How to deal with change?

[Aurora]

I have been a pony collector since I was 13. That was when it stopped being cool to play with ponies, so I changed the name of what I was doing. So ponies have always been a part of my life.
When the internet came along, with Dream Valley and the arena and of course, ebay, my mom started to collect with me, sometimes more intently than me. As a result, my collection is very impressive. I love those little plastic horses, they have their own room, and everyone knows it.
Then life changed. Some things are better, some things are not, but that is life. I can roll with that. What I am confused by is my attitude toward collecting. After lots of introspection, I have realized that I don't care as much for all of my ponies, that it is probably time to downsize. This is a big leap, going from a completionist to... not a completionist. Has anyone else made this leap? How many regretted it? Do you have stories for me? A little help as I figure out this new chapter in my collecting life?

I am ok, not melancholy or anything. This is just really confusing, I honestly never thought this would happen. I remember specifically saying that this would never happen!

[glitterball]

Aurora, sometimes things happen in life to cause you to change perspective, it could be a dramatic event or just gradually creep up on you - so don't feel sad!

There are certain things that I was super-intense on collecting, I would love the hunt, the thrill of the chase - and I ended up doing a fair bit of travelling to get to see what I could buy; over time, life happened too! I now concentrate my energies more on home stuff and family. I have boxes + boxes of my treasures, now stored away... I even thought about downsizing too! When we finally sell our house (maybe next year) that's when I need to make my decision about what to do with all my stuff. No need to worry about it for now, though! 

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Yes!  I hear you!  Years have passed, so many things  have happened in my life... and I don't feel the need to collect displayables on shelves as much anymore...

I downsized to my childhood herd and some gifts from pony friends, plus a few my DH likes, but I'm about ready to hand those off to my DD so at least they get played with. 

I have been a part of the forum since 2004 but my interest lies much more in the social aspect - I like the swaps and one day I might show off my art... but avidly checking sales and Ebay and having a budget to collect?  I don't have energy invested much into acquiring, I enjoy what I do have... 

[Taxel]

I'm in a similar boat. The last time I really got ponies was in 2013. Since then I've gotten a handful for holidays from family, bought Genie, and only want to buy a couple more of the Project ponies at the moment. I eventually want to complete my goals and get more ponies but its just not a priority for me right now and hasn't been in a very, very long time. Dolls are the same for me right now too. In January I'll hit a decade of doll collecting. I know I'll never stop, still have a wishlist of things I'd like, and wouldn't turn down a gift... but I don't know. There's so many other things going on in my life right now and there's so much other stuff I need to buy that's more important.

However I won't be downsizing because I'm happy with what I've got. I might give some of the toys I've been failing to sell to a local women & children's shelter for Christmas but everything else is fine as it is. Over the years I've done a pretty good job curating my collection to include only ponies I enjoy even if they're not all favorites so thankfully I don't have to worry about regretting anything.

[gabumon]

I was a little rabid in my pony collecting a few years ago.  But now I've sort of "balanced out" - I have all the G1s I want (except for an expensive one) and I pick up G4s very very rarely.
I just don't have this drive to get any more like I did earlier.  I have a rotating display and currently my G1s are out and it's nice to see them that way. In a few weeks I'll rotate to either G4s or a different toy line I collect.

So yeah definitely a different feeling now after my "gotta have em all" phase I've mellowed out into "Savoring All I Got" phase.

[Baby Sugarberry]

If you're unsure about downsizing, pack up all the ponies you're considering letting go of and put them away for at least several months before reevaluating.  Sometimes it's enough to do a rotation of items so you can feel more attached to individual pieces, other times you really don't need them all.

[Shaiyeh]

If you're unsure about downsizing, pack up all the ponies you're considering letting go of and put them away for at least several months before reevaluating.  Sometimes it's enough to do a rotation of items so you can feel more attached to individual pieces, other times you really don't need them all.

I was going to suggest just this. I have gone through the "pony meh", and I chose to downsize. Two times, actually. And I've done nothing but regret it xD

[Aurora]

Thank you all for your input! Squirmy and Shaiyeh, if I can ask, how many did you get rid of? Like, all of them, or just a few at a time? I can take my time with this, so putting some away is a good idea!

[WingsOfMasquerade]

Totally agree with BabySugarberry 100% here.
Putting them safely away in boxes is the best bet to skip regrets. NOT seeing your collection/ponies for an extended period (Don't open the box! Set some kind of limit like 6 months or something before you can open the box--so you really have to be without them for a while) can change your outlook. While they're away analyze how you feel too, like do you forget about the box quickly after a week? Do you miss them? Does something remind you of a put-away pony? When you open the box again at the end of the put away period, how do you feel? Are you smiling?

This idea is good because it is safe and also free to do.

