Why stop? I collect bicycles ( seven, and counting ), postage stamps ( seventy volumes of albums, and counting ), first editions of novelists I like, and other books ( 3000 books in my personal library and counting) and IBM Thinkpads ( nine at last count ). I'll probably have to rent another apartment soon to house all this!

The first step, of course, is:

"We admitted that we were powerless over collecting and that our lives had become unmanageable ( but we didn't care anyway )"

My philosophy is to enjoy all these things, but not be too obsessed with possessing them forever -- I think I could let most of this stuff go, if necessary. There will always be other things to collect. I think it is the activity of collecting (and the research and study and work that go with it ) that is critical. The objects themselves are simply a stimulus to the activity.