[Questions] Collectors: how do you organize your TCG collection?

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I've been collecting Pokemon cards since I was a kid. I rarely play the TCG, and value doesn't matter to me; I just like flipping through and seeing all the ones I've gotten over the years.

My collection has outgrown the binder I've kept it in since its inception. It's a 2.5in trapper keeper, with 9-slot card sleeves. It's so full it barely zips shut, and the stitches are begging for mercy. They're organized (poorly) by type. I think it's time that they get reorganized, but I'm fairly indecisive on what that should look like. I think by dex# would be cool, but I would have to shift everything back every time I got something new. The idea of a giant 4in binder also seems kinda ugly.

How do you keep and organize your collection? Any protips you can share?

 

[CalmAndCollecting]

I actually just made a video on this! I used to organize by type like you do, but I changed to the method I describe in my video. Basically I have a couple binders and I organize by set now. It looks so much cleaner having all of the cards from the same generations together and it makes it less of a nightmare to organize when I get new stuff.



Basically, there are a ton of ways to do this, but I talk about how and why I organize my cards the way I do. The portfolio style binders are nice, but because you can't add pages in it sucks if you're buying a bunch of cards like I do. I use D ring binders and Dragons Shield pages and Dragons Shield sleeves.

Check it out and hopefully you can find something to takeaway from this to get your collection looking how you want it to!

 

[Sydian]

my collection is very hodge podge ahaha. i had this massive binder i was keeping everything in but i recently split it up because the binder is starting to crack and i'm very partial to it and didn't want to put it into early retirement. i keep my holos and promos in that binder and i put my commons/uncommons that i like in another binder. then i still have some old decks put together sitting in tins. i don't have the heart to dismantle them bc they're so old. and then just other random cards i own that are like trainers or energies, extras, or just cards that don't make it into the cut of getting into a binder, i keep in tins and other things like the elite trainer boxes. cards that are in my binder that are damaged, textured, or just very special also get put into a sleeve and then into the sleeve page.

as for how i sort them, it changes tbh. sometimes it's type, sometimes it's set, sometimes alphabetized...i reorganize them when i've built up more cards and they're no longer in order and it need a refresher or just when i'm in the mood to organize. when i was a kid, i (unknowingly) had awful anxiety and i would reorganize my cards almost daily. it was super therapeutic to me and though i don't do it as much now, i still find it very relaxing and enjoyable. currently the common/uncommon binder has no oragnization but the holos/promos are organized by their holo print. i thought that was a fun and new way to organize that i hadn't done before! no idea what i'll do for it next though.