by Joan Law
Feng Shui Joan’s Way
FengshuiJoansWay@gmail.com
A gift giving tip with a Feng Shui twist.
We all have folks in our lives who are collectors. Collecting, at least by definition, is different than hoarding. A collector is an individual who collects things of a specified type, professionally or as a hobby.
A hoarder is an individual who has significant difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them. These individuals cannot – really cannot – throw or give anything away, even as stuff piles up and impedes normal life.
Even the least experienced practitioner of the art of Feng Shui knows that clutter in general creates bad chi or energy and this is a topic I will cover in more detail in a future blog. But, to the holidays at hand… As you wrap up your holiday shopping in the days ahead, consider a more practical approach to giving gifts to the collectors in your life.
Don’t assume a collector wants more of the same. Put on your sleuth’s hat and connect with that person to decipher if a new collectible will be a welcome addition. Keep in mind, the thrill of the hunt is what many collectors enjoy. And, hunting online over the past ten months of COVID may have been their happy place. They may have already found what they were looking for and then some.
And did you know that long-time collectors may be content with what they have but don’t know how to tell their loved ones? I have a client who inherited her grandmother’s elephant collection, 400 elephants of all types and sizes that had been stuffed into grandma’s display case.
For sentimental reasons, my client kept the collection. She literally has boxes of elephants she keeps neatly stored away. Each year she gifts some to friends and family as elephants are considered good luck (and, in moderation, good Feng Shui). She also continues to display a significantly reduced collection of her favorites in the old display case. But now she can see and enjoy them because the clutter is gone.
She often sees elephants that she knows her grandmother would have adored but resists the temptation to add to what is now “her” collection. A collection already too large to genuinely enjoy.
Are you the collector who has stopped pursuing yet another cute elephant or frog? Make sure you share that information with your loved ones to stop the flow!
The best gift you can give to a collector is to ask them to share the stories behind their passion. More often than not, it is the story and the memory of the hunt that carries the most value.
Help them organize a collection gone awry so that they can enjoy it or even help them capture the story behind the collection in a journal or photo album – especially if they are needing to de-clutter and down-size.
Now that would make a great gift! Feng Shui Joan’s Way has helped many a client navigate this task.
This is a great time of year to begin managing gift giving and getting. And managing collections or clutter is great resolution for the New Year! Wishing you all the best this Holiday Season!
