The problem I am facing now is one that I used to dream of facing when I was just starting to fall in love with designer handbags: Being surrounded by such countless bags that even my closet couldn’t fit them all. That is the issue I am having right now. Simply put, I own way too many handbags. I know the first question you will want to ask me is HOW MANY MEGS. I don’t know, I don’t have an exact count. Probably over 200, if I count every single one, but I don’t know how many over 200. I actually don’t even want to know.
I know you may be sitting there trying to do the math…it’s a lot. But it’s not like I own 200 Hermès bags or Chanel bags, it’s a mix of bags I’ve acquired and been sent as gifts over the past 12-plus years. I don’t use the majority of them; they are just collecting dust, but I simply cannot let them go. The idea of parting with almost any of those bags makes me want to squeal a little bit, and when Vlad suggests it (because he does from time to time), my immediate reaction is NO LEAVE ME ALONE. I’m like a child when it comes to my bags.
So why is it that I have this issue; what makes me not want to get rid of a single bag? I think a major part of it is that each and every single bag I own holds an important part of my life and memories. When I started PurseBlog with Vlad out of my dorm room, I never dreamed that it would be where it is today. I still consider myself so incredibly lucky, and it feels surreal that the job I’ve been able to create is this one—I mean, it doesn’t even sound like a real job. But Vlad and I have put in work and been lucky with timing, and that’s lead to us creating this site and our PurseForum. Each bag is a little part of that business that we’ve built.
[sc_ic_ad1]I remember saving up to buy my first Louis Vuitton piece (the Wapity), and how exciting that was for me. I specifically recall getting a Fendi Spy from my parents for Christmas, and how hard it was to track down that bag and find the version I wanted at the time. My first Birkin—though the purchase was somewhat hilarious because I wound up feeling ill—will forever be an incredibly important part of my bag collection. My Chanel Reissue? That was part of an extravagant birthday celebration that Vlad planned for me, and I got to go to Chanel and pick the bag of my dreams out. That’s the thing: the majority of the bags I own hold a special place in my heart and collection, which makes parting with it feel so incredibly hard.
Now that I have Millie, I imagine passing my bags down to her. I want her to know the story of each bag, to appreciate how bags are more than just bags to me, and for her to really look forward to getting to use my bags. But for all I know, she won’t care for bags at all—she may think a simple black crossbody is plenty, and the rest that I have are excessive. Maybe our son will want some of my bags, and I’d love for him to have them too if he ever wanted, but maybe he won’t. I have built up the idea of passing my bags down, but that is really nothing more than an idea—there’s no real truth in that yet, and there may never be.
So what’s a girl to do?
My problem doesn’t sound like much of a problem, but I do think it taps into the notion that many of us face—we live in excess in some areas of our lives. Vlad and I constantly talk about simplifying our belongings, because let’s face it, we use and reuse the same few items and the rest are just added things and noise. I do the same with my bags. I do change them out, but not nearly as often as I did before I had Millie, and many of them are dated and not yet back in style. This is a solid reminder that I should use each bag more and not just let them be pretty objects sitting in my closet.
Many of the bags I own are sitting among clothing that I too will never use again. I have somewhat accepted the fact (somewhat!) that my body will be forever changed. Those size small blouses will never fit my chest again and that is ok, but for some reason I let them sit there hoping maybe my body post the second baby will just shrink (I actually laughed typing this because it won’t happen and that’s okay).
There are options if I were to sell my bags. I could donate some or sell them and use profits to donate to a charity, which would make me feel good about what I was doing with them. But for right now, I am set in keeping the majority of them, and I am not sure what that says about me. Does it make me a hoarder or a collector? And I feel like there may be a fine line between the two, one which I am walking ever so closely.
Keep ’em all… No regrets. No guilt. If the time comes when you want to downsize, it will be for the right reasons and then letting go of them will be a joy.
Just maybe wear them a little more often. It could be fun building outfits around a bag that you haven’t worn in a long time!
I say keep them as well. Don’t get rid of them until you’re absolutely ready to or else you’ll just regret it. Pull them out, use them, start a new weekly article where you take photos of the bags in your collections and tell us your stories. We’d all love to see them and hear the stories!!!!
Yes, best idea and I’m on it!! I would love to share the stories, a walk down memory lane!
Yes, such a great idea! Please tell us the stories behind every one of the bags! We’d love to read them!
At least post a picture of them all! 😀 i’m sorry to ask you to go though all this trouble, but I would love to see a picture of 200+ bags from a collection being built for over 12 years! How cool is that!!!
