Anyhow, this is related to dating in a couple of ways. If you are a compulsive collector it can effect your relationships or potential relations by creating money problems (esp if you're addicted to shopping), hording problems where you're whole living space is full of stuff and you've had to create paths to get around your house, or where you have devote all your time to your collections (or hobbies).
Money issues are a really bad thing, b/c women generally do want nice, smart, and funny guys, but we also would like guys who are financially stable. Rich isn't necessary, but we don't want to be supporting your ass b/c you spent your last $10 on a Batman figure.
Hording is I think the main problem nerds have with their collections. Most of us probably don't get to this point,
but getting even close to there isn't comfortable. First if you're a real hoarder, you should get help b/c it's going to need more help than what this nerd can provide since there's like OCD and other things associated with it. The Mayo clinic has a brief thingy on it which you can read here. But if you're just a geek who can't bear to part with comics they bought in the 90s b/c they were totally going to be worth something you gotta practice what we refer to in the library business as weeding. Weeding is the systematic act of getting rid of stuff that you don't need anymore. Books and other materials in the library get weeded for a variety of reasons, including condition, age, relevancy, usage etc. You can apply this to your stuff too, I use it for cleaning out my closet.
The easiest thing to do is make a box of stuff that you know you don't want but haven't bothered getting rid of yet. Now is the time to get rid of it. Recycling, donating to the goodwill or your local library is good, and seeing if people you know might want it are a good way to not generate extra trash if things are still in good condition. If you have collectibles that you aren't into anymore you might want to consider selling them but know that you probably won't get as much as you paid for it unless it's a real collectible, not like that first issue of Betty that you bought in the 90s b/c everyone was buying comics. (Not that I did that or anything...plus Betty is awesome...)
Second, go through and get rid of things that you've had for years and meant to get around to but never have. I had tons of books that I bought and I was like, I should read this Morgan Lewellyn book or I should watch House of Sand and Fog but you know what, I'm really not going to b/c I'd rather rewatch A Knight's Tale. Hobbies that sounded cool but you won't really do should also go. Be honest with yourself if you're really going to get to it in the near future, b/c really the only person you're hurting is yourself. If it's a book or dvd, you could donate it to your library and if they own it or if they decide to add it (they might not though!), if you really wanted to read/watch it later, just borrow it then. This is like the hardest category of things to get rid of b/c you keep thinking...I COULD READ IT! I COULD! But you know what, you haven't and it's been sitting on your shelf for ten years. That's ten years of opportunities where you chose to read the Princess Bride for the 20th time instead of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. So like suck it up and get rid of it, you'll feel better and honestly you'll never miss it. Unless you're obsessive in which case you probably wouldn't have been happy either way.
For broken things, either get rid of them or put them away and protect them from further damage. Torn clothes should probably go away...if it's like your first Metallica shirt and you wore it when James Hetfield hugged you then go and get it cleaned and professional stored safely where the moths and other buggies won't get it, but other clothes probably just need to be tossed. Esp if you have a hole in the crotch of your pants. No one wants to see that. Even though James Hetfield's sweat is on your tshirt you should still get it cleaned b/c if you just store it without washing it it can grow weird stuff and attract bugs.
But sometimes even getting rid of stuff you want to get rid of and getting rid of things you should get rid of isn't enough. This happened to me recently. I was weeding and weeding my books and even though I just got a brand new beautiful bookcase it wasn't big enough! There were a lot of tough choices but it's mostly at the point where I have my favorite authors (of which there are still quite a lot) left. But seriously if you ask me if I miss the dvds or books that I gave away, nope, not at all. In fact I don't really remember what they were! Of course that could be b/c my memory sucks but I think it's b/c I didn't really need it.
Of course all this boils down to the realization I had when our house was broken into. It's all just stuff. I mean I do love stuff and I love shopping but we don't really need it. The important things are like family and friends and while owning a super cool bust of Batman is awesome it is still just stuff. And my second realization is that the more stuff you the collect, the worse is it when you have to move and the more your friends will hate you too.
So don't let your obsession with collecting things ruin your life or your love life. B/c that Batman bust won't keep you warm at night.
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