day 271—four containers for collecting

I have collected a good number of collection receptacles over the years.

I need a bag for carrying objects that I collect—things gathered at the beach or picked up off the ground or purchased.  I take an odd pleasure in the design of a well designed and made bag. Mostly, all I do is look at them these days having become a bit more pragmatic recently, but I have had many. At the moment 3 are in active use and another 3 or 4 are in storage somewhere.

Boxes and storage containers beckon me whenever I see them: Look! I would be perfect for holding this or that thing you’re not sure where to put! I’m stackable! Group me with my siblings, and we will organize everything. Some of these containers come from second-hand shops and are interesting in themselves, others are simply perfect vessels in plastic, cardboard metal and wood.

Notebooks are another collectible for collecting. I have many. Some are full. Some are empty. The majority are in various states of completion. I use them for collecting thoughts, ideas, phone numbers, names and dates, images. I’m sure you have a few kicking around, so you know what I mean.

What are computers? They are communication devices now, but they are also storage and retrieval devices. Computers are machines for collecting ephemera. We collect images. Links. Articles. Friends. Blogs like this one curate our electronic collections. In the interactive age, we collect collaboratively, fusing both primary functions of our computers as storage and communication devices. On social media, we collect friends, ideas, links and followers while the social media platforms themselves collect us.