Collecting vs. Hoarding

There are several different types of people in this world. However, most people can be split in the category of how their homes are kept, as well has how they manage their surroundings. There are those who are super organized, yet keep possessions, those who do not like possessions and throw lots of things away, those who are not as organized, yet keep a few things, and those who are not organized at all, and live in complete chaos.

When it comes to collecting, people generally have seperate opinions. I personally believe that having a collection and being a hoarder are completely different. The technical definition of collecting is " To accumulate as a hobby or for study", and this is what I believe it entails. When someone is a collector, they collect one or two certain things that are meaningful to them, such as a rock collection or a model collection. When someone collects, the items have meaning, and are clean and organized in specific way, usually being displayed by the owner on a shelf or piece of furniture. Collectors homes are usually clean and organized, and they do not 'collect' clutter. 

A hoarder, in may ways, could start out as a collector, but let things get out of hand. Usually, a hoarder will begin collecting things after a traumatic life event, gettting emotionally attched to the things they collect. However, these things will get shoved away into corners, with the individuals usually forgetting they own them. In a hoarding situation, the owner cannot let go of anything, and their homes become a mess, with the individual usually living in filth.

Therefore, the difference between a hoarder and a collector is simply that a collector takes care of and organizes their collections, displaying them or storing them properly. A hoarder is someone who collects a multitude of things, lives in squaler, and cannot get rid of anything.

To referance a collector, lets talk about Portia Munson. She is an artist from New York who makes collections of things of a certain color. She is a collector, because even if some of her collections look like a hoard, she has them organized and on display. All her collections are considered art, not hoarding. Here is an example;

As you can see, the collection is organized into a work of art.