On Resisting the Urge to Collect

Alongside the problem of accumulation, the urge to collect remains a threat to order in my house. I actively resist collecting, however, to keep control one must organize with conviction because some collections may prove necessary. I used to acquire professional books, however, now I collect texts, that is, digitized books confined to that magical rectangular box, the computer. Organized alphabetically and by subject, my library remains readily available and invisible.

          Other collections may have sentimental value, therefore one must take extra precautions, such as rounding them up in one place. My mom's copper and brass collection came to live in my house. 
                             I started with three discreet shelves in a hallway. 
                         Most of the tea kettles belonged to my grandmother.

   One must be rigorous. Did you know that collections multiply when you sleep ?  
                                           Yup, they're cunning.

         So don’t let your guard down. This collection even went below the shelves.

Very old, small items appeared out of nowhere: ivory handled jackknives, keys (including a huge and ancient key to a shop in the medina/old town of Tunis), ashtrays, a bell, a souvenir Eiffel tower, toy pots, a box of colored pencils from my husband's grade school days, and a bottle top opener. A Chinese embroidered jacket found at the flea market served as inspiration for the dragon watercolor. 

This lovely set of canisters with a tray from around the late 1930s was originally silver plated as can be seen on the egg cup in the middle. It was a wedding gift belonging to my Tunisian mother-in-law.

 And this Tunisian copper and tin canister originally had a lid and held sugar cubes.

     All right. I admit I love this collection for its sentimental and aesthetic value. 
                    But I still resist the urge to collect, and the battle rages on...