Jewelry. I have a number of wood boxes. Some I've completed by pyrographing and staining them. Most are not finished yet. I have probably around 40+ boxes waiting to be pyrographed. Like the jewelry I give these away as gifts. I have one I need to get mailed off right now to a fellow aspie here on WP, but I'm in the middle of unpacking everything so it's not the top of my list. That and I need to find where I put it.

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My friends thought that I was a hoarder. This was when I lived in a much smaller place and I had everything boxed up because I did not have enough room. Now I live in a much bigger place, and I don't even have all the furniture I need. I also have the work space I need to finish everything.

Why do I have these collections?

They are all things I like or have to do with the things I like.

Why do I want to put them on display?

I use them as a basis for my creativity. I forget the word, but I surround myself with these things so I can look at them and be more creative. They're just a bunch of things I think are cool that make it easier to come up with ideas versus having sterile blank empty walls to stare into.

I've read all but around 50 of my books which I've still got to read. I haven't read most of those 100 because I didn't realize I bought the second or later book in the series, and a few are because I just couldn't finish it from dislike or it not being what I thought it would be. About half of them, I've re-read and will continue to re-read through them all.

All of my swords are either for display(which they are displayed or will be once I get the wall mounts done) or functional(Always take a machete and knife camping in the forest or around heavy brush).

All my knick knacks are fully usable, except for a plastic puzzle and a wood puzzle which are each missing one piece. I'm going to find replacements one day.

I collect coins. I have the whole set of the Vancouver 2010 collector coins, the set of 1999 millennium collector coins which my dad gave me. I also have most of the U.S ones, I need about 13 more. I'll probably complete the set next time I visit the U.S. I have a bunch of other ones too.

Pink Floyd on vinyl albums. I have all of their albums from various countries. One of my prizes is a Japanese special version of The Wall, another is a Turkish Meddle. I haven't purchased any in awhile, owing to a lack of funds. It's not a huge collection, I read of one chap who managed to collect over 300 different copies of Dark Side of the Moon ! !

I usually buy them at a local shop that sells vinyl records, when I bought the Turkish one I questioned the price. The owner replied 'listen mate, I've got a price guide for every album ever made in the USA, here, or in Japan. There is no such thing as a Turkish price guide, so take it or leave it.'

I never been into collecting much due to being practical & having other interests to focus & spend money on but I have a collection of knives & couple other related weapon things.

I collect stethoscopes and ophthalmoscopes