OCD – Obsessive Collecting Disorder

Michelle Schneider

3 years ago

collecting I am obsessed with collecting items, especially when they are part of a set. I’m not sure where this obsession came from, but as an adult, it has definitely taken hold.

It mostly started when I had kids. When the boys were younger, I found a building toy set called Imaginex. This set came with pieces to build forts, castles, and bridges. It also had little people to play with. Think of Fischer Price play sets crossed with legos. As a mom, I didn’t feel right just getting the boys one set to create a fort. I felt the need to buy every Imaginex set so we ended up with an entire room in the basement called the Imaginex room. This room had the whole floor covered in all of the buildings and roadways the boys created and we didn’t have to keep taking it down to clean up.

Another set I became obsessed with was the Care Bears. Not just regular Care Bears though, these were the singing kind. If you sat them in a circle and pressed the hand of one, the others would respond and harmonize with each other. In addition to the 6 singing Care Bears, each one had to have a little baby in the same color. I got these for Jessica, but she was never a big fan of them. She felt their singing was creepy. I still have these today and am saving them for my grandbabies.

Then there was my obsession with Furbies. These were similar to the Star Wars Ewocks, but they didn’t have legs. Mcdonald’s came out with Furbie keychains that you could get with a kid’s meal and each week, they would release a new Furbie. I was especially excited when I realized that different Mcdonald’s had different Furbies. This was around the time when I was consulting in Madison and I probably went to every Mcdonald’s within a 50-mile radius to get unique ones and I would even call the stores to find out which ones they had. By the time I stopped, I had about 40 Furbies.

I don’t know why I have such an obsession with collection things, but I don’t see it ending anytime soon.

I currently have an extensive collection of Nativity scenes that I continue to add to every year. They range from a Fischer Price set to hand-crafted ones to my most special one – a Swarovski crystal one. That one is still a work in progress as Bradley keeps adding pieces to it every year. Only a few more years and I’ll have the complete scene!