you don't have to get rid of the things you love

i'm mostly a lurker who never posts anything anywhere, I don't even have an username as you can see, but I love stuffed animals, so by default I love this subreddit. though this time I did want to share my thoughts and feelings about this certain subject, which i am still overcoming, and I think someone out there could put my words to use.

i have around 45 stuffed animals, of all sizes, from tiny to big. most are spending time with me during the day or they sleep with me, and some are for decoration only. still, i love them, they're soft and they all make me happy. they live in my spare shelves on my wardrobe.

anyways, I love getting rid of stuff, I like throwing things away. because i like getting rid of stuff, i'm constantly looking through my plushies, if one of them doesn't spark joy anymore, it goes to the donation bag. my collection is WAY smaller than it used to be. still, even I cannot bear to part with most of my stuffed animals. even if you love your collection, whatever it is that you collect, i'm positive that most of us get the feeling that we have too much stuff, not to mention how people usually get weirded out by big collections, specially plushies or toys, it can make us feel pretty bad. i was getting this feeling a lot. even if my plushies are very comfortably stored, i felt terrible that there was 'so much space' being used for them (even if i have nothing to put in their place if the shelves go empty lol).

what i want to say is: if you can store your plushies in dedicated spaces, if you can walk around your house safely with breathing room, and if they aren't cluttering your storage room for essential items such as clothes, you don't need to worry about your stuffed animals. keep them. it's not a waste of space to store harmless things that you love. i'd much rather have my spare shelves full of stuffed animals that I truly love than having these shelves empty just for the sake of them being empty. it's neat to love our collections, guys. go for it!

(this post is not about unhealthy hoarding. i think this is pretty clear, but it's always nice to clarify)