# Things you obsessively collect. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 10, 2000, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053 "2000-05-10T00:02:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AndYrAStar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@AndYrAStar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndYrAStar)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/21 "2000-05-10T08:35:24Z")
Make that “paraphernalia”. (sorry, I couldn’t just let it go…) ---
**Author:** ![realidad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@realidad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/realidad)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/22 "2000-05-10T09:09:49Z")
Small notebooks. I have a million nice little hardcover notebooks, some used some not. Post cards. From where I have been, from where others have been, even the free ones at the coffee shops. Any postcards. Rosary beads. I am glad I am not the only obsessive collector out there. Cheers all ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/23 "2000-05-10T14:40:38Z")
I also collect the post in note pads. I can’t have enough of them. I really miss working in the real world so I can pillage the office supply cabinet. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/24 "2000-05-10T15:00:07Z")
Obituaries—my friends call me Queen of the Dead (is anyone SURPRISED by this?). I’ve been clipping and saving them since I was about ten, and now have a four-drawer filing cabinet full of 'em. Mostly performers, theater, film & stage people—but if anyone interesting dies, in they go. ---
**Author:** ![struuter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@struuter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/struuter)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/25 "2000-05-10T15:12:04Z")
Well, I haven’t seen this so far, which pretty much tells me I’m a true freak. You know the little paper circles from three-hole punches? I put them in a little box. Just in case I ever need them…? How twisted is that? Cheap confetti…at least that’s what I tell people. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/26 "2000-05-10T15:37:46Z")
I have tons of paper and notebooks. Most of them are half used with cryptic notations on them that I knew what they meant at one time and thought I might need again and now I can’t remember what they meant… but I still keep them… in there are also reciepts for stuff… not stuff with warranties or anything but clothes and food with notations on the back as well. I also have a collection of pictures cut from teen magazines most of which are ads which I thought the guys were cute and people whom I don’t like anymore… _thinks she has something for paper_ I also collect those little trinket boxes for earrings and stuff. I get them from people and when I go to Claire’s (who now has this thing where you can buy a different box every month) I buy them though I don’t need them. I have more trinket/jewelry boxes then I do jewelry… I also keep earrings. Not just regular pairs but single earrings that are broken/ missing backs or not the right type to wear in my single hole at the top of me right ear. I have no use for them but I keep them probably thinking I’ll use them for crafts. I have tons of old craft supplies I’ve never used and probably never will but keep on the off chance I might need them someday so I won’t have to buy them that day… _had better stop… grins a little at her long list_ ---
**Author:** ![lachesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@lachesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lachesis)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/27 "2000-05-10T15:40:23Z")
:: sigh :: in (more or less) the order i started collecting: [ul] [li]books–mostly fiction/fantasy/SF[/li][li]“special” coins (Bicentennial quarters, half-dollars, and yes, even the stupid State quarters)[/li][li]unicorns–statues, cards, needlework, puzzles, jewelry[/li][li]rosaries–thanks to eBay, i lost count well past 100 or so[/li][li]pearls and gemstone beads–i _have_ convinced my husband this is a home business, making jewelry and repairing rosaries. and, god help me, there’s a gem and jewelry show nearby this weekend.[/li][/ul] who, me? compulsive??? ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/28 "2000-05-10T15:47:57Z")
Dust! It’s everywhere I tell you. It’s this obsessive need to stay away from cleaning 🙂 Actually, I have files on my other machine that date back to 1997 and can seem to get rid of them. Maybe floppy disks. I have disks I don’t know what is on them. Some of those date back to 94. Old computer hardware. I never know when I might run into a old system a friend acquires and needs help with replacement parts. \< I see a pattern here \> Other than that, I can’t say I collected anything that’s not computer related. ---
**Author:** ![robinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@robinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robinh)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/29 "2000-05-10T15:59:51Z")
I have stacks of patterns (clothing, craft, home dec) that I “might make someday”, because when they are on sale at the local fabric store for $1 each I simply can’t resist. Also many craft kits that I found at deep discount but haven’t had time to actually do yet. But I keep buying them. Going through my grandmother’s things after she died we found a box full of pockets cut out of pants. The wool pants probably became braided rugs, and I guess the pockets were going to be useful for something someday? ---
**Author:** ![SmoothOperator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@SmoothOperator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmoothOperator)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/30 "2000-05-10T16:02:28Z")
I’m another office product freak. I collect pens and mechanical pencils. I collect books and barbie dolls (kinda). What I would like to collect is pewter house accessories, unicorns and dragons. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/31 "2000-05-10T16:06:52Z")
