Survey #312 results
| Name (click to view full survey response and comments) | Complete the following sentence: “If an anthropologist from the future could observe the state of my house today, they would be convinced that I collected _____.” | Describe an accidental collection that you or someone in your household has assembled, or one that you’ve noticed in someone else’s home. | Complete the following statement: “If I had sufficient space and resources, I would love to keep a collection of _____.” |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathy | unfinished craft projects, books, dust. | I've been saving empty spice jars because I like to make my own seasoning mixes. Recently, I was taking a few to the place I store them and realized I already had more than I would ever need. I tossed all but a few of different sizes. Also, thanks to the Clutter Fairy talking about this a while ago I now break up shipping boxes and recycle them right away instead of saving them for some unknown future need. 🙂 | all my craft supplies and books, lots of books! |
| Fee | A mismatch of framed family photos hungry for space ! | 'Ornamental 'cups :not used & stuffed in a wall cupboard ! | My art on walls |
| Cee | Junk | Cups, water bottles | Crystals |
| Sandra | Pretty bags | Whenever I get a pretty or sturdy bag from a store, I keep it... Those bags quickly accumulate even though I try to reuse them for gifts or donations. I also reuse the gift bags I receive. | Artwork. |
| Lise | Unfinished craft projects, toys, music & movies. | My mom and former roomie collected plastic containers (I can't believe it's not butter, cool whip are a few that come to mind). | Ceramics/pottery and art pieces. |
| Lynn | Vintage Fiesta pottery, quilting fabric, toilet paper tubes!, plant pots, plants, Pierced earrings | My shoes, my clothes for multiple sizes, books | No new collections! |
| Carla | Tablecloths, sets, linens, 5 sets of china (from 3 households) plastic bags, canvas shopping bags | postcards, old calenders, magazines What I've seen in other places: toys and books for children that no longer live there. Partially accidental because friends give me orchids including those that died and I bring them back to life. I hardly have space for more but I love them. | Orchids, a greenhose for them, and other flowering plants, and herbs. |
| Ginger | ▪️Plastic pill bottles. Empty, Label-Free. I’ve saved them for years. They are stashed in grocery bags in my Monica closet. (I need to set Monica free.) I just cannot throw them in the trash. ▪️ My INTENTION is to clean them to remove any powdery residue and mail them in batches to Matthew 25: Ministries. ▪️ Note: This question diverted me straight to creating next steps to get that done. And, from this point forward - I will wash the bottles and bag them with “Clean Bottles” label. Then, I can ship them when I fill a shipping bag or box. My diverted excursion gave me info on the cheapest shipping cost with package pick-up from home. Now, I just need to dig them out. | ▪️Plastic Cat Litter containers. I have a stack accumulating on a porch. (Out of sight - out of mind.) ▪️I’ll rinse them out and drop them at our recycling center. ▪️I used to make regular recycling drops and got out of the habit. We don’t have recycling pick-up where I live. | ▪️Antique jars. I’m fascinated with them. I’ve collected a few small ones and they sit in my kitchen windowsill. ▪️Rustic metal and wood pieces. I have a few items. ▪️Sufficient resources would include someone to dust & clean the stuff. And, that’s probably why I’ve only kept a few. |
| C | Aside from the genuine collection in our living room, also known as the "museum" they'ed think we collected a choice selection of twist ties, rubber bands, lids and huge stash of teas in our kitchen; They'd find a collection of pencils, pens, crayons, markers, cardboard, mailing envelopes and report covers in our study. A collection of small empty boxes, empty jars and material for stuffing stuffed toys in our storage area and a collection of unframed art prints and paintings in our bedroom. They might wonder about the number of house plants too. | Do shoes count? We last went through these 2 decades ago, in the meantime we've gathered more, without discarding old les worn pairs. Same with straw hats and shawls... | House plants, cacti |
| H | - bags (purses, totes, reusable shopping bags, etc.) - “good” boxes and bins (I do use them for storage, but, because I’m frequently decluttering, I don’t always have “stuff” to put in all of them.) - towels (I find it hard to discard old towels. I think to myself they could be good for cleaning… but I already have a dedicated set of towels for cleaning.) | Stuffed animals… a couple from childhood but most I’ve gotten in adulthood… one at a time but over a few decades it’s not just a few. Otherwise loved ones build collections for me without my asking. They know I like something, and they want me to have all the times of or with that something. One example: Snoopy/Peanuts. One friend has gifted me many Snoopy/Peanuts items over the years. Of course I appreciate the generosity, but I live in a very small space and my decor style isn’t “Snoopy Chic.” I’ve kept some of the smaller gifts and sent others on their way. | Nothing comes to mind. Intentionally building a collection of something isn’t something I’ve ever thought to do. |
| Noreen | Unfinished craft projects, Cat Decor, Candles that are too far gone to burn anymore | Baskets - I seem to always get one when I visit antique stores even though I have enough... | Pottery |
