KIDS IN ACTION: Stuff and Thingamajigs

by Kathleen M. Muldoon

All my life I’ve lived in small places- efficiency apartments, furnished rooms and, now, a small house that I share with a roommate. That’s probably a good thing, because if I had a large home to myself every room would be filled with stuff. There are so many things I wish I could collect-dolls, teddy bears, and angel statues, to name a few. But my small living quarters have forced me to limit my collection to that of cat postcards, which I can keep in albums on my book shelf.

I used to work for a psychologist who had many patients that collected too much stuff and, therefore, lived among clutter. According to him, there are many reasons people start collections. Some collect items that remind them of favorite things from childhood-Raggedy Ann and Andy® dolls, for example. Others collect things to compete with other collectors-they want to have the biggest baseball card collection, the most Barbie and Ken® dolls. They might also enter the collections into competitions for awards. Some folks just plain like stuff and “thingamajigs.”

Kids love to collect everything from Pokemon® cards to “action figures.” Sometimes these collections go with the flow of popularity. Do you remember a few years ago when Beanie Babies® were all the rage? Some kids’ collections would have filled my tiny bedroom! Now, thrift shops are full of forgotten and unwanted Beanie Babies. Other kids’ collectibles seem to remain a lot longer, such as Matchbox® cars and collectors sports cards collections. My grandmother once told me that there are collectors out there for just about anything. Some items seem pretty far out, yet those who collect them are so involved that many have started their own museums to display their stuff-often housed in their own homes. Here are some of my favorites:

• Bathtub Art Museum
• Museum of Coat Hangers
• Museum of Odd Socks
• International Museum of Toilets
• Museum of Dirt
• Banana Museum
• The Pretzel Museum

Other collectors never start a museum; they simply collect thingamajigs for their own pleasure. One of my buddies, a grown man who is a professional in the business world, probably wouldn’t want his coworkers to know that he collects McDonald’s Happy Meal® toys! He has shelves in his home office filled from floor to ceiling with the tiny plastic trinkets.

If you don’t already have a collection of something, why not consider starting one? It’s easy to begin-ask yourself what interests you and what, within those interests, might have something you can collect-comic books, Cracker Jack prizes, costume jewelry, holiday pencils, yo-yos-the sky’s the limit! Consider how much space you can devote to your collection and how expensive or inexpensive it will be to build your collection. One of the best ways to start is to put out the word to your relatives and friends that you are collecting whatever it is you’ve chosen. Then sit back and wait-come birthdays and holidays, your collection will grow!

Now, if you already have a collection of stuff and thingamajigs, I’d like to hear about it-particularly the unusual collections. In a short paragraph, let me know what you collect, how many items you have in your collection, and what you do with it. (For example, do you trade? Display your stuff? Just stick it on a shelf?) E-mail it to action@unitedspinal.org or mail it to:

KIDS IN ACTION
United Spinal Association
75-20 Astoria Boulevard
Jackson Heights, NY 11370-1177

Watch future issues of Action for some ideas that might start you collecting.

Kathleen M. Muldoon is a children’s book author and writing instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature. She lives in San Antonio, Texas.