I would really appreciate it, and I am sure a lot of other readers on here would too! 🙂
Yes, please, a picture with them all together would be so fun and interesting! Like time travel! …Or at least a throw back! 🙂
I liked this real talk. The problem you described looms over many of us and it’s not just about bags. In my case if I give something I love away to somebody I love or like then it’s just not as painful as selling. I will only sell if I don’t care so much or if it’s a necessity, ie to fund another frivolity I can’t get off my mind. My advice don’t overanalyse! 😉
I have the same problem. I own many bags and they are all special to me. I purchased all the bags myself except 4. The ones I am willing to part with are dated and have no value. I change handbags monthly to make sure I get use out of all the bags. I must keep a spreadsheet to catalog what year and month a bag was carried. They are all photographed so I can make my monthly decision. Because of my monthly handbag change, I look forward to the first of the month. I purchase 10 or more handbags a year. I have purchased furniture just to store the bags. To be honest, I work to buy purses. Yes, I said it and I am proud of it.
Omg “I work to buy purses” is the PERFECT description for me too! I love my bags and I also have a spreadsheet! I also have photos of every purse and I’ve pinned them to the dust bag so I can find my bags easier when I want to switch!? so glad to know I’m not the only junkie out there!?
I absolutely adore your spreadsheet idea. A person after my own heart!
I have the same problem, too many handbags to seat on the shelf .
#firstworldproblems
Hey, even my title said it was not a real problem!
I’m right there with ya Megs! And no, I’m not apologizing. I love every purchase that I’ve ever made. I’ve slowed down considerably over the last few years…although I did purchase a little something from Goyard for my birthday this year. Lol! And if the time comes that I need to lighten my load, I will. I enjoy them, they make me smile and if a handbag can lift someone’s spirits without harming anyone or throwing you into poverty…have at it.
Do keep them! I am in the same boat as you. I have well over two hundred bags, it might be over three. I’ve not taken a headcount in years.
But I rented an off-site climate controlled indoor storage unit for them, and it’s a 20×12 foot unit. There was simply no room in the house (it’s a small house because I love old houses)and the yearly expense of rental is far less than I’d lay out on a new house with extra space of comparable size, right…? Right!!
Usefully, I also keep our travel gear (suitcases, carry-ons) and holiday decor in this massive storage unit; things that are not wanted frequently.
I don’t have anything super expensive like a Birkin. There are a couple of Picotins, a Keepall, a Noe, several Speedys, several St Louis, nothing higher than that sort of price point. I would guess seventy percent of them retailed for $350-800 dollars, fifteen percent being $800+ and the rest being less, some being true ‘cheapos’. I did not pay retail for the vast majority.
I’ve ended up rebuying many I sold off or donated in fits of ‘I must downsize’, like you. About the umpteenth time that happened was what prompted the storage unit. Now I’m just choosier (VERY) about what I add, so that I don’t have to cull as often.
However, this is nearly my sole habit of this type. I don’t buy shoes unless a pair wears out, don’t have many clothes, don’t wear much jewelry and the jewelry I do have is costume, my house is quite small by Western standards (<1400 sq ft), I don’t hoard cats, I keep a phone till it perishes, drive the same car till it perishes, and so on. I really only have handbags and fragrance.
Allow yourself this one thing and be minimalist in the remaining endeavors. It works for me, and could be that as my efforts progress, I might pare down even the bags and perfume someday. But for now, it’s caused me mostly regret to thin out those two things, whereas everything else I donate or sell feels amazing and isn’t missed. (I do get rid of bags or perfume that I am ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN will never work out). You can always do it LATER, but it’s a bitter pill to choke down when you realize you must spend to get back what you regret giving away. Keep most of them awhile yet and just rehome the ones that really don’t work…
I have identical “problem” and get very annoyed when in de-cluttering effort my husband even tries to mention my bags. Earch of my bags has a story to tell, and I can’t let a single one go. I did sell a few over the years, but those were just simply purchased bags which I did not feel. I have a large collection of bags with which I can’t part. I do not feel it is quite reasonable behaviour, but something in life, probably in the past , triggered that…ah well. same passion for rare Hermes SLGs which, again I can’t sell…and how many coin purses does one need ? They are secretly stashed in my purse organizers, amazing textures and coloures – notebooks, key cases, card cases, coin cases, glasses cases, Bottega Veneta lanyard for each Hermes cellphone case in the same colour…you can imagine that I carry one all the time, the rest I adore in their cases. The more invisible for public, the better, only I know what they are, my bags rarely have any indication of brand, and these small beauties are tucked inside. Taking any one of them makes my heart happy every time 🙂
When you are ready to let go, take pictures of the bags and make an album out of it. You don’t need the actual bags to hang on to the memories.
