Junk, collection or hoard: How many are too many?

At what point does a box of Christmas stuff — the kind that just about everybody drags down from the attic this time of year — amount to something more? Not just a few old favorite ornaments, not just a tangle of last year’s lights, but an actual collection.

The dictionary collects several definitions of what a “collection” is, such as the holdings of an art museum.

Also, a collection is a grouping of related objects, like a stamp collection. A bunch of unrelated objects is just a heap. A heap that takes over the house — that’s a hoard.

“In collecting, people usually proudly display their collections and keep them well organized,” according to the International OCD Foundation. Hoarders have a form of obsessive compulsive disorder, one that causes them to pile up clutter that means nothing, and they typically keep it a secret.

By these standards, the kitchen junk drawer is junk. But still, Uncle Wally can defend his proudly-shown drawer full of nothing but screwdrivers as a collection, even though it’s really just too many screwdrivers.

How much Christmas is too much Christmas? There is no such thing. At least, not according to the lesson the Grinch collects in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!: “What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!”

— Ron Wolfe