Clothing storage: how do you do it?

I've been hanging them on the wall using like the grid racks from daiso. You can get some like yosd sized hangers from there. Using Michael's online, I got hangers for msd-ypsd clothes. And also got little clothes pins to make sure they stay hanging on. It's not as aesthetic probably for some people, but once out of sight, out of mind and I will never use these very nice clothes I got.

 

I use the like-it modular drawers from the container store. I have 6 different sizes stacked on top of each other. I keep each of my dolls wardrobes in each drawer, with wigs at the top. Extra drawers I use for tools and misc stuff.

Also fwiw I live in the pacific northwest where the relative humidity in my home is around 50-55. I havent yet had a problem with mold or anything like that. I keep most clothes in the clear vinyl bags just to avoid rubbing/pilling and to keep them dust free.

 

I really loved those boxes from Joann’s too :/

Sometimes Michael’s has similar boxes, usually in the seasonal section, but not always. I think they have a larger selection of them online so it might be worth looking there for the large ones.

 

It really depends on your dolls themselves, as the storage solutions I use might not work for larger dolls, but here they are anyway:

For tinies (1/6 and smaller): I use a card binder. I'm not even joking. I have a binder with those plastic card sleeves in it that you use to store/display your trading cards in, and I fill the pockets with doll clothes. I can't find mine at the moment and the doll clothes are for off topic dolls in the first place, but yeah - that's what I do. It makes it super easy to store the clothes in a place where I can easily find them (a bookshelf) but also out of the way. It also works with small photo albums - I used this before I had too many clothes for it to be viable. As for shoes, those are kept in a plastic tub, and the accessories (necklaces, bracelets etc) are in a glass container with a snap-on lid that I picked up at a dollar store in the kitchen section.

For bigger dolls: I don't actually have any anymore, but as a kid, I had a file storage box that I took all the folders out of and just used it like a giant trunk, but with the folders in you could theoretically store things vertically. You can find file storage boxes in a lot of different sizes, but as they're typically meant to hold important documents, there is a sort of 'standard' size, so again, these might not work for larger dolls or more elaborate costumes. But for just storing basics like pants, skirts and shirts, it does the job.

In regards to clothing hangers: They're actually not too terribly difficult to craft by yourself. The simplest method would be to just bend a paper clip in to the appropriate shape, and if you want to get fancy with it you can use real wood (balsa wood is cheap and commonly found in dollar stores) for the 'arms'. The good thing about making your own hangers is that you can shape them exactly the way you need for whatever it is you want to hang; you can make hangers for trousers and skirts (the kind that clips to the waist), you can create a hanger that holds an entire outfit, or you can make hangers with notches so you can hang a dress with straps rather than sleeves.

 

If you are worried about humidity in plastic boxes, you can get some packs of silica gel and throw them in/swap them out every once and a while. Although it shouldn't be a problem unless anything in the box is possibly moist already, and there are also tubs available that are not airtight or have some ventilation holes.

I use an unsexy mix of cardboard boxes and plastic tubs at the moment, with clothes grouped together into plastic zipper pouches and shoes put into smaller cardboard boxes within the boxes. Accessories are in small plastic boxes that have come with doll accessories or shoes originally. Everything is grouped into 3 boxes at the moment: 1/3 clothes and accessories, 1/4 clothing only, and 1/4 shoes, wigs, accessories.

I used to store all things in one small suitcase and really liked the idea in theory, but it was not as easy to quickly get to specific items sometimes and I couldn't make it work after changing my storage system. It might be a good solution for some, though!

 

I have a doll wardrobe trunk that I keep all of my SD girls clothes in. I have less girls then I do boys.

For the SD Boys I bought a bunch of small plastic drawers. About 3 drawers per a square foot. I organize all of the SD boys clothes in the drawers. It's easier to get to their clothing that way.

For my MSD and smaller dolls. I keep their clothing in separate zip lock bags and store all of that together in a box under my bed. The don't change clothing often as I mostly just keep them displayed. I also store special occasion clothes the same way, beach wear, Halloween costumes, school outfits, full sets. Because otherwise the SD boys wardrobe drawers would over flow.

 

I have 1/3 dresses with long trains and would love to hear about other people's suggestions. I was thinking of getting or making doll hangers to then hang onto an actual clothing hanger and place into my closet. I also have a hanging renewable silica / dehumidifier unit in Eva-dry E-333 that I get about 2 or 3 weeks' worth of use before I plug in to charge overnight.

 

I have spare drawers available, and I lay them flat in layers of ph neutral, unbuffered, acid free archival tissue. It's used by museums to preserve things like clothes in storage (my doll clothes are $$$ and I have a lot of old expensive egl clothes for myself), and it's also recommended for storing old linens.
It's similar to the practice of storing kimono in tatoushi/rice paper to keep them safe, especially since kimono have to be washed as little as possible while kept oil free.

I throw silica gel packets in there, most especially with pleather clothes which are often in the bags they came in which come with a hole to keep air flowing through it. Apparently pleather in particular shouldn't be completely sealed in air tight plastic bags.
I also put cedar balls in the drawers to keep moths away.

Accessories that are fragile like jewelry are kept in separate smaller drawers. All of my drawers have a layer of the archival paper on the bottom.

The biggest dresser drawers hold the longest clothes spread out across, so I don't have to worry about folding the length nor about hangers pulling the threads loose over time or stretching them out from gravity. That probably isn't something to worry about for doll clothes as much as human clothes though..

