It all started when I was told I needed to cut down on the soft toys that I had been collecting since the fires. I had maintained they were for my therapy and my grandchildren, but the truth was they were for me. I bought a few from the op shop but now they are on top of couches and chairs on tables, on bookshelves and in every room.

Through tough times. They listen to me, comfort me, and provide me with calm when I am stressed.

Most toys I used to own have a story. One toy survived because I had given it to a child. This toy came from Hong Kong when my dad visited it when I was three. It has lived a full life and reminds me of when I was a child.

The stories of the toys I have bought in the last five years have been made up by me. I am attracted to ones who are very much loved and worn and missing things.

Can you have too many possessions? How do you cut down on your toys when you want to keep them all? Have you ever tried to cut down on your treasured possessions whether it is a toy or a book or anything you collect?

Who decides how many too many toys are? Or how do you choose which toy or possession you will give up? Are there some toys that you would find hard to part with? When does a collection of toys become more like hoarding than collecting?

Leah 

A Moodscope member