[gabumon]

be sure to look here on the arena for advice on long term storage.  one thing i learned the hard way : it’s cool to put silica packets with them but make sure the packets don’t actually touch ponies.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Thank you all for your input! Squirmy and Shaiyeh, if I can ask, how many did you get rid of? Like, all of them, or just a few at a time? I can take my time with this, so putting some away is a good idea!

Uhhhhhh I used to have hundreds of ponies, maybe even a thousand?  They overtook my bedroom and several other rooms in the house... then I met my then-fiancee and all my worldly possessions had to fit in my vehicle to move to Canada so I donated the majority of my MIB collection to the state's foster care system and everything loose went to the local thrift store.  Then I started rebuilding by posting wanted ads and driving all over my province to build up another herd of ~100 ponies... then they got their own pony room... then I gradually started selling chunks of them off because I couldn't spend time appreciating them, what with having to adult and work and pay bills and stuff. 

Somewhere I have pics of how my collection has grown and shrunk over the years but  I need some updated pics.  I just took out a handful of ponies out of the display this week and decided that I don't need them, I don't need to look at them or own them to feel happy, so either my child expresses interest in MY childhood ponies, or they go to other collectors.

 I always feel tremendously awkward about how I've spent money on the pony so I've got to appreciate it, but what if I don't feel that anymore?  KonMari housecleaning techniques go over this thought process  - everything must bring you joy! but my frustration is more about, "why didn't spending that money make me happy?  what did I really want?" and how I "need" to get back what I paid for MLP... I just cannot sell them for the $0.25-$1 I bought them for!  And people always want to lowball so even if you have a rarer, nice pony, it's not very easy to get top dollar for it unless somehow by some magic miracle yours is the ONLY one on sale (an impossibility with the internet)...

So yeah... it's frustrating when you are financially AND emotionally invested!  I don't want to leave but I can't afford to play most days... I'm loitering on the street of Megan's Place...

[shabbychicdee]

this happened recently to me. im in my early 40's. thought i would stop collecting when i hit 40 but was still haveing fun collecting. then when i had to make some money for my sons orthodontist mouth plate i was picking out what ponies i can sell but instead all my other 80s collectibles have been going out the door. then i opened up the boxes of my beloved toys (as everything is stored away) i had no feelings for them after loveing them so much for so long, after collecting all those things i so wanted as a kid in the 80s, fluppy's, woozles even care bears. im kind of surprised with myself but i guess it just happens. i nearly got rid of all my g4's untill the new style (g4.5) in my personal opinion i think they are awfull, so it make me appreciate my ones so much.
change can happen when you least expect it, either when it's within yourself or around you.
you may get back into it again or you may not. they will always be there waiting for you, in storage or on ebay

hugs

[Aurora]

Wow, Squirmy! That is quite the story! It makes me think we should all write a book! We can call it The Streets of Megans Place.
Chicdee, thank you! All of you, thank you. It is giving me new (and a little scary) perspectives. Keep em coming!

[SeashellnBubbles]

I fell away from Ponies for a couple of years and only recently came back into it. I'm glad I took a break...sold many of the Ponies I had, many were Nirvana including my beloved Macaus. I don't at all regret it as most of them went to people on this site so they stayed in the community and are making other people happy. The break helped me realise that I didn't need to be rabid about collecting, or acquiring, or getting that "zowie" feeling every time I found a pony in the wild. It's allowed me to be more specific about what I want for my new collection; specific ponies that I didn't know existed when I first began collecting again as an adult. I have knowledge of cleaning and restoration that I didn't have the first time, so I can look at ponies and know which ones just need a little work to look new again and which are just too far gone. So I guess I don't see it at all as a bad thing...I just see it as becoming more of a specialist in the field of Ponyology

[Majesty]

I haven't actively collected ponies in a long time.  I had some of the G4's when they first came out but I have long since gotten rid of them.  G4 doesn't have the same appeal as G1's and G3's do for me.  I only watch FIM for something to watch basically.  I used to look forward to it every time it was on but since around season 3 it hasn't appealed to me.  I do have some G1's and G3's on display.  Just because I don't buy ponies anymore it doesn't mean I'm still not a fan of MLP or a collector.  Sometimes I do browse amazon for G3's or G1's and if it's a pony I've been looking for or wanted for a long time and it's reasonably priced I'll get it. 

I have fond memories of MLP back when G1's and G3's were out and I hold onto those memories and I also have the DVD boxed set of the G1 episodes and MLP The Movie and I have MLP Tales on DVD and the G3 movies.
Every now and then I watch them and remember the good old days of MLP and it makes me smile.

You can always put your ponies away in a safe, dry place where it won't succumb to mold, etc. and maybe some day you will enjoy ponies again and want to display them again.  Or, you could just keep your favorite ones and sell or trade the rest or donate them.