I’ve been reading the thread about favourite books and the words “minimalism” and “Marie Kondo” have come up in the discussion.
For a couple of years, I’ve been reading about and trying to practise minimalism. I’ve got rid of much stuff around my house like clothes I didn’t really like, decoration items I didn’t really need, etc. When people visit, they do notice that I don’t have a lot of stuff around.
However, this is a topic that has troubled me… Could I call myself a minimalist being a Pokémon card collector? Isn’t it a contradiction? (Rhetorical questions)
Recently, I’ve been reading posts about having less items in your collections instead of focusing on quantity, I read that someone had only 12 cards in his/her collection and stuff like that. So I was wondering, is there anyone in the forum into minimalism as well? If so, how do you feel about collecting and minimalism?
I practise minimalism in the sense that I hardly spend money on anything else but Pokemon. Within Pokemon, I could see me limiting myself to 12 binders. But 12 cards? Nah.
So I was the one that mentioned The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I’m a new collector so I don’t have a large amount of cards, so when I got into collecting I kind of had the same thought process you did. Being a minimalist that collects stuff seems like an oxymoron but I really think it all comes down to how you store your collection. Minimalism to me is about keeping the things that you like/need and organizing your stuff in a way that doesn’t impede on your day to day life.For example, I’m collecting the main line Pokemon games with their original boxes (as well as some spinoffs) and instead of buying a bookshelf or something to put them on I just bought a shelf that screws directly into my wall so I’m not using any floor space.
I dont think it’s a contradiction to practice minimalism and be a collector. The goal of minimalism is to maximize the personal value that your belongings bring to you. It doesn’t matter if a person has 10 or 1000 items as long as each one brings value. For me, minimalism is applied to my collecting habits in the form of curation. Every year I like to take a survey of my collections and see where I can trim the fat by getting rid of items I no longer value.
If you invest in collectables as well, I believe minimalism can be useful because it helps one practice letting go of an item, a necessity if you want to make money as an investor.
I’ve studied minimalism practiced and continue in some form. For around 5 years I could fit my life in a duffel bag, all my worldly possessions. The reason behind your path into minimalism may be different but my decision was based on a materialistic lifestyle.
While what best for you may not fit some people’s standards of a minimalistic individual if you enjoy your collection that be 12 PSA cards or 12 million bulk. You’re good by my standard.
Minimalism is intended to reduce distraction from what you value. The result of pinpointing what you value makes it much easier to figure out what you want to focus on.
Exactly this. A lot of people confuse minimalism with just simply having as few items as you can possibly get away with, but that’s not the case. You can practice minimalism (not to make it sound like a religion…) by only keeping items that add essential value to your life either practically or emotionally. If Pokemon cards add that value and bring you that ‘joy’ that Marie Kondo keeps harping on about, then you’re not doing the minimalist in you a disservice. If anything, you might be able to review your collection itself at some point and apply those same principles, but otherwise just keep enjoying it!
I don’t limit what I collect by some arbitrary number, but I prefer to only collect things that I can easily organize and keep orderly which usually leads to minimalism. Honestly, I have a hard time collecting things that do not fit into neat complete sets or binders. So yes I practice some minimalism but I’m definitely not being mindful of it.
It’s great to read your opinions on the topic, thank you all for taking the time to write back!
I guess that, if you consider minimalism as having very few items, I couldn’t call myself a minimalist. If you consider it as only having items that really add value to my life, I could. It all depends on your definition of the concept. It’s also interesting the fact that many of you mentioned space/organisation and curation. I’m also very mindful about those things.
As a side note, I saw a video by “the minimalists” where they said something like: “if you want to know if an item really adds value to your life, think if you would replace that item in the event of a fire”. I usually think about that when deciding whether I want to add a card to my collection or not.
Fully agree with not keeping what you don’t want as how those unwanted items can bring joy to giving them to someone who wants them more as that’s to do with refining. Too much ‘minimalism’ however as a hipster construct and you all start to look the same.
Like @muk, said, I avoid most ‘junk’ or trinkets, even for pokemon. I don’t want a ton of clutter and hardly buy new stuff besides pokemon cards. And this sentiment rings true for your fire comment. If all my stuff burned, most of the ‘junk’ i have I wouldnt miss besides childhood stuff, but Id want to rebuy basically all of my pokemon cards.
I think this is a great topic to discuss. I personally try to use minimalism in different aspects of my life. I grew up in a hoarder house and have slowly reduced the amount of material possessions in my life - seeking other means to attain personal enjoyment and engagement.
When it comes to my collection, it has almost become a necessity to adopt the philosophy of minimalism simply because I am all too often priced out of things. I tried a Pokedex collection that I designed earlier in the year as well as maintain my Volcarona and side collections but have realized that I have to give those up as to focus on my goals, relying on trades instead if those are possible.
Pokemon is becoming highly volatile and competitive. Businesses and investors are doubling up in the hobby, pushing out collectors of all sorts who can’t compete with the heavy hitters.
Everything I own can fit into a single drawer. Hyper-focusing on what brings me joy. This has made some things easier to save, and at times, I can splurge on the little side item if it’s something that particularly brings me joy.
Agreed. I also decided to focus on more-so the things that actually make me happy/nostalgic, rather than everything with the Pokémon logo on it. I’ve got my collection down to one closet now!
It’s up to each person. Maybe you’re a “collector” and also a “minimalist”. Pokemon cards seem like a pretty good option compared to ma lny other types of collectibles. A large/valuable Pokemon card collection could be stored in a single drawer or shelf.
If you guys are particularly interested in these kinds of concepts you might consider reading about Kanso if you haven’t already. To put it crudely, some view it as the Japanese version of Feng Shui, though it’s a fundamentally different concept (and one that I feel is more grounded in reality). Put simply it’s about becoming at peace with your surroundings, and a lot of the philosophies behind modern minimalism and anti-clutter take their underpinnings from this view/way of thinking. Sounds a little artsy-fartsy to a lot of people, but it’s genuinely fascinating.
I think collecting and minimalism are pretty contradictory concepts.
But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.
Are you a minimalist with the amount of money you have? Would you rather have less than more? Lol. How about living in a smaller house/apartment than a bigger one?
Sometimes more is better for certain aspects of life.
Of course, you can say quality over quantity, and that’s generally true also. So maybe that aligns with the minimalism thing.
Im in the minimalist category more and more. I looked at my collection last year and saw lots of clutter so decided to only purchase things i really truly want from here on out. I don’t sell so haven’t gotten rid of anything but am saving for my dream card rather than buying lesser cards. Its been good as i haven’t bought anything in about a year but am still heavily into researching and loving the hobby. Trainer deck b blastoise here i come!
