I am a Hoarder!

I was at work today and we were talking about hoarding things... and *gasp* I realized that...
I AM A HOARDER!!!

YES...
I am sadly a hoarder...

I have been hoarding things for as long as I can remember so much so that now, my room is in complete chaos with dust animals roaming around and I have no idea what to throw and what to keep. The clean neat freak type of person would say... "BIN the damn crap!" but the hoarders would say... "Don't throw it away... you might need it one day!" So I hold on to my precious belongings possessively and wonder how I am ever going to part with my things. What kind of things you ask? Well, here is a list of my "collections" which I am holding on to for that proverbial 'one day'.

1.) STICKERS
Don't ever dare touch my sticker collection, seriously. Happy are the few who have seen the contents of my sticker boxes and books and when or IF you ever get the priviledge to do so, feast your eyes on old school stickers like Sandylion with the prism and fuzzy stickers. Then there is Mrs Grossmans stickers, Suzy's Zoo stickers and a whole bunch of other very valueble stickers in every size and shape and type you can image. There are also the famed Barbie, Little Pony, Carebear, Mickey Mouse, Lion King and Aladdin sticker books, my Super Prized possesions kept above the sock drawer under lock and key for safe keeping. I am still collecting stickers (Yes I know so childish!) and have accepted several collections from people deemed 'to old to have them' - oh well their lost my gain!

2.) ERASERS
Yes, my friends... I have an eraser collection. My late grandma, spoiled me rotten and got me heaps of erasers wherever she went. My mum's sister also made a hefty donation to my eraser collection and for that I am thankful. When I was but a wee little young'in I used to play with my erasers as there were like baby animals and mummy animals... it was all so sweet in eraser land. My brother used to threaten me that he would use them and that would have been the end of their sweet little lives. Now the erasers are packed in an old Hello Kitty box at the bottom of my closet waiting for the time when I can take them out and admire them again. One of my favourites was a peanut shaped eraser, it looked so real... and of course the animal families were pretty cute toos... anyone wants to see my erasers?

3.) BOOKS
Collecting books and magazines are one of my latest obsessions, though I have been reading since I was 3. I love the way a new book smells. I love the glossyness of the cover with its title so proudly emblazed on it. I love the way certian magazines (like FACES) look all glossy and nice. I love the ads although some of them are just "too much". I love the anticipation of reading a book and finding what happens and how the story unfolds. I love books and their different spines and I just dislike books with spines that have lines on them and which have just got creases and stuff thats why I seldom lend anyone my books - I am afraid they will destroy it.

Take for example my "Memoirs of a Geisha" - a friend borrowed it and it came back in three pieces. The cover and spine with a bit of the book dangling from it, a another little bit of the book and the rest of the book. I was like "what the hell?" to which the reply came... "Its just a book only mah... I buy you a new onelah!" *tsk tsk* so not the right attitude I think. Gawd!!! Dilemma: My bookshelf in my room, is too full and I have to throw some things away... I reckon its got to be the few years old CLEO mags! Finding a day to clean it out and dreading that day!

4.) SEASHELLS
I don't have a very comprehensive collection of seashells with me. I don't know their scientific names, nor do I know where they came from and blah blah blah. I just pick them when they wash to the shore and buy them when I see them in the shops. If some of you are offended about my shell picking habits - I am sorry... But I love my shells though I find myself parting with them when I use them to make shell frames, or some other ornament. Those lucky few who have got it, you have a treasure in your hands, a gift of the sea and earth. I am glad my little niece if interested in shells too though hers are just a bit... ummm... ugly! (they are all plain and broken and stuff - I am sure this adds 'character' to the shell, but hmmm... its ugly)

5.) POSTCARDS
Remember those postcards that you could get for free from like shops and stuff, yeah I collect those. My dad is a supper supporter of this collection. He tends to bring home like 5 of the same design and I keep telling him not to do that cos the other postcards collectors might miss out on one , but I am glad he is a hoarder like me! Wolfie also gave a me alot of postcards and they were pretty nice ones. I wonder if he still collects them? Then there is G who brought me a big box full of postcards which were sadly more or less the same, but a great addition to my collection. Anyone wants postcards or wants to trade?

6.) BEADS, RIBBONS & CLOTH
You can sort of blame this habit on my mum - when I was about 7ish, I went with my mum to Petaling Street and there was this shop called Macy's which sold things for 'kraftangan' and things like that. So there I was transfixed in the shop staring after rows and rows of beads, ribbons, feathers and such. My mum bought me a couple packets of tiny miniscule beads in so many shades of colours and I was so delighted with them. When I went home I tried to make bracelets and the like but nothing worked out. I got upset after like the 10th failed bracelet that I took all the beads and mixed them up. It was a BIG mistake and it took me forever to seperate them again. That was the end of the beadslah. The ribbons are okay though I have stopped buying the satin and silk ones (too expensive). As for the cloth, its bundled into a plastic bag and is now at the bottom of my closet and I am super hoping that nothing has made its home in it.