| Nancy | paintings and decorative objects | small colorful objects that are often gifts from others. I don't need or use them but feel compleled to keep them out of guilt. | I love my oil paintings but I have space for them on my walls without overcrowding things. I really don't want other collections but do have them. |
| Jane from Saskatchewan | Wool coats, linen tea towels, linen tablecloths and napkins...Oh My! | My dear sister in-law, a farmer has a collection of items with hens on them! Most have been accumulated as gifts. | Handknit pure wool Nordic, fairisle and Aron sweaters. They do take up a great deal of space. |
| Em | An anthropologist would find everything that might possibly be needed for any crisis or event. He would wonder how many people lived in this small space to need so much stuff, and how long we expected to live without contact with the rest of society. | The accidental collection is of containers and packaging: bottles, jars, boxes, bags, scrap paper, etc. Most of it comes from purchasing food. The anthropologist might assume that I'd already lived years indoors, munching away on some giant stash of pantry items. | ...house plants. I already have many, but not the nice collection I had in other places I lived. |
| Danetta | Books and yarn | We are emptying my mom’s house. She has very expensive furniture, large expensive framed wall art, And multiple sets of china and crystal. I am holding on to some beautiful expensive pieces because giving them to Goodwill would be a travesty, but after years of decluttering my house it is getting crowded again. I gave three large framed wall art pieces to a fancy framing shop who can reuse the frames or donate them to artists. I have to come up with solutions for the rest because my large house is not THAT large! | Art gallery, a library |
| Melissa | Totes and baskets of loosely organized items and unfinished projects | Loosely organized bins and baskets and unfinished projects | I really don’t like collecting stuff for its own sake but if it’s useful stuff, I’d say tools, paints, and project stuff |
| Celina | fabric and craft/sewing supplies that never get used and postcards that are nicely curated in a thick photo album 🙂 | food items on discounts (good and used before the due date), supplements and shopping receipts... which has just made me realise something important (literally the second I started replying now to this prompt and thinking about it...). I've just paid off a loan on my tiny apartment and while doing it, I wanted to plan my budget well. For nearly two years, month by month, I'd been collecting and counting the total of all my shopping... I think I've proven myself I am good at saving money and not spending (too much anyway) on useless crap, so I guess I can just get rid of of a stack of 4 months of unregistered/uncalculated receipts that I recently didn't have money for 🙂 Thank you Gayle and Ed, I needed this survey <3 | a few more of the ball jointed dolls, a cabinet for their clothes, a nice jewellery box with easy access to it, cute bed linens. |
| Darby | Legos, outdated electronics and blankets | My daughters craft supplies: markers, crayons, beads, string, construction paper, dead glue sticks, stickers, random puzzle pieces. | Travel souvenirs and photos |
| Lynn | Way too many houseplants grown from pruning overgrown ones, rooting the cuttings and potting in new pots. They are taking over the flat surfaces that clutter used to hog. | Inherited or gifted nicknacks that others have given me. They are confined to one set of shelves, but are a pain in the ass to dust. Most would not be missed if donated, but still have a bit of sentiment tied to them that keeps me from pulling the trigger and clearing, or at least thinning, them out. | Pets. I don't miss the constant clean up and responsibilities, but very much miss the companionship and unconditional love of a pet. |
| Ann O’Nymus | Paper bags and plastic storage containers and cans of food | Nick knacks and clothes | Paintings and Morano glass objects |
| Ellen | Random notebooks, note pads, old bills, and scraps of paper | I seem to have a collection of carrying containers. I am mobility impaired and I use them all at different times for different purposes. They include everything from suitcases (the larger one is only used about twice a year, to backpacks (2) which are helpful when I need both of my canes to walk. I also have tote bags of various shapes and sizes and a collection of Aldi bags. My wheeled cooler and foldable wagon make bringing in groceries easier. If I don't use it at least a few times a year, I get rid of it, but it still takes up more room than I'd like. | I've limited myself to one bookcase and a small shelf unit for CDs and it is hard. I have boxes of books in my front closet that I intend to donate to the library after I've read them. |
| Maggie | Jigsaw puzzles | Storage containers bought over time, discarded and kept “just in case” | Plants |
