Organizing is a passion of mine...

I love to organize everything.  When I was younger this trait of mine manifested mainly in making collections of items.  Remember being younger and having people ask you that "getting to know you" series of questions..."How old are you?  What is your favorite subject in school?  What is your favorite food and color?  Do you collect anything?"  I would always nod enthusiastically, and then begin to spout off an entire list of my collections!  How tedious!  Bet that was always unexpected for the person inquiring!  Lets see if I can remember my past collections so I can make you squirm just a little too! ;D  Well...actually I'd prefer not to revisit some of them, although I will highlight some of my favorites.

I think my mask collection is my most impressive, or most valued collection, even to this date. It all started with a trip to New Orleans when I was younger. My family has had the opportunity to travel quite extensively, and a wonderful way to commemorate each trip was to get a small token or souvenir from the destination   On this particular trip, I saw a plethora of stores' walls lined with magnificent Mardi Gras masks in an overwhelming array of feathers, sparkles, and different accent colors! I could not believe how colorful and exquisite each one was.  It was hard not to fall in love with them.  Although after much deliberation (and votes from my family members) we finally choose the perfect one.  That one mask has started a lifelong quest to acquire more beauty in the form of masks.  Since then, I have found masks every where!  It is absolutely amazing what you see around you when you open yourself up to noticing it!  My favorite addition to my mask collection after the initial one that started it all...is one that I purchased in Venice, Italy.  I will never forget the sheer joy I had of selecting one of the many spectacular masks to take back home with me and be a part of my collection!

Other collections of mine that have fallen away from an actively-collecting mindset are: pins, patches, postcards, bus transfers (they are colorful scraps of paper, but other than that, I'm not really sure why my sister and I started thinking they should be treasured when we were really young), Nancy Drew books, silver charms for a charm bracelet, Red Rose Tea figurines, and THOUSANDS of pop can tabs that I saved to donate funds for The Ronald McDonald House.  And some others which I will allow time to dust over and be forgotten.

Other collections that the average person might be collecting, that I take great pride in continuing to collect is jewelry.  Especially earrings and some necklaces.  My sister has been making earrings since probably I was 7 and she was 9.  At first, they were fashioned out of bent paperclips and big plastic beads.  Today, she has up the quality significantly!  In fact, she has an Etsy shop online and most of our family and friends have bought or begged for her jewelry as gifts for themselves or gifts for them to give!  In addition to my sister's creations, from time to time I will relish buying jewelry that means something to me, or is unique and I have not seen it made that way before.  Not much can stop me from looking at every single hand-crafted jewelry booth at street fairs and local festivals.

Another collection that I have been trying to wrestle into some sort of manageable-ness is my book collection.  I have always been a book worm.  In fact that is really the only thing I ever got scolded about when I was younger...not getting my chores or homework done because I was reading one book after another after another!  My parents at times were so frustrated they hid my book someplace until I finished my chores!  Or I would get disappointed lectures from my parents when I would try to read throughout entire car trips, as I was missing seeing the scenery.  Then they would barter with me that I could read on freeways as the car was moving too fast to see much clearly anyways.  How funny that is!  I have this funny feeling that not many kids are reprimanded for reading!  Today I have given many of my favorite young themed books and novels to my younger sister-in-law.  She has that same fierce passion for reading as I did.   I am thrilled that she is starting to track down and collect some of the same series I adored including my beloved Nancy Drews!  In addition to giving my books to people that would love them, I've donated many and also I've stopped buying as many physical books now that I can collect thousands of books in one small space thanks to my e-reader, Nook.  My book obsession has become SO much more manageable since I purchased my first Nook several years ago.  I figure, from my training with The National Association of Professional Organizers, as long as your possessions are kept where they will be used and don't get in the way of your daily life, those are the best types of collections to keep.

A collection that I have yet to mention that I have been actively maintaining for YEARS is fortunes.  I have an entire wooden box bursting with those little scraps of paper.  It makes to happy to collect them and as the box I keep them in is a 4x4 square, it doesn't take up much space on my bookshelf.  Now this collection has a special purpose.  I knew from the very first day I started collecting them that I would turn them into an art piece.  I want to collage an entire wall with them one day!  Over time I have refined that idea and sometime in the not too distant future I'll begin that art project and enjoy every minute of it!

Something I've been collecting without actually articulating it to myself is a good array of coins.  I have been adding to that "collection" for years without even realizing I was.  With traveling, comes various currencies and keeping a small sample of each was always a must for me.  Then in 1997, on a trip to Denver, my family visited the Denver Mint.  While there we saw a display announcing the coming 50 State Quarter Program.  How interesting!  What would Washington State choose for their design?  It seemed like the decade long program's end was a million years off to me at the time, as the quarters were released in the order the States were established.  Yet today, all the 50 states have been released and looking back time flew!  There is even a new program for National Parks that recently started in 2010 called: America the Beautiful Quarters.  Five commemorative quarters will be released per year, until the programs' completion in the year 2021.  All in all, when this current program ends, we will have had 23 continuous years in which all quarters being minted were commemorative!  That leaves the public with such a fun and educational way to interact with history.  Are you excited to officially declare a yourself a coin collector?  Now seems to be best time to pick it up...we can keep ourselves busy with tracking down all of the 50 state quarters while we wait for 5 new quarters to come out every year (until 2021 that is). ;D

Do you collect anything?  Did you ever sit down anylize your collection, mulling over both how and why it started?  If you have an "old" collection, when did it stop getting attention?  Is it something you can let go of to allow better and newer things into your life?  This is what is on my mind.