I just began cleaning out my office in anticipation of our upcoming move and for the last three hours I've been working on one section that is where I put all of my coin and paper note collecting stuff and that stuff is EVERYWHERE! I've been finding coins and paper notes randomly hiding around the whole office. Air-tites and cardboard flips under furniture... and on and on. On a good note though, it's like I just got a whole bunch of new stuff since I had forgotten about all this. Anyone else experience this or am I just particularly cluttered?
No one is as cluttered as I am... so another excuse to post a pic of my desk. It's been like this for many years, with just slight variations:
Looks like my desk! My wife complains that she can't sit at the desk without knocking over a stack of my coins, and she complains that I leave my copies of The Numistmatist all over the house. She doesn't understand why I roll hunt either, and so its always a little issue when I disappear for a while to crack open a box and fill the trash can with papers and poly wraps.
Here is the offending shelf in question, this is after I had policed up most of everything from around the house and began organizing.
When it comes to collecting anything, eventually it becomes a mess. I have cards, comics and coins all over the place. Not to mention the statues that are displayed. The best thing to do is to confine them to one area. This way even if it becomes messy, its easier to clean.
Well I have 3 3x1 drawers, and 1 and a half 3x3x2 cabinets full to the brim of packages of coins, pages of coins, coin supplies, backstock coin books, etc. I think I am up there with ya'll. To top it off, here is a pic of the main part of my numismatic lilbrary, (I have since added about 30 more books): Unfortunately I don't have an office at home, so this is sucking up space in my living room.
I keep all my coin stuff in one large rubbermaid bin,so I don't have the problems like you guys have.
I started with a small rubbermaid box and three years later a 12x12 room is to small may have to add on to the house.
I think I get messiest coin/supply filled office honors Right half of table Left half of table File Cabinet/Printer Floor Pic1
Floor pic2 Floor/under table My wife calls the office the dungeon. All this in addition to two bookcases of History, Philosophy, Economics, Political Science/Law books and a bookcase with our sports memoribilia and an antique desk. Talk about a crowded messy room it's wall to wall in here. Closet shelf Closet pic2
Why would one need all the books when you can get all the info useing a computor? I am not into coins as deep as some so i just ask a question. I know when i need info on a coin most of the time i can look it up on my pc and can go to many sites if one dosent feed me all the info i am seeking. Maybe its neat to own shelves filled with books but they get out of date quick and have to be replaced as needed.My pc gets the info updated and i save my money for coins i like not books that need up dateing.
Most of what's in those book isn't on the internet. Some books that are long out of print are not published online nor available in any other way than from used book sellers. Some collectors collect numismatic books, maybe even more than they collect actual coins. Some still find holding a book a pleasing thing and enjoy the quick access without being sucked into the internets for hours on end chasing information that only scratches the surface of more in depth collectors needs. Despite being heavy, taking up space and needing to be dusted now and then, it is pleasing to look at and draw from a vast amount of books on hand. There is a famous old quote that goes, "A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
It's clutter like that that turns me off about modern collectible coins marketed and packaged in cumbersome and space consuming presentation packages. All the conservation materials one needs on hand for using with their collections alone takes up gobs of space. Some years ago, having realized how dense all this stuff gets, inspired me to sell off the majority of my modern collection and start over, take new directions and basically breathe again in the openness the purge allowed me to do that in. Since then, I have attempted to be much more frugal in what goes into my collection and how must space in my life the physical part of collecting takes up. I would rather sell it all for a few really nice coins than have hoarded masses of things I put too much sentimental or held too much intrinsic value spread out in thousands of objects I have to tend to. Like you said, when you go to move the stuff, it's a real pain in the back side to deal with. I've done that a few times and never enjoy 'moving' the collection. Good luck to you with the task ahead! Perhaps when you settle in your new digs you will focus a good effort on organization and keep to the task from then on. Moving is a good time to take stock of what you have and make records accordingly because if you loose all or part of that in damage to your home/office or its stolen from you, it would be really hard to prove what went missing, let alone pinpoint how much you lost, forbid that ever happened.
I for one will always have plenty of books! You can't always take a computer with you when you want to look at something such as bathroom reading material! I tried to take my laptop with me once but that got me a strange look from my wife...