Collections and Storage

Collections and Storage December 20, 2013

What is it about collecting things? It seems like human beings just love to gather and collect sets of things. I see the video games and board games I play take advantage of this instinct. There’s something so satisfying about having a selection of related things, whether for a practical purpose (like those head scarves we’ve been talking about this week!) or decorative.

I enjoy gathering things, putting them together, planning for new things to add. It makes me feel warm and comforted. I’m quite sure I’m not the only one!

Here are some of the things that I collect or would like to collect and ideas about storage and organization.

Bangles

I never set out to collect bangles, but I have quite a lot of them by now. It’s funny, I’m really not a “jewelry person” and before I got married I would rarely remember to put on any kind of jewelry at all. Now everyday I wear my black and gold necklace, a set of bangles, a wedding and engagement ring, and my toe rings.

Many of my bangle sets came from dance performances where I needed to get bangles to match the (bharatnatyam) outfit.

Right now they are all thrown into a ceramic bowl in my bathroom and a few are hung up on a bangle display thingy that one of my friends gave me at my bridal shower. I think I need a better storage system.

Maybe something like this:

http://www.vixen-vintage.com/2012/01/bangles-and-bras.html

A little hard to come by though! You can also buy boxes that are specifically for bangle storage. Some people hang them on pieces of yarn, or on a metal hanger that can be untwisted and retwisted. One person said they made a bangle stand from decorated paper towel rolls. I like this box because you don’t have to pull out all the bangles to get at the ones you want!

Bindis

My bindis are another accidentally collection. The little packets make great gifts and little favors, so I end up being given a lot of them! I also have stacks of my regular plain bindis (which I get at IndyBindi.com)

Right now they are all thrown into a drawer in my bathroom, but I’m thinking a box like this would be perfect for them…

Golu Dolls

If you’re in the west, now is a great time to pick up things for next year’s golu display! There are deals on “Christmas village” items, many of which are not overtly Christian but just wintery. Some nativity scene companies have statues that expand way beyond Jesus and family. Try Michael’s or Dollar Tree.

http://dollarstoredeals.net/dollar-tree-christmas-village/

I’ve been adding little pieces to my box of figures.

Here is part of a practice set-up I did for displaying the wooden dolls I sell at my Etsy Shop. The cow on the far left is from Michael’s. I did get a “Christmas village” figure there too, but it’s off camera to the right. (The western bride and groom were a wedding gift from Brad’s aunt).

ramayana play set
https://www.etsy.com/listing/172908657/ramayana-wooden-peg-doll-playset

For storage, I have a large basket and I wrap each piece in tissue paper and put in the basket, which sits on a shelf in my puja room.

WowTCG cards

Now I’m going to turn geeky on you! I like collectible card games such as Magic the Gathering. The one that I have the most of is the World of Warcraft collectible card game.

It’s so much fun to gather and organize all these cards!

I think a box like this would be ideal:

Right now I have them all in the boxes they came in, which is not as much fun. Say, a box like this would be good for bindi cards too!

Krosmasters: Arena

This is a game I just found out about on Penny Arcade and it looks exactly like something I would love! Cute mini figures to collect and then you can get use out of them by using them within a game? Brilliant.

(This is getting to be a popular idea in video gaming and you can see similar things in Skylander and Disney Imagination games).

Someone has had the great idea to use a case that I have only seen before for electronics and firearms as storage:

Scarves

Speaking of organizing things, I do have one of these hangers that I put all my dupatta on instead of storing them with their respective suit. If you’re a person with head scarves or other kinds of scarves, I find this to be great. I’ve seen someone DIY it with a regular hanger, shower rings, and electrical tape.

What sorts of things do you collect or want to collect?

(How do I afford to buy and collect things? Ya’ll know that I’m in a tight place financially, so I have a few ways to get free money. One is that I buy everything we need for the month on my rewards credit card and pay it all back every month, so there’s no interest fee but I get reward dollars. I also use a program called Swagbucks, which awards you points–Swagbucks–for various little activities like searching or clicking on videos. I’ve gotten $300 in cash from them since I started several months ago and I’m learning ways to get more and more! If you sign up, let me know and I can offer advice on how to make the most of it).


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