I think it’s ridiculous to keep things just for the point of keeping them (clothes and bags cry when they just sit in a closet! plus I live with a hoarder so I am projecting), but I also understand the lure of holding onto them rather than making a photo-album. My theory is that it gives you the privilege of CHOICE (in this context, it is a privilege); keeping them in your possession allows you to CHOOSE whether/when you want to use them, even if that conversation/decision only ever happens in your head. And, as we know, choice is a powerful/empowering state of mind/lifestyle! It’s great to not feel limited or, dare I say, trapped in your daily life!
I like this idea. However on a bad day one could end up browsing the album while sipping a glass of wine on a cold misty evening, and cry over the bags which are now only on photographs :>
Isn’t it better to spill the wine over only photographs than to ruin actual bags with it? ? Red wine on light suede… Brrrrrr
It sounds like you have a compulsive disorder.
All of us on Purseforum/Purseblog have a compulsive disorder. Are you offering group therapy? Can we go shopping for handbags after each session?
Not “all of us”… most people on PB and TPF don’t own 200 bags…
Are you offering me free therapy with a certified therapist (or are you one)? 😉
I don’t have a compulsive disorder, but I do own a lot of bags. Again, I’ve run a website and forum about designer handbags for most of my adult life – with that comes shopping, purchasing, and being gifted a lot of bags.
And as I said above, majority of these bags hold a really special place in my heart and in my life. I can remember when I got them and why. It’s part of my work/personal journey. I also admit that it is too many bags.
“I’m not a hoarder! I’m a collector!” says every hoarder.
Dr. Zasio: “Megs, you have two hundred handbags. Can you let go of one?”
Megs: “These bags hold a really special place in my heart and in my life.”
Dr. Zasio: “One bag, Megs. Do it for your family.”
Megs: “They’re part of my work/personal journey!”
Dr. Zasio: “You have a compulsive disorder, Megs. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family.”
Megs breaks down in tears in a pile of dated and wrinkled designer handbags. Dr. Zasio shakes her head. Matt Paxton comes in wearing his hazmat suit.
I’m teasing. 🙂
HA! If you’re paying and we can live stream it, sure…. 😉
Please don’t get rid of Any , whether you use them or not-you’ll regret Every one you part with-I used to have nearly 30, for every occasion, then I had a terrible boyfriend who sold a lot of them on eBay!
Even worse kept the proceeds-I even regret a Louis Vuitton bag I Didn’t buy when I was only 19!
Atm I have 9, but I’ve chosen no.10, I’ll get it during 2021 as I’m paying for a kitten who arrives at the end of December.
I’d intended to stop at 10, but women love bags, I don’t think I’ll ever reach 200+, but I’ve only just bought no.9- a Versace -and already I can’t Wait for number 10!
Unfortunately I collect coats and jackets too, so my wardrobes are getting a bit full although I don’t have many clothes apart from the coats!xxx
Hi Megs, let go of the bags that dont give you joy any longer. Those bags don’t define you-YOU bring meaning to them. I had bought over a 100 bags over 10 years and decluttered to 7 essentials this year and feel so free. I am able to use the bags I love more regularly and haven’t felt the need to purchase any more. I too second the weekly bag story on purseblog to keep the memory alive. You can even sell them each after your story on PB to your readership!
I’ve sold many bags without regret. I just could not see ever carrying some of them again and it helped to justify buying more expensive pieces.
I would love input on another matter….. How many readers are frustrated by the purchasing policies with some of the luxury brands? (Goyard, Hermes, Chanel, etc.)
1. They will not allow purchases over the phone if you do not already have an in store established profile.
2. They will not provide tracking info once item is shipped although you need to be home to sign for delivery.
3. Once you engage with one SA you are glued to them whether you want to be or not.
As Marie Kondo said, if does not spark joy, get rid of it. Too much excess clutter is like a weight on your shoulder. Once you get rid of those things/bags you don’t need / don’t spark joy, you’ll feel a great weight has been lifted. I’m also downsizing. It’s not gonna happen overnight. but baby steps. baby steps.
Having this much is definitely unhealthy. What I did was sell the ones I didn’t use and donate the money. It felt so good, and I saved a little bit to add to my “birkin savings.” It really paid off in so many ways, I did a good deed that I felt good about, I have cleaner and more organized closet, and I got a Birkin! It was definitely the best decision I ever made. I sold over 40 pieces and I have about 15 still left, I’m working slowly to sell the last few pieces.
