Oil lamps? Study reveals America’s most bizarre collections

From a collection of nearly 100,000 sports cards to one person’s fingernail clippings accumulated over an entire lifetime, a new survey uncovered Americans’ most unique, impressive and bizarre collections.

The survey of 2,000 Americans revealed just how much junk people have accumulated over the years, their surprising treasure troves amidst the clutter and the emotions that coincide with it all.

One respondent reported collecting over 300 coasters from breweries they’ve visited over the years while another has collected more than 200 oil-burning lamps.

Other interesting collections from the survey include gnomes, uranium glass, clowns, vintage handkerchiefs and porcelain pigs.

An Elvis fan assembled an Elvis Presley-themed collection and one respondent paid homage to Princess Diana, collecting mementos and memorabilia in her honor.

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving, the study also investigated respondents’ most interesting possessions and found that more than a few boast taxidermy displays, including tigers, cobras, piranhas, pufferfish, parrots and even penguins.

Seeing how collections and odd trinkets and trophies stack up against the rest of their possessions, Americans said 34% of their stuff is non-functional and are things they don’t often use or need.

Digging deeper into this non-functional category, they reported that 13% of their non-essential belongings are pure junk, 21% they no longer need but haven’t gotten rid of yet, 27% is sentimental memorabilia, 10% are other’s belongings that ended up in their possession and 29% are collections or items that simply spark joy.

But when thinking about the sheer amount of stuff they own, 47% are not really not sure how they’ve accumulated it all and a quarter (27%) are embarrassed about the amount of junk they own.

So where do they keep it all? Twenty percent needed to outsource and are currently storing things in a storage unit while one in 10 still have things in their parents’ home.

Revealing some of the more unconventional places they’ve used for storage, the respondents shared unique hidey-holes such as freezers, chimneys, air vents, outhouses and crawlspaces while more than a few opted to bury their things underground or stash them in hollowed-out trees.

“While it's quite normal to love your possessions and build up quite an assortment over the years, it can sometimes take you by surprise when you realize the amount of stuff you’ve got sitting around,” said Nick Friedman, co-founder of College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving. “You might even find yourself keeping things in odd places, like in the chimney or air vents, rather than decluttering. Some might need extra encouragement to tackle the chore or even hire help to dispose of junk and odds and ends. We’ve seen and hauled away pretty much everything under the sun from a massive paper mâché potato to a pastel toilet collection. We’ve even encountered a set of mummies.”

Looking forward to their plans to downsize this year, the majority (56%) are planning to declutter in the springtime, with the average respondent looking to toss a staggering 34% of their stuff.

Respondents estimated it would take 14 hours to sort and get rid of all their unwanted items and junk and 17% said it would take them an entire work week (40 hours).

In fact, the average respondent would pay more than $1,300 to have all their clutter magically disappear.

When it comes to figuring out what to do with discarded items, most (86%) said they try to donate them to charitable organizations, friends and/or resale shops.

But when choosing whether or not to donate old possessions, 64% said they struggle to know whether items are donatable or not although the majority (80%) do want them to go to the most environmentally-friendly destination possible.

“Downsizing and decluttering can be very challenging time-wise, emotionally and even physically,” said Friedman. “To make it a bit easier, schedule the time in your calendar, ask for help from friends and family and if needed, consider hiring a professional to handle the chore for you.”

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans; the survey was commissioned by College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Jan. 14 and Jan. 17, 2025.