My friend's 'organized' comic box system versus my chaotic pile

My buddy Dave came over last weekend with his fancy labeled short boxes, color-coded dividers, and a spreadsheet. I just had a giant, glorious pile on my floor. We tried to find a specific issue of 'The Amazing Spider-Man' from 1998. He spent 15 minutes cross-referencing his list. I just dove in and FOUND it in under a minute because I remembered it was under the 'X-Men' pile from two months ago. His system is beautiful, but my beautiful mess just WORKS for my brain. Anyone else's 'organization' just look like a disaster to everyone else?

3 comments

3 Comments

maryshah3mo ago

Agree with @mia_park that the end goal is reading, but I'd gently correct one thing. For a big collection, a total mess can stop working. My own chaotic pile failed me when I moved and had to find everything again. A little bit of a system, even if it's just one box for Spider-Man, saves future you a major headache.

vals382mo ago

Yeah it's funny how moving makes you face your own mess. I had a huge box just labeled "cool stuff" that was a nightmare to unpack. I mean, it was all cool, but finding a specific issue was impossible. Now I at least sort by publisher, which is still pretty lazy but it helps. Maybe it's just me but the middle ground between total chaos and perfect order is the only thing that actually sticks.

mia_park3mo ago

Honestly, it's just comics. The goal is to find the thing and enjoy it, not win a filing competition. Both methods got you there in the end.