To all you pack rats out there, this column is for you. I know I am not alone in being obsessed with keeping everything that falls into my possession, so I urge my fellow pack rats everywhere to take heart and be proud of who you are!

It all started as a small child. I can’t remember the actual beginning, but since I still have a heap of childhood stuff, it must’ve started then. Books I read as a kid, moldy baby shoes and a ratty teddy bear wearing its umpteenth pair of sewed-on eyeballs are still with me. I’ve never had anything fancy or that was worth anything, so maybe that’s why I accumulate — quantity over quality.