Oh absolutely. You described my entire house to an absolute t (and as a kid and teen my bedroom was like that too!)

Gosh, I can really relate to this.

Oh  my  hat you have just described my home, my teaching classroom and every space I have ever been in. I only discovered 3 days ago that I wasn't just "exaggerating" when I told my mum at 8ish years old that I couldn't tell her what was chasing me in my nightmare, because I didn't see pictures in my dreams... I have only just started the journey of discovery, but i know my sense of touch is definitely heightened. I don't have photos, I have things from people and places, these are my memories, I touch them and I 'know' how it felt to be there/know them. I come home to my chaotic, 'museum of my life', and my soul is happy. It also explains why, despite being very sociable, I let very few people into my home - this is my memory bank, and I don't want random strangers messing with it.  Kids love my classroom, it is always filled with strange and beautiful things, but some colleges just see it as 'messy and undisciplined'. 

I am a visual aphant, and I am the complete opposite of you.  I'm a barebone minimalist in my late 30s, and keep very few physical momentos, and I would say only an average number of photos.  I wouldn't describe your home as 'odd'.  Plenty of people have houses that look the way you describe.  Especially as they get older, I believe that is the norm.  People just like having their memories close at hand, since even visualizers 'lose' visual memories over time. We do share the love of being organized though.  I find a deep sense of satisfaction in grouping 'like' items together.     

Vision is my dominant sense. I collect images. I am a photographer who always has my iPhone in my pocket to capture what I see as I walk with my dog. Yearly, I go on a solo road trip with my Nikon and "harvest" images along the way. I have a pretty good eye. This year, I am heading west from Minnesota and will make a loop through IA, NE, CO, UT, ID, MT, WY, and SD.

I’m 65 and I love to keep pamphlets and other things like that from places I visit. My iPhone has thousands of photos. All organized by year and place. Like you I have a collection of many books. I can get lost in scrolling through my photos, reinforcing my metadata(words) that build my memories.  @Emma Cowell - I love your phrase “life references.” 

so I’m 30 and I’ve only just realised I have aphantasia and a lot of stuff is “clicking” my mum recently passed away and I’ve been sorting through some stuff - most of which I instantly wanted to keep but I’ve already got a large collection of stuff! I love keeping old photos and nick nacks - shells from the beach, literally momentos from everything little thing I do.  but I guess it makes sense because it’s nice to have a visual aid for all your memories (like most people can create in their mind) I found loads of things that my mum had in our house when we were little that I had completely forgotten  about and now after finding them it’s like I’ve unlocked new memories and I can remember more details about the house.  so now I think of my hoard as “life references”   

Oh absolutely. You described my entire house to an absolute t (and as a kid and teen my bedroom was like that too!)

Gosh, I can really relate to this.

Oh  my  hat you have just described my home, my teaching classroom and every space I have ever been in. I only discovered 3 days ago that I wasn't just "exaggerating" when I told my mum at 8ish years old that I couldn't tell her what was chasing me in my nightmare, because I didn't see pictures in my dreams... I have only just started the journey of discovery, but i know my sense of touch is definitely heightened. I don't have photos, I have things from people and places, these are my memories, I touch them and I 'know' how it felt to be there/know them. I come home to my chaotic, 'museum of my life', and my soul is happy. It also explains why, despite being very sociable, I let very few people into my home - this is my memory bank, and I don't want random strangers messing with it.  Kids love my classroom, it is always filled with strange and beautiful things, but some colleges just see it as 'messy and undisciplined'. 

I am a visual aphant, and I am the complete opposite of you.  I'm a barebone minimalist in my late 30s, and keep very few physical momentos, and I would say only an average number of photos.  I wouldn't describe your home as 'odd'.  Plenty of people have houses that look the way you describe.  Especially as they get older, I believe that is the norm.  People just like having their memories close at hand, since even visualizers 'lose' visual memories over time. We do share the love of being organized though.  I find a deep sense of satisfaction in grouping 'like' items together.     

Vision is my dominant sense. I collect images. I am a photographer who always has my iPhone in my pocket to capture what I see as I walk with my dog. Yearly, I go on a solo road trip with my Nikon and "harvest" images along the way. I have a pretty good eye. This year, I am heading west from Minnesota and will make a loop through IA, NE, CO, UT, ID, MT, WY, and SD.

I’m 65 and I love to keep pamphlets and other things like that from places I visit. My iPhone has thousands of photos. All organized by year and place. Like you I have a collection of many books. I can get lost in scrolling through my photos, reinforcing my metadata(words) that build my memories.  @Emma Cowell - I love your phrase “life references.” 

so I’m 30 and I’ve only just realised I have aphantasia and a lot of stuff is “clicking” my mum recently passed away and I’ve been sorting through some stuff - most of which I instantly wanted to keep but I’ve already got a large collection of stuff! I love keeping old photos and nick nacks - shells from the beach, literally momentos from everything little thing I do.  but I guess it makes sense because it’s nice to have a visual aid for all your memories (like most people can create in their mind) I found loads of things that my mum had in our house when we were little that I had completely forgotten  about and now after finding them it’s like I’ve unlocked new memories and I can remember more details about the house.  so now I think of my hoard as “life references”