How to Organize a Collection
Collecting things like dolls, coins, model cars, action figures and the like, is a popular hobby and seems to satisfy some natural human instinct for hoarding and possessing objects. However, no matter how extensive a collection is, it will fail to impress if it is not properly organized. If you find yourself with a large collection on your hands, that is growing increasingly messy, and frustratingly scattered, there are a number of things you can do to organize it and get it back on track.
Instructions
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Firstly, begin by assessing your collection, so you can streamline it and eliminate any superfluous objects that do not belong to the collection. For example, if you have a doll collection, look through it carefully – weed out anything that doesn’t belong, and then brush up your collection by cleaning the dolls, and grooming them, to make sure they are in perfect condition.
Image courtesy: flickriver.com
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Once the collection has been streamlined and tidied up, it is time to reflect on which method of presentation would flatter your collection the most. If it is a coin collection, you can display it in a glass case or in a coin book, and if it is an airplane collection, it will probably look best hanging from the ceiling, suspended in mid-air. Come up with something fitting and creative, instead of just lining everything up in a row.
Image courtesy: flickr.com
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Next, determine how you will be categorizing and arranging the collection – butterflies can be classified by breed, coins by the year they came out, dolls by their heights and sizes, and action figures can be arranged to represent and re-enact scenes from the movie or book they belong to. This will make the collection something of an exhibit as opposed to a jumbled mess, and it will be more interesting and impressive to observers.
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Once you have decided the method of display, consider investing in accessories that will enhance the look of your collection. Get display stands for ceramic figurines and action figures, get shelves for a doll or comic collection, glass cases for butterflies, etc. However, if your aim is just to organize the collection for yourself, and not display it to outsiders, you can simply invest in cabinets, closets, and card/coin books to store your collection.
Image courtesy: 4ted.blogspot.com
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Finally, if you have a large and detailed collection on your hands, consider devoting an entire room to housing, organizing, and displaying it – e.g. a poster collection. Here, you may devote certain areas to particular parts of your collection, and have more room to experiment with different techniques of displaying your objects. You can also use factors like lighting to enhance the look of the collection, and foreground certain objects.
Image courtesy: gallery.limerick.ie
