My Collecting Resolution – The Committed Collector

The coming of New Year’s Eve always puts me in a somber mood.

On the one hand, I look forward to the arrival of the new year and all its possibilities. On the other, I’m reminded of all my mistakes over the past 12 months, so I’m left with quite a few regrets.

There were things I did that I shouldn’t have, and things I should have that I didn’t. There were things I said that I wish I could take back, and things I never took the time to say.

I shamelessly acquired too much, and I shamefully donated too little.

I lost too much time shopping, and I wasted too much money buying more things.

I squandered money on silly impulse purchases, and I missed out on genuine treasures because I hadn’t saved up for them.

Worst of all, I spent too little time enjoying the beautiful things I already own—and that reality brings me to my New Year’s resolution for 2019:

Spend less time collecting and more time curating my current collections.

There. I’ve put it in writing. The Committed Collector is putting acquiring on hold and putting organizing and displaying on the agenda for 2019.

My goal for the new year is clear: Appreciate all that I already have—and I do, indeed, have a great deal to appreciate.

My objectives, too, are simple and straightforward. Instead of spending my free time in 2019 searching and shopping and buying, I will invest time in…

I’ve had a good, long run collecting, and 2018 has been a good year for adding to my collections.

Sorting through my current collections, and culling the items that no longer fit in.
Making sure my inventory is up-to-date.
Reading through my identification guides and learning more about my collectibles.
Organizing my collections together, and storing them properly—and labeling, labeling, labeling as I go.
Taking the time to rotate the displays around my house and to put up the holiday and seasonal decorations I have.
Actually using the various china and glassware I’ve collected.
Listening regularly to different CDs: classic rock, big band, and American standards.
Finishing what I started:
a) Organizing my vintage postcards in an album.
b) Hanging my department store art and paint-by-numbers paintings.
c) Washing and ironing my colorful 1940s and 1950s tablecloths.
d) Stitching up some of the fabric I bought into tablecloths and runners.
e) Polishing the bits of silverplate I use for tea parties.
f) Putting a fresh coat of paint on the bookcase I bought last summer.
g) Making minor repairs to a number of things.
h) Re-purposing or retrofitting a few more things as planned—and, ultimately, taking care of and enjoying the collections I already have—that’s my resolution for the new year.

Now, I’m of a mind to be more appreciative of my beloved collections and treat them as the prized possessions they are to me.

Thinking of all the beautiful things I already have and devising plans to make better use of them has improved my mood, too. I’ve had a great year, and I’m looking forward to another great one.

I’m ready to say “out with the old, and in with the new” for 2019: gratitude, anticipation, and enjoyment.

Happy New Year, Everyone.

From Patti
The Committed Collector