A couple of years ago, I decided to inventory all of my different collections.
They are:
- Beatles
- Records/CDs
- Laserdiscs/DVDs/Blu-rays/CD-ROMs
- Books
- Magazines
- Doctor Who
- VHS videotapes/DVDs/Blu-rays
- Magazines
- Books
- Comics
- DC Comic Books
- Non-DC Comic Books
- Books
- Magazines
- Laserdiscs/DVDs/Blu-rays/CD-Roms
- Monster stuff
- Laserdiscs/DVDs/Blu-rays
- Books/Magazines
- Musical Equipment
- Guitars
- Keyboards
- Amplifiers
- Speakers
- Microphones/Stands/Effects/Miscellaneous Electronics
- Books/Magazines
- Plastic Models
- Polar Lights/Aurora/Moebius
- Catalogs/Flyers/Posters
- Miscellaneous
- Games
- Monopoly (domestic, foreign, & spin offs)
- Chess sets (TV & Film themed)
- Card games
- Miscellaneous/The Game of Life/Scrabbles/Parcheesi-type off-shoots/etc.)
- Die-Cast Vehicles
- Hot Wheels
- Johnny Lightning
- Batmobiles
- Miscellaneous TV & Film related vehicles
- Trains
- O gauge locomotives/rolling stock/accessories
- HO gauge locomotives/rolling stock/accessories
- Catalogs/Flyers/Books/Magazines
- Miscellaneous/Pins/Patches/Club Membership Cards/Posters/Belt Buckles/VHS/CD-Rs/DVD-Rs
I hadn't really ever listed everything I collected. I just added to my collections. Most of the stuff went into closets and the garage. It got to a point where I found it difficult to know for sure whether I had an item or not. That's when and why I decided to inventory it all. I emptied my closets and all the shelves and I put everything on one side of the garage. I designated a specific area for each collection and I created a spreadsheet for each one. Then I started. I opened one box at a time, and I started sorting everthing. Most of my bigger musical equipment was already in my "Music Room", so that was probably the easiest. I had a lot of bookcases in various rooms that filled up quickly. Once I had sizable piles of stuff in a room, I'd start entering information about each item in the spreadsheet. As I filled up shelves or boxes, I listed things like: Item name/UPC/Model Number/Year/Condition/Room and/or box (Location)/etc.--- (whatever I thought was important for that item). I made sure to give each box its own collection designation and number. (Ex: Train-2, Die-Cast-3) It took a long time, but I chipped away at it every day. Sometimes I'd do one box. Sometimes I'd do a lot of boxes. It wasn't overwhelming. In fact, it was kind of FUN! I made a lot of discoveries of things I'd forgotten about or I hadn't been able to locate before. I also found quite a few duplicate items. It gave me a chance to sell those extra items. Eventually, I emptied the last box. It was exciting to finally empty it out and know I'd actually done it.
I'm not quite dead yet, so I still add stuff occasionally. I try to keep up with my inventory spreadsheets as I buy stuff. Most of the time I put new things together in a room as I get them. When the pile reaches a certain size, then I enter their information into my spreadsheets and put them with whatever collection they go with. It's a system that works for me, and now I know precisely where everything is in my collections: room/location (shelf or box number). I was surprised to find I had a lot more room available. I'd found many boxes that weren't filled. There was a lot of empty space wasted. Once everything was sorted, I made sure to fill the boxes with only like items. This made the boxes stronger and easier to stack.
Perhaps inventorying everything you have may quell your feeling of being overwhelmed. Once everything is noted, sorted, and put away in an organized manner, you may find you no longer feel that way!