Totally understand what you’re saying and when I think of it that way it makes sense. I have a ton of contemporary bags that I simply do not use – so in theory it would make sense and be nice to sell those and fund bags that are more expensive that I would care for more. I understand what you’re saying and am so glad you got that Birkin you wanted!
Thank you! Just remember to go with what your heart desires, if you don’t want to part with the bags, then definitely don’t do it. But, I think it may be a good thing for you to sell them.
Keep them Megs! You will one day show your kids how PurseBlog came to be, what a wonderful legacy!! For those of us who collect, these bags are time stamps on our lives. I say if you have the space to keep them, keep them! And I agree with some other poster’s that it would be AMAZING to see some pics and the story attached!! ?
I do hope my kids share some of the passion I have for bags!
I agree – KEEP EVERYTHING. I had a giraffe print kate spade with the pink and green stripe down the center and upon hearing her passing I wanted to use it again. I think I had donated it awhile back and it made me sad 🙁 There is no telling what you’ll want to carry again. Imagine the horror for all of the Dior saddle owners of the early aughts who parted with theirs. (I kept mine!) Also – pics 🙂
Me wishing I had a Dior Saddle bag from the beginning is still strong right now haha
While I was reading this I thought of hoarding behaviors, but you don’t fit that description since your life otherwise sounds “normal”. However, what you are describing is a love for each and everyone of your bags and the happy memories they bring you. There may be a time in your life as you get older when you are ready to downsize your collection. When or if the time comes you alone will know. Otherwise, enjoy your collection without guilt or regret!
I can see how it comes off like it’s a problem, but I don’t consider myself a hoarder (I guess many people who do have hoarding problems don’t as well). My job which takes up much of my day and life between the blog and forum is about bags – so my shopping revolved around that. Each bag represents a different time in my life and each one has special meaning to me, some more than others!
I do think eventually I’ll be able to get rid of some of these bags and do good with them, but right now, they are so special to me I can’t fathom doing it!
Loved reading that article. I have around 13 designer bags and display them proudly in a cube unit of my dressing room. The other day I was feeling a bit guilty thinking of the next one I’m crushing over to buy when I don’t even swap out these ones often enough. I too love them all and they were all saved up for or a wonderful special gift. Reading your story makes me realise I don’t have too many after all. So thanks!!!! X
I can totally understand why you want to keep the bags- they are all the more special because they are part of the PB journey- not just a random bag collection. I remember feeling thrilled when I first came across PurseBlog many years ago that there were/are many others who loved bags like I do — so maybe your bag collection is a part of all of us!! or maybe that’s taking it a bit far!!! But, do make a frequent article of the bags you have, we will love to read about them! You can part with them when you are ready, right?
So many of them hold such a special place in my heart and journey – I really like the idea of revisiting some of my favorite ones and telling the story of them! I will do that and make it a goal for 2019!
Megs – Well, I too would love for you to highlight each bag & it’s story in a weekly feature story. After all, this is your life’s work!
However, I think it could be deeply rewarding, to every Christmas, give 1 bag away – to a women’s charity (like the one who helps homeless women get on their feet & gain employment by giving them a ‘life’ makeover – new work suits, shoes, new haircut & color, makeup, & yes – what about a new handbag? ) We’ve all seen how owning a new designer bag elevates your status in the eyes of others! Think what it would do for a woman who wants a second chance in life? Become personally involved in the giving of each bag. Then tell us their story. It would be such an inspiration to all of us, & inspire us in figuring out what to do with our own excesses in our life.
Our lives are so rich in blessings. 1 handbag could support an entire school in Ethiopia for a year! We must find our way to giving more. Not write a check, but get personally involved! Our soul needs to have meaning in these insular lives we get to live! Here, is a tiny bit of joy, you can bestow upon another who will prize your gift for their lifetime! Maybe when they find success, they will be inspired to pay it forward! Now, you will be starting a chain of giving! The joy you will get doing this, once every Christmas, will become deeply fullfilling, & truly addictive! Share your Collection with us each week, & decide which bag you will give away this Christmas! Tell us how it goes. It will inspire us so much!
I do want to go back through and highlight these bags – I will make sure to make it something I do, probably more realistically after baby boy comes and I’m back at work!
And yes to giving back and donating!
