Too Much Stuff!

This past weekend Brian & I (mostly Brian) started cleaning out the garage.  It is amazing how much stuff gets piled up in the corners, on shelves, in cabinets, etc.  Where does all this stuff come from?  It’s bad enough that our house is full of stuff but what kind of stuff can survive in the garage?

We live in Arizona, you can’t put a candle in the garage or it melts, you can’t put liquids or they boil, so how did I manage to get so much crap piled into one place?

Let’s see there are some tools & lawn stuff (not my domain) then there are a few bags and boxes used for gifts or storage of miscellaneous stuff.  A couple of decorative vases (why do I still have those?)  A box of highlighters that say Hi-Fi on them (ok those are legit we give those out as swag.)  A REALLY large box of paper work that is “too be filed” (I desperately need someone to file for me–I hate paperwork.) And a couple of salt & pepper shakers… HEY! how did those get out here?

I have an obsession over salt & pepper shakers, the weirder the better.  I love super old ones that are no longer PC, the goofy ones from the 60’s & 70’s, the cartoon characters from the 80’s and ones from different states or countries we’ve been to.  I probably have about 100 sets strung about the house (and apparently the garage.)

We also have rows and rows and of comics.  Not that odd really considering our business but they really need to be sorted.  We have our personal collections mixed in with reference we’ve purchased or received for various projects.  We also have stacks of “comps”; the copies you get once you’ve worked on a book so you can see how it turned out and use them for reference for the next set.

We also have various action figures for the same reasons, sometimes we worked on the packaging, sometimes on the book that goes with the toy.  We also have our personal collections of those too.

Last year, we had a garage sale and hung a sheet over the “comic” half of the garage.  Some kid could see under the sheet and was like wow you must have a lot of kids.  We looked at each other and were like no, we don’t have any, why?  The kid said he didn’t have that many toys, comics, and video games!

Ok, so the perks are good even if you do have to clean out the garage and find a home for some of this stuff.  Makes you think about what other people collect, either on purpose or due to their jobs.  Do trash-men keep bizarre stuff they find (or practically new stuff?)  Do people that work at Bed, Bath, & Beyond have lots of towels & sheets?

What makes us collect stuff outside of our field of expertise.  Ya know, in the museum field it is considered unethical to “collect what you curate.”  Meaning if you work in an American Indian museum don’t collect Navajo blankets.  If you work in a modern art gallery don’t collect modern art.  It lends itself to unethical decisions for you and your work.

Lucky for us many people collect comics (not just to read but to keep all pristine in bags with boards and tape,) action figures (aka manly dolls,) and various other stuff.  Where would we be if what we did was disposable or didn’t inspire people to collect everything that goes with it.  Like Star Wars comics, action figures, collector cards, games, books, key chains… yes George Lucas is the real winner but all those spin-offs give us a reason to work as well.

What do you collect?  Have you ever thought about who it helps or hurts to collect it?  I’m not sure it makes a difference with my salt & pepper shakers but I’ve got some action figures I’m holding on to incase I’m ever in a financial bind.

Kristy Miller

VP, Development

Hi-Fi design