I actually own more systems and parts than my signature could ever capture (or than the space allows for). My partner gets a bit worried every time I say, "I’ll just pop out for a few minutes" to grab another Marketplace find.

Recently, we’ve been modernizing and tidying up the house with a few home improvements, which has highlighted the need to keep my collection contained. My treasures aren’t exactly welcomed throughout the house, so I’ve converted my little workshop into a dedicated space to house it all. It’s been a fun challenge finding ways to make it all fit and still keep the space livable. Thanks to beige flat screens and KVM switches, I’ve managed to streamline things quite a bit!

At the end of the day, though, my collection = my responsibility!

RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-01-15, 16:03:

I just want to find a way that I can have this hobby and not also have a sense of guilt about it (which at the moment I do).

If you're paying for the hardware using money that you've earned, and aren't damaging the family budget in the process, there's no reason to feel guilty.

Everyone needs a hobby and a bit of time for themselves. As long as it doesn't get out of control, all is well.

A while back my wife asked me to stop buying so many old parts. It was certainly getting to be a large collection and wasn't very tidy and not easy to hide away. I'm sure my collection is still very small compared to some of the other folks here with larger houses, but I have a lot of fun stuff to tinker with and can build a bunch of different types of systems depending on what I feel like. And it's not like I'm completely done getting more because my wife is still okay with me getting something new here or there if an item I really want pops up somewhere and I just talk to her about it first. Also, now she appreciates me spending time trying to make it more organized and clean.

I suppose I should say that I keep all my parts in the back of the garage, or in the den where I have the retro desk beside my modern computer desk, so it's not really taking up any space in our common areas which probably helps.

Along with that, I've pivoted a bit in how I spend time with the hobby. I used to spend more time cobbling stuff together on my work bench to test things, or trying overclocking or whatever. Recently I've been spending time creating a clean desk setup for finished systems. So, less testing and more building, plus I got a 4-port kvm that I mounted under the desk and routed all the cables neatly. And that kinda serves two purposes. First is that I am problem-solving and continuing to work with retro stuff and scratching that itch, but also my wife appreciates that some of the messiness is going away.

I don't really try to get her interested in it, but I do share my excitement with her. She enjoys seeing me be an excited nerd about something I just figured out, just so long as I don't bore her with all the little details about everything. 😀

Hope that might help a bit.

Linoleum wrote on 2025-01-15, 16:59:

At the end of the day, though, my collection = my responsibility!

Yes, that's very true. I've been doing similar in trying to consolidate stuff together with KVMs, and I also have set up a space in the garage with a test bench, and some shelves for storing parts. But, yes, there are still some parts in the house that aren't contained within my office. Definitely I need to deal with those.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-01-15, 17:03:

If you're paying for the hardware using money that you've earned, and aren't damaging the family budget in the process, there's no reason to feel guilty.

Everyone needs a hobby and a bit of time for themselves. As long as it doesn't get out of control, all is well.

Very well said. Yes, I am spending my own money. Our income all goes into a shared account, and from there we have an allocated amount each that's transferred to personal accounts as "pocket money". Theoretically we should be able to spend that on whatever we want. It's not the money she's concerned with, it's the amount of stuff. I can understand her point of view to be honest. I'm thinking that maybe once I've built the machines I want to keep, that maybe I should sell off the other parts.

danieljm wrote on 2025-01-15, 17:23:

Along with that, I've pivoted a bit in how I spend time with the hobby. I used to spend more time cobbling stuff together on my work bench to test things, or trying overclocking or whatever. Recently I've been spending time creating a clean desk setup for finished systems. So, less testing and more building, plus I got a 4-port kvm that I mounted under the desk and routed all the cables neatly. And that kinda serves two purposes. First is that I am problem-solving and continuing to work with retro stuff and scratching that itch, but also my wife appreciates that some of the messiness is going away.

I don't really try to get her interested in it, but I do share my excitement with her. She enjoys seeing me be an excited nerd about something I just figured out, just so long as I don't bore her with all the little details about everything. 😀

Hope that might help a bit.

Thanks for the tips... Yes, I think I will have to do similar to be honest.

That's a common reaction. When things get hard, you'll have to do the "one for you, one for me" technique. Basically for every retro thing you get, you get her something she likes as well.

Also, it's IMO a good habit compared to stupid stuff men tend to do at this age 😅 isn't it? Consider this as an argument when defending your next retro purchase.

For me the deal is to keep the house tidy and looking good. So no matter what I get, it has to show nicely in my office room...

P.S. Obviously don't take what I'm saying here seriously 😉

Yeah, containment is key. My wife and myself are trying to keep the house neat. I have most of my stuff out of sight (but easy to grab) in the basement storage. Then I have a workbench in the garage where I can mess around with parts, and half a desk in the home office (the only 'visible' space) where I can set up an assembled system.

