Collecting is a totally self-aware activity, it systematically seeks and acquire items of a particular kind as a hobby. Collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector.
The differences between collecting and hoarding are clear. Items in a collection are neatly organized, maintained, and presented or manipulated with ease. So, if the collector wants to find a particular object, he can find it easily. Consequently, the collections are often catalogued, sorted, and objectively maintained. On the other hand, hoarding is the opposite. Items with no value or use are piled up in stacks without order nor reason.
There are many reasons make the people collect. More likely, collecting is a basic human instinct. The most common reasons people collect things include: • Knowledge and learning • Interest in specific topic or place • Relaxation and stress reduction • Personal pleasure (including appreciation of beauty, and pride of ownership) • Social interaction with fellow collectors and others (i.e. the sharing of pleasure and knowledge) • Competitive challenge • Recognition by fellow collectors and perhaps even non-collectors • Altruism (since many great collections are ultimately donated to museums and learning institutions) • The desire to control, possess and bring order to a small (or even a massive) part of the world • Nostalgia • A connection to history (keep the past present through connecting the people to a period in their history or to a time they feel strongly about). • Accumulation and diversification of wealth