To downsize or not to....

Lately this comes to my mind a lot...due to a shoulder-surgery I was not able to write for a while . But being off from Parfumo didn't mean I was not interested in all what was written here. On the contrary. We share the same passion or is it an 'addiction' ? But this question keeps popping up : having almost 140 bottles (and more decants and samples that would last at least 2 years to use all) while some members here even have over 500 and more...why should I add more ? (Maybe this is asked before by other members ?) But when is enough really enough ? And at the same time : isn't it time to sell some which I haven't used for over a year? How do you deal with this, because probably I'm not the only one who's thinking this from time to time ? A year ago I reduced my collection with 60 bottles by selling and giveaways but after that I bought at least also 60/70 new bottles...

Sorry about your shoulder! Hope it's mending well.

About downsizing, I'd say don't do it unless you're losing interest in the hobby. Even if you think you'll never wear a certain perfume again, think twice. I could kick myself for some of the things I've purged, only to want them back. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Questions I ask myself when I consider amassing items:

#Do I collect rationally or for collecting's sake?
For perfume that would mean: If I collect flacons, getting a 100th may be great. If I collect in order to use it, I look at total volume of my collection and what that would means in duration of usage. I personally collect perfume for usage, so I get all bottles used or just a sharing. Downsizing doesn't mean that you have to lose the fragrance completely. Just decant some and give the flacon away. 5-10ml decants are compact to store and not painful to later discard / give away when you realize that you still don't use it at all.

#Does the ownership please me or the purchase?
If ownership, I'm cool with it. If purchase, I try to stop it asap (e.g. by delaying purchases for a month to reduce spontaneous buys that have little purpose other than satisfying a mood).

#Does it please me at all?
That might be stupid question for a hobby. But too much of anything is a burden. If I had 50 flacons at home, I'd not enjoy my place anymore. A dozen is fine. "When is too much" is a question that sometimes pops up in the German forum in blogs and you probably aren't surprised to hear that everyone else has a different opinion. Does your collection give you joy? That's what counts.

I'm a fairly cautious flacon buyer, so I don't have to deal with the too much topic too much If it's few bottles, I'd give them away. If I had a lot, I'd sell them, way underpriced bundle in order to speed up the process.