| Marsha | that I collected paperwork.” * “…that I collected things waiting for a decision.” * “…that I collected canvas bags full of important documents.” * “…that I collected ‘I’ll deal with this later’ piles.” * “…that I collected projects in progress.” My favorite, though, is: “If an anthropologist from the future could observe the state of my house today, they would be convinced that I collected decisions deferred.” | One accidental collection that immediately comes to mind is instruction manuals and paperwork. Over the years, every appliance, electronic gadget, and household item seemed to come with a booklet or warranty card. Instead of throwing them away, they were tucked into drawers, slipped into folders, or stacked in bags “just in case.” At the time, each one seemed too important to discard because it might be needed for repairs, returns, or troubleshooting. Eventually, what started as a handful of manuals quietly turned into a surprisingly large archive. Many of the products had long since been replaced or donated, but their manuals remained. The collection wasn’t created out of any interest in instruction booklets—it simply grew through years of postponing the decision about what to keep. It’s a good example of an accidental collection because no one ever set out to collect manuals. They accumulated naturally, one small decision at a time, until they occupied far more space than anyone realized. | …birds and butterflies—if it were possible to collect them without harming them, I’d rather have a huge garden that attracted them. |
| Judy | Plastic bags - to package future donations | I see a lot of Disney collections that covers every surface and walls, including Disney art above the fireplace. | Books |
| Anonymous user | Metal lids to jars | Single socks | Tea pots tea cups Buttons Knee high socks Large and small pieces of cloth |
| Terry | numerous books on many different crafts and collectibles misc jewelry to sell in my vintage shop (I don't have a vintage shop) | Kits for beading projects - many I aspire to do, but likely never will. Most purchased at a class or online during some big sale. Fortunately, I have sold or given away many of them, so it's a reasonably small collection at this point. | It's hard for me to answer this question. I do have a fair amount of space and resources right now. But I'm so aware that this won't last forever and think a lot about scaling down to a smaller space at some point. So I guess my focus would be more: if I had limited space and resources, I'd keep the collection of_____. And I want to be able to display/access the collections I keep. For me, I'd keep the core crafting supplies for a limited set of crafts and let the extra dishes, books, misc collectibles, etc go. And I'd try to winnow down my clothes/jewelry/accessories to those I actively use or really treasure (a lot of progress on that, but more to do). |
| Anonymous user | Rubber bands, fabric stashes, cassettes (git rid of a huge bunch, but more to go…), scissors (but I actually use all of them), toothpaste (happened accidentally! Ooops Big smile😃) a strange wooden thing for an art project, 20 pairs of shoes, paintbrushes, phew! Artwork from my youth and childhood, bottles of paint, fabric dye) Folded cardboard boxes my parents brought me for a move that is delayed). Flower pots occasionally used. | Toothpaste. I will simply not be buying that for a while! Shoes: I will also not be buying shoes for years, I think.. it may be great if I do a second round of decluttering on those. Rubber bands, will take them to my art class so students can roll up their artwork and take them home easily. Fabric and paint… I’m working I’m working. It’s kind of fun to pass off making craft projects as decluttering! I’m having fun making, thus reducing the supplies, and tgen I try to gift or donate or sell what I make. | I don’t think anything… maybe houseplants… And a lot of pillows fir the sofa. I currently have enough though. |
| Gabriella | - 60 - 70 pairs of - matching! - socks - 15 white tank tops, even though I tend to wear tank tops in other colors - after several rounds of decluttering, still about 700 books - after having decluttered about 60 skeins of yarn, a remaining yarn stash for another 9 sweater projects - I inherited a plethora of fine old household linen that my great-grandmother bought as a dowry for her daughters before WW I that has been impossible to use up by 3 generations | I love pure natural fibre sweaters and add to the collection whenever I come across another fine piece. In addition, I have lately completed 7 long standing knitting projects - which boils down to a further buildup in the sweater department and a simultaneous decline in the skeins of yarn and in the number of nagging UFOs. I do wear my sweaters, however. ....well, to be honest with myself, I own enough sweaters to last me for the next decade. | beautifully arranged empty spaces ... and clutter free guest rooms for all my friends to come stay with me. |
| Suzy | unfinished craft projects | Wood stumps for future projects. Used glass jam/jelly glasses for future marmelade making. Small plastic pots that!you get when you buy flowers for the garden. Acrylic paints, canvases, watercolor paper, painting brush sets. | |
| Anonymous user | angels | ||
| Anonymous user | Wine bottle corks, plastic food containers w no matching lids, fake and/or silk flowers and greenery | Costume jewelry, cat toys and cat paraphernalia | Old cars |
| Anne | Chairs! We have a lot. | I visited an estate sale that probably had thousands of Boston terrier figurines. Even if someone was a collector, I can’t see them walking off with more than five or so. It was kind of sad. Special things are no longer special. | Plants. I’d love to have a conservatory with nice light to grow things. I don’t have good light in my current home. |
| Name (click to view full survey response and comments) | Complete the following sentence: “If an anthropologist from the future could observe the state of my house today, they would be convinced that I collected _____.” | Describe an accidental collection that you or someone in your household has assembled, or one that you’ve noticed in someone else’s home. | Complete the following statement: “If I had sufficient space and resources, I would love to keep a collection of _____.” |
