First, a disclaimer: This isn’t how to become an antiques dealer. I’m not a dealer; I can’t give advice on that. This is about becoming an enthusiast, a collector…an antiques appreciator, if you will. I’m also not an expert on antiques; just a nerd who enjoys sharing what I learn.

There was a time when, probably like you, I thought antiques were just expensive, dusty crap that people with too much discretionary income filled their too-large houses with so they could brag about “19th century this” and “Colonial-era that”. And antique shops? Snoozefest.

But I’ve always been someone for whom collecting antiques actually kind of makes sense. I was basically born a 40-year-old librarian and have been more or less waiting for my body to catch up (I’m starting to get uncomfortably close). I can’t remember when it happened, but one day I started to find all that “old junk” pretty fascinating. And you might find the same, if you give it a try.

Become a historian, environmentalist & detective, all in one

Okay, maybe not exactly. But when you collect antiques, you are quite literally saving a piece of history from the landfill. When you own antiques, you are touching some small part of the past. How cool is that?? And if you actually use the item, you may avoid buying some newly-manufactured piece of commercial crap that’s just going to break in a few months, so it’s also sustainable.

But my favorite part about antiques is that it makes you a detective. Or at least, it made me one. Every time I get a new piece, I spend hours researching it online. I’ll try to find out where it’s from, how old it is, what it was used for, even who owned it if at all possible (and it sometimes is).