Is a Collecting Hobby Right for You? Plus Ideas to Try

Did you know that around 33% of adults report feeling extreme levels of stress on a regular basis? If you’re someone who deals with stress often, you need to find a way to manage that stress on a day-to-day basis.

That’s where a collecting hobby comes into play.

Believe it or not, simply collecting a small gadget or toy can help you reduce your stress levels greatly. But that’s not all there is to like about collecting things as a hobby.

In this article, we’ll help you decide if collecting is the right hobby for you or not. We’ll tell you what all there is to like about collecting, so you can make the decision for yourself.

On top of that, we’ll tell you about a few notable items to collect, so you can get started collecting something fun right away.

Do I Need a Collecting Hobby?

It’s important to note that no two people are exactly the same. This means that what you get out of collecting may be different than what someone who collects the exact same item gets out of collecting.

So, to determine if you need a collecting hobby, you first need to know what the benefits of collecting are. Below we’ve broken down 6 notable benefits of collecting, that way, you can decide if the hobby is worth pursuing or not.

     1. Build a Desire for Knowledge

No matter what it is that you choose to collect, you’re going to want to know everything that there is to know about your collector’s item of choice. This will no doubt build a healthy desire for knowledge that makes you hungry for new information.

As we grow older, we can often lose that desire for knowledge. It can be hard to be passionate about things, for a variety of reasons. That’s why collecting something can be so beneficial, as again, it helps you maintain that desire to learn new information.

     2. Inspire Creativity

Are you someone who thrives off of being creative? Having a hard time finding inspiration lately? If so, you’ll be happy to know that another notable benefit of collecting has to do with inspiring creativity within collectors.

When you collect items, you inspire yourself to think and explore more. This inspiration can then lead to you looking for new ideas and thoughts, which can take you down a creative path that is fun and enjoyable to explore.

If your career requires you to be creative, consider giving collecting things a try. You may be surprised to discover that, with your new hobby, being creative is that much easier.

     3. Improve Organizational Thinking

It goes without saying, but it’s next to impossible to collect anything without being organized. After all, you want to display whatever it is that you’re collecting in a neat and presentable fashion. That way you can show off your collection to others, as well as enjoy it for yourself.

Because of this, collecting things helps you tap into the part of your brain that handles organizational thinking. You can then use that part of your brain to get organized in other aspects of your life, helping you remove all clutter and improve your mental health.

     4. Reduce Stress

No matter what your day-to-day schedule looks like, odds are you have to deal with tons of things that cause stress often. While there are things you can do to combat this stress, like diet and exercise, few are as fun as collecting something that you love.

Whenever you add something to your collection, you’re going to be happy about doing so. That happiness will often come at the times that you need it the most, making it easier to deal with the hardships of life.

     5. Make New Friends

For many people, their favorite part of collecting has nothing to do with the actual ownership of whatever it is they collect. It doesn’t have to do with finding something new for their collection, either.

Some people enjoy socializing with other collectors and making new friends more than any other aspect of collecting.

So, if you’re someone who wants to be more social, but struggles with putting yourself out there, collecting could be quite helpful. Because after you’ve found your collector community, it’ll be easy to start conversations with strangers, as you’ll already have common interests to talk about.

You never know, you could end up meeting some lifelong friends after you take up collecting as your new hobby, which is quite exciting to think about.

     6. Have Fun and Be Happy

It may sound cheesy, but the biggest reason to pick up collecting as a hobby is quite simple: it’s to have fun and be happy. After all, that’s something that everyone can enjoy about collecting, which is why it’s worth mentioning.

As an adult, it can be harder to find time to be happy and enjoy yourself. But with collecting as your hobby, you’ll make fun a priority in your life again, which of course is a good thing.

What Can You Collect?

One of the reasons why many people are afraid to start collecting is because they don’t know what things to collect. While you can collect anything that makes you happy, there are a few notable items that people collect that are worth mentioning.

Picking any of these items to collect will also guarantee that you can find a community of like-minded collectors online or in your community. So, if you’re looking for social hobby ideas, and you’re thinking about collecting something, be sure to keep these items in mind.

     1. Coins

If you know anything about collecting, you most likely know that one of the most popular items to collect is coins. That’s not a huge surprise when you think about it, as collecting rare coins gives you a chance to own a piece of history in your home.

On top of that, a huge benefit to collecting coins is the fact that so much is out there for you to explore and enjoy. There is a large coin collector community to join, as well as plenty of accessories to buy that will make organizing your collection easier.

     2. Weapons

Are you someone who enjoys things like knives and swords? Want to own some of the weapons from your favorite video games, movies, and TV shows? If so, you may find that collecting weaponry could be your new favorite hobby.

While the internet is helpful no matter what you choose to collect, this site has tons of awesome knives and swords to choose from. From items with medieval flair to fun zombie-themed blades, you can find anything and everything that you would want to own in one spot.

     3. Toys

Collecting toys is a bit of a vague statement, which can be overwhelming for those who don’t know what they want to collect. After all, there are thousands of toys out there, which means you have tons of choices on what you’d like to collect.

Our advice? Pick one niche that has a toy and then start collecting those toys only. For example, if you like pro wrestling, you can start collecting action figures of your favorite wrestlers.

Once you get to a point where you’re happy with your collection, and you’ve got all your favorites, you can then move on to collecting other types of toys.

     4. Video Games

Another popular item to collect for many people is video games. While this can be quite an expensive hobby, as video games aren’t cheap, it can be fun to own entire collections of video games for certain consoles.

With a video game collection, you can get even more enjoyment, as you can play the things that you collect. That is quite appealing for many people because their collection can be more than decor in their living room.

     5. Vinyl Records

Another fun item that you can collect and also play is vinyl records. This can be an especially fun hobby if you’re someone who has a big passion for music.

Like all items on this list, when you collect records, you start to build something that could be sold later for a profit. With that being said, passing down your collection to a friend or family member who has the same passion can be a wonderful moment to create one day.

Still Not Sold on Collecting Things as a Hobby?

No matter what kind of person you are, you will most likely find a collecting hobby enjoyable. There’s so much to like about collecting, especially if you have a friend or family member to enjoy the journey with.

At worst, it can be fun to give it a try, if only to see if it’s something that is right for your not.

Looking for more lifestyle tips and tricks? Check back with our blog often.