Backlogged: Keeping up with the habit

There has always been a lot of discussion about playing our games as collectors. Whether it is because of a lack of time that we cannot play so much of our collections, or that we are simply collecting faster than we can play, (or both), there are games that are left un-played.

That being stated, I have come to a realization that my situation has gone past not just being able to play the games I own...but even keep track of the collection. This month, I celebrate my six year wedding anniversary, and this summer marks the seventh complete year I have devoted to my wife. Over those seven years, I have obviously put more time and effort into my future and relationships with my wife and two children, but I have never stopped buying games and gaming related paraphernalia.

Up until about a month or so ago, my only computer was the same laptop I used in college. It is...dated...to say the least. With 256 MB of RAM and a single core processor, it became difficult to use as technology around me sped by, (Hard to believe it used to run games like Warcraft and Diablo without issue); and as such, updating my collection, writing blogs, and submitting information came to a crawl.

I never stopped buying and dare I say, "hoarding". My collection minus a few titles had always been neatly kept and displayed on a few DVD shelves for myself, my friends, and my family to enjoy. However, upon moving into our new place, I never took the time to set it back up...and certainly never organized or documented anything I bought and tossed into the "man-cave".

Over the past few years, my wife and I have frequented many weekend thrift store sales, the one "flea market" in the Denver Metro area, and even a few yard sales here and there. Each weekend usually yielded only 5-6 games on average and over the many, many weeks that have flew by; combined with more than a few trips to local game stores like Gamestop, Buy-Back Games, and Game Force...I am honestly finding games I forgot I bought, and aside from the thousand or so games I owned and documented before I tied the knot, I honestly think there may be a couple thousand more hidden in all these boxes and bags in my closet.

I am hoping to not only get these documented and updated, but am also hoping to get them organized and displayed in a way where I can easily find and play any title at any time to get caught up on some of these really great titles. My question to all who read this blog is simply if you have any similar difficulties in your collecting experience? or if you pass on stuff you would normally grab because you know you may never actually play, or even display, the item?

(Side Note): If anyone is ever in the Denver area, I STRONGLY recommend any of the local Buy-Back Games stores around the metro area. They sell EVERYTHING. I have found some cool stuff in these shops, games that are old, new, rare, and common alike. I cannot think of a system or generation that isn't represented in the stores. You will find a little of everything from Game Boy to Neo Geo Pocket, the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 to Jaguar...and they are not outrageously priced like you might find in some places. They understand the stuff they sell is hard to find, and are priced as such...but are not pricing these rare games and consoles in the hundreds of dollars as I have seen elsewhere.