He Says Collecting, I Say Hoarding

Our five-year-old son loves stuff.  Talking with friends, having two older kids, and remembering my own childhood quirks, I know it's not uncommon for children to keep trash and trinkets.  Forever.

This child, the five-year-old, knows where every broken plastic toy, shred of ribbon, deflated balloon, popsicle stick with a joke he can't read, and object stolen from his older brothers, is located.  When I stealthily purge a few of his items, no matter how deeply buried they were beneath the latest additions, he busts me.  And hell hath no fury like... you know what I mean.

"Mom! Did you throw away part of my collection?"

"Honey, I donated a few things you don't play with.  There are children without toys who would enjoy that... stuff."

Recently, I thought to myself how well our youngest son has been maintaining his room.  Other than a few dozen lego creations displayed on his dresser, things appeared to be in order

The five-year-old has a bathroom attached to his bedroom that is basically unused.  He bathes in the master bathroom, brushes his teeth in his brothers' bathroom and doesn't require much lavatory drawer space regardless.

While putting laundry away, I was tipped-off that there might still be a problem when I opened his closet.  Balloons from his father's birthday that he claimed to have released to China!

I entered his bathroom, pulled back the shower curtain and found this:

Then I opened a couple of drawers and discovered my little hoarder is still struggling...

And, yes, I recognize we all have a junk drawer, but come on.

I'm both sad, that he's going underground... and proud.  I enjoy a worthy adversary.  I'm also impressed by his use of semantics.

Anyone else have a young, or not-so-young, "collector" in the house?