I regularly buy new parts, they don't take much space, but I am very hesitant adding new systems or monitors. For example, I would love to get a 5150, but won't, simply because I don't have a good spot for it. Something else would have to go first.

My wife is a cyborg

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Mine just rolls her eyes.

The kids get more excited. I'm building a virtual pinball cabinet at the moment, as an 'open secret' because I have asked for a few years now to get a (small) arcade cab (cocktail style) or pinball machine for the lounge... and got a very firm "no" each time.

Since I'm building it myself, and it will be portable, I figure she can't say no...

In general terms though, I went through a big clear up about a year ago, not only was it good for the house/family, it was good for me to have a big tidy up and claw back a more useable working/gaming space. Did I really need 50 consoles/computers all set up and plugged in? No. I didn't.

Not much, 🤣.
However, she has more of a problem with my guitar hoarding.
They tend to be on the expensive side...

Actually, fair point. Retro gaming/computers is probably the least expensive/space consuming of my hobbies.

The cars sitting in the garage, on the other hand... those get a constant "when are you going to finish X/Y?" ....

I have not found a happy solution to indulge in my hobby tho my wife has unrestricted access and funding to hers with minimal complaint.

I think in my case, I've found two things that have really helped:

1. Balance the time I spend with the hobby versus the time I spend with her. It's tough, but it can be done.
2. This is the big one, find a creative outlet for it, whether it's a blog or a YouTube channel or something like that. It makes it much more constructive.

Those two things have helped a lot.

After I got sick in the 90s (never been able to work since, can barely move around my home) I made a choice between people and things. Not sure I made the best choice! My bungalow is like a very overpacked warehouse. I'm hoping to be able to convert my garage into a hobby room / workshop. On my budget, and only being able to do a few minutes physical effort every couple of days, it'll take the whole year, but it'll be nice to have space to actually do something with my massive collection (and for the living spaces to look a bit less like a hoarders paradise).

It's nice not having anyone to control my spending. Would get rather lonely if I didn't have the internet though 😀

So long as most of my stuff is in the attic then the wife doesn’t care (or rather, know).

I only keep the bare minimum in my study, so it’s neat and tidy.

I dont buy much any more but when I did, I kind of got away with it saying they are worth a lot.. It's no lie and I only got good deals, but I dont sell a lot.. yet at least.

It's nice to know that I am not alone in this struggle. It is good to hear how others have handled it. I think moderation sounds like the key. She won't mind so much if my stuff is out of sight.

My wife HATE's it. She sounds similar and likes new and shiny things and does not understand why I want old obsolete computers.
Our last house we shared the office, she had 1/2 the room and I had the other half.
She complains, often. I'd just point out she had more than half the bathroom for all her creams, makeup, etc. more than half the closets space for her clothes.
As long as I didn't expand into her side of the room, and all the "old junk" was hidden away in the office I didn't think I has been unreasonable. She still hates the hobby but accepts it.

As for time she would go to gym, yoga. etc (her hobbies) which means I'm looking after the kids alone for over an hour. Where as my retro PC time was after the kids were in bed and I was still around in the house if needed.
So as hobbies go, it's actually a very family friendly one.

She is not amused that the basement is full of old computers.

chinny22 wrote on 2025-01-16, 01:06:

My wife HATE's it. She sounds similar and likes new and shiny things and does not understand why I want old obsolete computers. […]
Show full quote

My wife HATE's it. She sounds similar and likes new and shiny things and does not understand why I want old obsolete computers.
Our last house we shared the office, she had 1/2 the room and I had the other half.
She complains, often. I'd just point out she had more than half the bathroom for all her creams, makeup, etc. more than half the closets space for her clothes.
As long as I didn't expand into her side of the room, and all the "old junk" was hidden away in the office I didn't think I has been unreasonable. She still hates the hobby but accepts it.

Yes, your wife sounds similar to mine. Luckily we don't share a home office. She has hers, and I have mine. I think the problem is that currently my office isn't very tidy. I have the intention to build storage in there, but haven't found time, so theres not much storage space. I did have stuff in storage boxes that were piled up in my office. But had an incident where the bottom box collapsed and sent the whole lot crashing down and landed on the chair where I would normally be sitting (I happened to be out of the room at the time). After that we agreed that it wasn't a good idea to pile them up like that, so I now have three boxes on the floor just outside my office door and three boxes in our bedroom. I guess I need to sort that out and start building some shelves.

chinny22 wrote on 2025-01-16, 01:06:

As for time she would go to gym, yoga. etc (her hobbies) which means I'm looking after the kids alone for over an hour. Where as my retro PC time was after the kids were in bed and I was still around in the house if needed.
So as hobbies go, it's actually a very family friendly one.

Yeah, I tend to play with hardware for an hour or so in the morning before my wife and daughter wake up. I love that time of day.