My godsons were visiting, last week. They went to Wal-Mart with their mom and came back very excited. They had gotten me some of those M&M character dispensers. I really loved it. Was very appreciative.

But when I went upstairs to put them in the container where I put all the small, little collectibles, I discovered that it was overflowing.

I never look in this thing. It's not like my books and DVD's that I take out and enjoy over and over. I put things in this container for the thrill of the hunt. The "I found something Star Wars" surge of excitement that goes through you (particularly in a non-movie year). For the sake of actually having them.

That's when the thought hit me. "You really need to clean out some of this stuff. Why are you holding on to it?"

Blasphemy! Should an avowed Star Wars collector ever give up a find that's not a duplicate? Even if your passion is the books, is there some sort of fan sin to be committed if you do this?

I'm no Steve Sansweet. (Believe me. I've seen the man's collection.) There are others who will preserve things for posterity and the sake of museums everywhere.

So why is there a feeling of guilt when I think of doing this? Should I listen to it? Or go for Order 67: Purge the Itty-Bitty Star Wars Stuff Collection?