7.) PAPER, STATIONARY SETS
Before anyone accuses me I am not a tree killer! I just happen to like paper. Have you looked at paper... really looked at paper? There are just so many kinds, textures and colours. NICE! I have all kinds of paper, though not all and I go mental when I see a papershop. The best place I have been to date to get really nice paper is "Made With Love" in Singapore. They have so much paper all arranged neatly by colour, type and pattern. *sigh* Can't wait to go there again. I also have the standard normal paper by weight type of paper though I reckon thats like super normal, but some of the colours are just WOW! As for the stationary sets, I have been collecting them since I was young too (I think hoarding behavior starts from a young age!) I have normal ones, fancy ones, scented ones, elegants ones, cartoon ones and etc. and some even come with matching envelopes. So if you ever need some writing materials, you know where to look.

8.) PENCILS AND PENS
I dont have many fancy pencils at the moment and I stopped collecting them. I still collect pens and have a variety of them in different colours and textures with different nib sizes. The remaining few fancy pencils I have are just a dear to look at... =)

9.) POLLY POCKET
I parted with my Barbie collection but not Polly Pocket. Perhaps it was because Barbie took up too much space and Polly didn't. Besides they come in compacts so its easier to store. Polly Pockets - Ah... I got my late grandma to thank for again. She gave me almost my entire collection. I got the pencil case, a coin keeper, the jewelry box complete with a red velvet finish, the vanity set and a couple more of other compacts. Yes... one day just like my Strawberry Shortcakes, they will be worth a bomb!

10.) BOOKMARKS
Bookmarks go together with books but I just couldn't use some of the bookmarks cos they were so nice. Besides, there were some that belonged to a collection so it was nice to see the whole set of em. Doesn't take up that much space so its okay...

11.) EEYORE's & MY OTHER TOYS
Eeyore can be considered one of my all time favourite Disney characters. I am not sure why I like him with his gloomy ways, but I do. I have about 11 Eeyore dolls and figurines from all over the world and I love them to bits. Again they are all different. There is a wind up Eeyore, there are 2 Beanie Eeyore's, an Eeyore in a cup and heaps more. My other soft toys have been given to me by my wonderful friends and bought by me cos they pleaded with me to take them home (Gloria the hippo is the latest addition to my zoo). The biggest toy I have is "bear bear" give by Adrian my form 1 & 2 best friend (this was of course before he grew tall and super hot) - I don't think he remembers giving me "bear bear".

12.) BASKETBALL CARDS
This particular collection was inspired by some guys whom I met in primary school whom I sadly have very limited contact with. Anyways, those were the days when I used to follow this bunch of guys to the then "comic shop" and heaven knows what other establishments to see b.ball cards. It was then that I realized that b.ball was actually a really cool game. I used to sit for hours just watching them gracefully move up and down the courts sinking baskets after baskets in every possible way. It was like some sort of ballet to me. I loved Orlando Magic and Shaq and Hakeem Olajuwon (was then from Houston Rockets). I saved up my allowance and bought each seperate card their own protectors and it wasn't those flimsy plastics ones too. They were really nice ones. Those were the days when I had the nicest b.ball colletion amongst the guys, and how envious they were when I showed them my cards. My most precious card would be the Hakeem Olajuwon gold card that my then best friend gave me on the last day of primary school. Now these cards are packed in box somewhere underneath my bookshelf waiting for its day to shine!

13.) Just MEMORABILIA
I keep everything. From ticket stubs, to interesting twizlers from some fancy club, menus, infomation guides and everything else you can name. I even have a satay stick from std six, though it was washed before being reverently put in the "memory box". I love memorabillia. It serves as a flashback and a cue to some forgotten place in time. I got rid of some I have to confess. It was some cards that people gave me... not my past boyfriends or my best friends but cards that were just given because it was the "right thing to do" - CNY cards and birthday cards with just a to: and a from:... anyways, I needed the space for the new cards that were coming. Rest assured my dear friends that the precious cards and letters you guys have given me are kept safely.

For the moment this is all I can think of, but I am sure there are more things that I hoard. Someone need only mention it and I would be like "OH yeah..." and hurry into a neverending monologue about it. Anyways, yeah so what if I am a hoarder? Ok... sure it creates good hiding places for the dust animals but then this is all mine. Everything you see and touch belonged to me or someone important to me, belonged to a special time and place which is gone. So yeah... I am a hoarder and though I am trying to declutter my life, these hoardings of mine might still be around for some time to come.

I am proud to be a hoarder!