As a collector who has many collections, I find myself becoming introspective (usually in January) about what I have and whether I should keep it or not. Most collectors that I have met tend to do the same. There is that moment in the dark of winter when all you see are the flaws in your collection and you seriously consider selling it all. It is out of this that dealer-collectors are born--those who decide that they cannot tolerate it all and so go into business to sell their collections. For me, it is a chance to look at the collection objectively. Some of the many collections I have will never be complete, either because the subject matter is too broad or the price tags too high. So I will always love my Asian shipwreck cargo china but know that I will never have a complete set. Such is the fate of collecting something rare, valuable and highly sought after. I also take time to look at my military collection. This collection goes back to my boyhood when I made that evolution from seashells to stamps to coins to military. I look at it with some nostalgia and then start seeing the myriad of fakes and bad items in it. The guilt wracks me, and I quickly shut the door. Some months back I watched a YouTube video where several military collectors were decrying how the bad eggs in the industry prey upon new collectors. I certainly saw that firsthand a long time ago, and now those items haunt me for my lack of knowledge and judgement. Looking around the house, January can also be a month when we decide to do a bit of reshuffling of the furniture. When we moved two years ago, we put things in places more to get them out of the way than anything else. Over the last two years, we reorganized. Some broken furniture went to the basement to live forever in the lost hope that I will get it repaired. Others moved around the house looking for that perfect spot. And then there was the dining room. We have a nice dining room, but the builders of the house really struggled for places to run the hot water pipes and, in doing so, often chose good walls to run the pipes rather than those that were out of the way. As a result, fitting furniture around the piping is challenging. However, a visit to my good friend Josh Unruh at the markets in Adamstown led to the discovery of a Dutch cupboard that fit within a quarter inch of the space. Eureka, the house was done! Or at least for now. January is a time for introspection. Named for the Roman God Janus, who has two faces (one looking back in time and one looking forward), it is a good time to look at your own collection and decide what stays and what moves on to a new home. Born to collect should be the motto of Peter Seiberts family. Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Seibert has been collecting and writing about antiques for more than three decades. By day, he is a museum director and has worked in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and New Mexico. In addition, he advises and consults with auction houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly about American furniture and decorative arts. Seiberts writings include books on photography, American fraternal societies and paintings. He and his family are restoring a 1905 arts and crafts house filled with years worth of antique treasures found in shops, co-ops and at auctions.