Oh My God… You are my people… I suddenly feel sooo normal! I have every feather I have ever come across. Boxes, oh yeah, wooden, rattan, from eveywhere. Since I’ve decided to actually use them to store things now, I can never remember which box contains which items. This begins a search whereby I wander all over the house peaking into little boxes and containers until I find what I’m looking for. Very humerous, and kinda fun too. Fossils, everywhere I go I am always looking for fossils. Maps and postcards, I have every map I’ve ever used (many) and every postcard I’ve ever received. My SO has a huge pyramid of jars filled with pennies just inside our front door. Buddha’s, 18 and counting, stone, wood, fragments, cast. My SO once told me I was like a crow and no matter what marketplace we were in, in whichever country, he said he had only to look around for some small shiny objects and I would surely be found nearby. Sad, yet true. ---
**Author:** ![Shadenwawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Shadenwawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadenwawa)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/32 "2000-05-10T16:07:45Z")
I collect Celebrities’ real names. I don’t know why I started this, I have something like 250 celebs and their real names. Ok so I’m weird. -S ---
**Author:** ![h\_thur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@h\_thur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h_thur)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/33 "2000-05-10T17:22:12Z")
Paper - scraps with stuff written on it that I might someday need, envelopes, boxes and boxes of old notebooks, old calendars, maps. Rubberbands and twist ties (I am so relieved that others collect these too). Plastic sacks from the gorcery store, mall, shops. I have 3 or 4 button jars too. Spices/herbs. I must own every spice known to man. The urge to buy spice is overwhelming. Letters - from certain people, in separate boxes/containers. Pens - especially those disposable fountain pens when I can find them. Cassette tapes - I have 2 boxes of cassette tapes which have scraps of music and conversation on them. I’m afraid to throw them away or record over them. They might be useful one day (as incriminating evidence agaist me, most likely). Fabric - I always buy interesting fabric if it’s onsale for $2/yard or less, even though my sewing machine has been broken for over 2 years. Plain barettes and hair ties - I never seem to have enough of these. I always find them all over the house when I don’t need them, but they are never handy when I do need them. On every Wal-Mart outing I buy more. ---
**Author:** ![Elthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e274bd/32.png) [@Elthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elthia)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/34 "2000-05-10T17:40:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Dice - all shapes, sizes, and . . . um. . . denominations? > > Four sided, six sided, eight sided, ten sided, twelve sided, twenty sided, thirty sided, thirty-four sided, and one hundred sided. > \*\* Hehe - at one of my recent sessions, I looked down at the dice I had dumped out onto the table and said, “Does anyone remember what we do with 30-sided dice?”. General concensus was that it was something to do with original D+D, but we couldn’t really remember. _grin_ Had to share. -Elthia ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/35 "2000-05-10T18:11:29Z")
Comic books. Cheesy old sci-fi ones. Baseball cards. Of the Royals, of course. Kinsey Millhone stories. Not just the novels, but all the short stories, too. ---
**Author:** ![WallyM7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5e925/32.png) [@WallyM7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WallyM7)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/36 "2000-05-10T18:25:18Z")
Lint. I store it in my belly button. ---
**Author:** ![Elthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e274bd/32.png) [@Elthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elthia)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/37 "2000-05-10T19:19:25Z")
1. Silk. Fabric, clothing, doesn’t matter. I’m obsessive about silk. It’s all over the apartment. 2. Buttons. I really don’t mean to, but I suppose it’s a by-product of sewing. 3. Thread and zippers, for the same reason as 2. 4. pads of paper and pens (boy, I’m glad I’m not alone in that) 5. Containers (boxes, jars, etc - jeez, I thought I was the ONLY ONE who was nuts enough to do that!) 6. Computer parts. I’m serious. Boxes and boxes of junk that I’ll never use again, cards I haven’t had drivers for in years, cables for equipment long since obsolete - and lost… 7. More silk. 8. Beads. Mostly seed beads, in various sizes ranging from 11 down to 24. 9. Gemstones. Yes, gemstones. I even got a machine and rough so I could start cutting them for myself. 10. Yet more silk. Hehehe 🙂 -Elthia ---
**Author:** ![CanadianSue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@CanadianSue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanadianSue)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/38 "2000-05-10T19:24:36Z")
Photo radar speeding tickets. I have some really nice pics of my car at different angles. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/39 "2000-05-10T19:52:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > As I mentioned in the other collections thread–playing cards. I do card magic and manipulations as a hobby, and I’m constantly buying new decks to practice with. (It’s easier and more fun with new cards.) I’ve always got two or three decks sitting around, and I’ve got a couple of shoe boxes completely full of them in the closet. > > Unfortunately, I’m now trying to learn the Boomerang Card, so there are cards all over the floor. (I’m much too lazy to actually go around and pick them up.) > \*\* You too, Dr. J? I thought I was the only one who did that. I haven’t got the boomerang card down yet, but I’ll keep up the practice. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053/40 "2000-05-10T23:54:19Z")
You can’t tell me that nobody else out there collects the one thing that I keep. So let me be a little more specific; Red Rose tea, the 100 bag boxes, contain little porcelain animal miniatures. They issue new series every once in a while, and the current series is “Endangered North American Animals”. I’ve got dozens of them over the years, and I can’t believe that I’m the only person that keeps them. They’re kinda cute, so fess up. 🙂 BTW; I don’t know if this counts, but I collect “Home Improvement” stuff. That’s right. When I go to Home Depot to get something I need, I see all this other cool stuff I gotta have. So I buy it and put it away for “later”. I’ve got tons of “later”. Peace, mangeorge (Mr. Someday) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-you-obsessively-collect/19053.md?page=3)