So I had some sort of life changing realization and suddenly decided to start selling all my belongings. Major collections which have been with me since I was a child. Cereal Boxes, Records, personal art, Others art.. everything. Ive vowed that my toys would be my only collection from now,... but Im worried. Its feeling good to purge my past and Im looking at my toys thinking........... is this next?
Seriously I think next I'll be buying a bread truck.

I performed a nearly complete purge after university and was left only with the contents of a chest.

Purging can be really healthy. I'd just say consider holding onto a few things from each "stage" of your life (including things you collected, since so much time went into it), since you'll want to look back on your past later, and physical items can be strong memory/sensory activators.

Whats really strange though is that this all came down after I acquired my major toy want. Painted Yellow Matango +whole lucky bag.
Contents of just a chest sounds nice though. I'll just make sure the painted yellow matango is in there.

In 1955 when I was 14 (yes, that makes me 68 now) I gave away all my comic books in a major purge. If i had just kept a dozen select titles in a safe deposit box I would be a very rich man today. Oh well!

For me, a lot of collecting is about experiencing, so I try to keep something from each of the lines I've collected, especially if there's a good memory attached.

Back when I was heavy into Star Wars, I took a side trip from Germany to Slovenia in search of... Managed to find ONE figure (which I've kept). During the search, I had an amazing time exploring the country. Seeing the figure always makes me smile.

Maybe your picking up that major want "completed" the collecting experience for you. Sometimes there's only so much you can get out of a hobby, and once beyond that it turns into an acquisition/possession game.

I have always found it absolutely liberating to get rid of and donate items that don't hold some sort of nostalgic value to them. My wife and I have dedicated Feb-March to getting rid of stuff that just sits there and that we don't need. I want to be a minimalist and just get rid of everything I own most of the time.

It's incredibly hard with kids but it feels good to know that you don't have stuff just lying around.

For the past year since I came back from Japan Ive been staying at my folks house. Reasons being to pay off debt as well help them with their own and selling their house. Since then though Ive not lived with much of my own stuff, its been minimalistic... So I guess it just made the decission easier.

I hear you on the memory aspects though. My cereal boxes... so I ate cereal. haha. Not much of a memory, I can let em go and the old ones fetch money. Which goes along the same lines as the comic books... why didnt I save 10 each of the old ones instead of just one. If only I had known.

Yeah, I mean if it's just something you got through a habitual toy store (or supermarket) purchase or series of mouse clicks for a new release, then there's not much experience locked in. But if it came from a show you spent months planning for, or a deal that took weeks to set up, or from a trip to Tokyo - that sort of thing - then there's more built in, and the possession has inherent meaning/value beyond its physical properties.

Having things boxed up - out of sight, out of mind - is a great way to detach from them and sure can make purging them easier.

seriously wish I still had all my star wars... motu... gi joe's... kenner alien... shogun warriors... weeble wobble haunted house... etc...

good purge then... bad purge now...

Miles, just be sure you don't purge anything you'll regret later. It does feel good to get rid of lots of stuff and boil down the collection(s) to what's really important to you.

I hope you'll hold onto the monsters - but if not, sell me the dustman!

I'm a freakin' packrat. The only times I've ever had to let go of stuff is if I was absolutely forced to. Moving from one country to another, I lost all but 1 of my toys. Then moving from one apartment to another, I gave up a lot of clothes. Things change as you get older and you never know, I might put up a bunch of toys for sale.

For me there has always come a point where I missed anything I got rid of. So now I hold on to everything.

Selling all my stuffs definitely gonna help relieve my debt or.... help that random must have toy purchase
In reality most of the stuff I have wouldnt cost me too very much money to try and obtain again. Apart from the boxes. Who knows..
Laters ..off to L.A. for the weekend

Purging is a wonderful thing. 'Letting Go' is something many understand on an intellectual level, but cannot put it into practice. Most times, just mere days after a 'purge', I cannot even remember what I owned. Sort of sad (in a way), but also liberating! Everything from nothing, nothing from everything.

I have never even THOUGHT of purging.






Actually, I am 100% positive that someday I will begin a major purge. Just not sure when...

I've purged with modern and some old stuff. If it's something I have a lot of or have sentimental value I'll probably keep it.

That being said, I have thrown more crap away in my two years living in a house than ever living in an apartment. It feels really good to get rid of crap that you are never ever gonna use again... And then buy more crap you don't need.

It's a vicious cycle

i hate purging stuff.
i like tripping over piles of neglected shit as i roam through my house.
for everything in my house that i like, i have an equal number of stupid shit.
pack rat for life!

The purging starts soon . . .

Same here.
Time for some spring cleaning.
Not only on toys, but everything else in my life.

I've purged.....changing tastes plus I've got past the point of thinking must have more, to keeping the core things I love or that are related to a specific time/memory.

My ideal would just purge everything but my toy and detolfs.. maybe my acoustic guitar and bass. Move into a new apartment with only those things as my decoration. No furniture other than a bed and maybe speakers for my ipod. Realistically though Im sure I'll be holding on to more than that. Ive had alot of artwork created just for me that I'd feel bad selling.
The purging pace has slowed but Ive barely scratch the surface.

actually, i have been thinking about purging my jar of Camel Cash since the stuff has been worthless for a few years now, but i just can't bring myself to do it.

realistically though, i have thought about getting rid of everything except the toys and my comics. i have this spare room full of shit that never gets looked at (aside from the vinyl toys and the comics) and i would like to get it all out and turn the room into some sort of playroom for my son. the only problem is the time it would take to properly digest of it all. i don't want to just throw it away. and selling it off would take forever, that is the only reason why my purging hasn't gone much past concept....

Seriously does take a long time. Only way to keep on top of it is to create a firewall or mental tab that makes sure more goes out than comes in. I've gone through periods where I forced myself to get rid of at least one thing every day. It helps cut down on the crap, but sure can take a while. It's amazing the crap we hold onto...

My ongoing nemeses are stacks of paper...they pile up and up until I'm forced to sit down and spend hours sorting through them....Curse you, Papergozilla!!

I kept boxes for all of my toys (action figures), and I must say, once I threw them away, I knew it was for the best. But that was the beginning of the end for me, now I've been getting rid of videogames, movies, music, books, etc etc. What's the point in having it if your never gonna listen or look at it again?

If keep holding on to things because "you might need it someday." Just put the items in a box, seal it, and mark it with a date one year from that day. Whenever you come across a box whose date has passed, throw it away or put it in a donation drop box WITHOUT OPENING IT. That is key; you have to leave it sealed. If you haven't found a reason to rescue the item in an entire year, you need to get rid of it.