COOL IDEAS FOR COLLECTORS

Collecting cool stuff doesn’t mean you have to go to stores and spend all your hard-earned allowance money. I love finding free things to collect, like takeout menus, business cards, wrappers and labels from food, drinks and candy. I keep gum wrappers in a notebook and write notes about how it tastes, who I shared it with, and mark down the date. Think how cool it would be if you had your grandparents’ candy diary!

I also love to trade for stuff and to shop at sidewalk sales, thrift stores, and flea markets. It’s really true that one person’s junk is another person’s treasure. Collecting pieces of string sounds silly until you learn that the Egyptians invented string over 5,000 years ago – imagine life without string – we wouldn’t even have any clothes!

You can collect by simply making long lists of things, like your favorite places, things you want to do someday, or really funny words like omphaloskepsis (you gotta break out the dictionary cause I’m not gonna teach you that great word so easily). Try saving envelopes every time they spell your name wrong on junk mail, or keep napkins from birthday parties, or save rocks you kick all the way home.

A 10-year old bottle cap collector taught me how to think really hard to come up with the best collections. One day he realized that the bench under the biggest tree in the local park is where to find the best bottle caps. Why? Because people like to chill out with a cool drink in the shade. Be sure to wash those caps before you bring em home! Think creatively and you can create your own unique and world-class collection.