I think you owning many bags and being reluctant to part with them is TOTALLY understandable. There can’t be many people in your position who have started an activity related to their passion and have it grow into what it is today! So they are an indelible part of you (and Vlad…though probably not so much…) But if it’s really bothering you, i’d suggest going through it all to find duplicates (i.e. two bags from the same designer that are pretty similar) and selling/auctioning those to purseforum members, with proceeds going to the charity close to your heart. Win win for all of us! This way you can start small and see how you feel after some depart..and how much more you want to continue. Good luck – this process would be far more emotional than the average handbag lover!!
Yes! I know some comments below allude to me being a hoarder or having a shopping problem – and I am sure by some standards I do – but truthfully, this is my work that I built, so each bag has been part of that cycle of my life!
I definitely need to find a way to pare it down a bit and I always love giving back 🙂
Megs,
I suggest you separate them into 2 collections: Meg’s Collection (of your favorites) and PBPC Purse Blog Purse Collection of mainly the ones that you received from the industry?
And then, occasionally, host a member of the purse forum who would like to visit with you at your headquarters? Hold a mini photo shoot with a bag you would have picked for the session from the PBPC? And finally, find out what they keep in their own bags?
Do keep them! I am in the same boat as you. I have well over two hundred bags, it might be over three. I’ve not taken a headcount in years.
But I rented an off-site climate controlled indoor storage unit for them, and it’s a 20×12 foot unit. There was simply no room in the house (it’s a small house because I love old houses)and the yearly expense of rental is far less than I’d lay out on a new house with extra space of comparable size, right…? Right!!
Usefully, I also keep our travel gear (suitcases, carry-ons) and holiday decor in this massive storage unit; things that are not wanted frequently.
I don’t have anything super expensive like a Birkin. There are a couple of Picotins, a Keepall, a Noe, several Speedys, several St Louis, nothing higher than that sort of price point. I would guess seventy percent of them retailed for $350-800 dollars, fifteen percent being $800+ and the rest being less, some being true ‘cheapos’. I did not pay retail for the vast majority.
I’ve ended up rebuying many I sold off or donated in fits of ‘I must downsize’, like you. About the umpteenth time that happened was what prompted the storage unit. Now I’m just choosier (VERY) about what I add, so that I don’t have to cull as often.
However, this is nearly my sole habit of this type. I don’t buy shoes unless a pair wears out, don’t have many clothes, don’t wear much jewelry and the jewelry I do have is costume, my house is quite small by Western standards (<1400 sq ft), I don’t hoard cats, I keep a phone till it perishes, drive the same car till it perishes, and so on. I really only have handbags and fragrance.
Allow yourself this one thing and be minimalist in the remaining endeavors. It works for me, and could be that as my efforts progress, I might pare down even the bags and perfume someday. But for now, it’s caused me mostly regret to thin out those two things, whereas everything else I donate or sell feels amazing and isn’t missed. (I do get rid of bags or perfume that I am ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN will never work out). You can always do it LATER, but it’s a bitter pill to choke down when you realize you must spend to get back what you regret giving away. Keep most of them awhile yet and just rehome the ones that really don’t work…
This was the best blog post ever!! So glad to know I am not alone 🙂
Definitely a hoarder if you are not using them.
That isn’t logical…I have things from when I was very young I don’t use in any real sense. I don’t still sleep with my tatty old Pound Puppy plush, he doesn’t sit on my bed, etc…but I won’t get rid of him, and I feel like that doesn’t qualify me as a hoarder.
Using it or not doesn’t seem like enough to define hoarding.
Besides job explanation, are you holding on to your past and good old days? Motherhood changed who I was, but I wanted to go back. When I was ready, I got rid of all old clothes, shoes, bags. I’m rediscovering new me now and building a new collection. Good luck!
You shouldn’t beat yourself up when you’re not ready to let go of your bags. Moreover, minimalism isn’t for everyone–I don’t understand Minimalist Purists who chastise those who like to have more stuff.
In your case, the number of bags you own is understandable because you run a Purse Blog. In addition, you have a daughter who will inherit these bags in the future. She might even open a handbag museum so that other people can enjoy your bag collection as well!
Make peace with yourself if you’re unable to let go of your bags–but you are also allowed to change your mind in the future. If you want to start letting go and cull your collection, perhaps start with the bag(s) that you do not have a strong sentimental attachment to first. Then go from there.
Keep them all I do ?
I build up my collection and then let some go after serious reflection. It’s a wonderful problem to have. Whatever you decide just have peace with your decisions. They are pages in your book of life. Thank you so much for this blog!