 

I have a big bag that has a zipper on it to keep any moisture out and I keep that in a rubber maid container .

 

At the moment mine are in the bottom of my wardrobe. I keep them in the plastic packaging they came in. I used to keep them in a drawer but now I'm using the drawer for my own clothes. Honestly, I keep changing my mind about where to store them because my flat is tiny and nowhere is ideal for it, and I need space for my own things too. It's a constant battle. The accessories/props and wigs I keep in separate storage containers that are also stacked in my wardrobe.

 

Initially I was storing clothes in the box my doll came in but very quickly outgrew this. I have three 62 litre under-bed plastic storage boxes; two for my seasonal clothes and knitwear, and one for doll clothes. I keep clothes roughly sorted by type and size and stacked in the box, with separate plastic bags for smaller items, like socks and underwear or accessories. I've reached the point where shoes and bags no longer fit in this box, so they're separate in an actual shoebox. So far I've had no issues using plastic boxes, although I do put the silica packets that come with new doll stuff in the box too. It probably helps that I'm in England, so although it can be relatively humid it rarely gets hot enough for it to be a major issue and I'm regularly getting things out of the box to change my girls' outfits every other week or so. Also while I do have a cat, she's a very old and sleepy lady and had no interest in getting into mischief even when she was younger.

 

I use the IKEA shoe storage bags ($0.99 a bag) inside of my large Sterlite chest of drawers. I need to reduce the amount of doll clothes I own because my dolls don't wear them all. but it helps keep things flat. and easy to grab out of the drawers.

 

I used to use the plastic zipper bags bedding came in, but they don't work that well! I switched recently to plastic bins, not super tight sealing ones, different sizes/shapes depending on the clothing size. I have MSD and YoSD together in a "hi-rise" small bin, bags sideways sorta like a filing cabinet. The bigger clothes are in taller bins, vertically. I put socks and underwear in front, then tops, then bottoms, then outfit sets. Being able to flip through helps a lot; I also write in English the name of the set and size, if it doesn't say. I used a labelmaker to label the bins with size(s) inside. Because I'm very extra about it, I ALSO have any recently purchased doll clothes in a digital database, with what I paid, when it was purchased, and an official pic for styling reference or if pieces get separated.

I live in a humid climate, and use silica gel packets or charcoal sachets. I can’t promise it helps, but it's worth a try; sealing clothes in a ziploc with the charcoal sachets also gets rid of perfume smell on secondhand clothes. I also have some "anti-tarnish jewelry tabs," due to a pair of goth pants with zippers that got green and white powder on them via some chemical reaction...

I still have my handmade stuff loose in drawers, which doesn't work well, so I'll have to change it when I can. (Shoes, also, are stored separately, in a lidded Hay color crate so there's airflow.)

Organizing that works for you IS important and worth the time: just ask my boy whose entire zipper bag of clothing has been mysteriously missing for months! I should have reorganized sooner!

 

I use clear bags from Daiso that have S hooks on them, and then I hang those on wire shelving or on the wall. And I put 1~1.5 outfits in each bag. They have lots of different sizes (I have to fold my SD17 pants but that's about it), and if the wall hooks are long enough they can be stacked on top of each other. So it's very convenient. It can get a little unsightly though, so I'm changing my method. If it were an option, I'd absolutely store them in a nice trunk instead. I've personally never had any issues with humidity causing mold with or without storing things with silica gel, and I think whatever concerns about it for doll clothes would extend to human clothes. So I think if you take the clothes out often enough, it will be fine to use plastic tubs!

 

I am kind of obsessed with doll clothes, accessories and organization, so it's my time to shine!

Most of my dolls are 1/3, but I also have everything from off topic 1/12 up to on topic 1/4. I also have a spare room that has become designated doll room, so this may not work as well if you don't have extra space, but maybe some there here will be useful?

First off, for my 1/3 dolls. Everybody has a shoebox size tub for their clothes (except Harriet's is bigger because she's a plus size girls who wears long skirts and needs more space, and Bren's is bigger because he's a spoiled brat.) I have most of the tubs in this chest of drawers that my dad custom designed for this, but standard furniture could work as well.


Inside the tubs are accessories, and clothing that is smaller or folds easily.


And because I have more dolls than space in the chest of drawers, some are stacked on a shoe rack in the closet. Which is also where all of the formal wear and other pieces I don't want folded or wrinkled are hanging! Boys to the left, because the girls are always right. (According to Gianna, who refuses to let Bren be right, anyway.) The zippered boxes at the top are thefloating heads. It's a teacup storage box.


I do have extra storage through out the room too, for whatever else. Boxes, doll parts, carry bags, etc.




And for the 1/12th tinies, I found these itty bitty clothing binders on Ali Express! Perfect! They are in the cabinet under the display case that holds said tinies.




In my experience, I've been putting doll clothes in plastic tubs for over a decade and never had any issue with mold or mildew, despite living in a humid area that averages around 60% humidity, higher in summer. They're also very good at keeping bugs out, if you want to store stuff in a garage or somewhere bugs might be present. Keeps the dust and pet hair out, too! The tiny binders are very good for all of this, too, but are too small to work for very elaborate outfits, or dolls bigger than probably around 20cm. For my hanging clothes, hangers made for 18" dolls work for some 1/3 and 70cm clothing, but are a little too wide and bulky for SD girl clothes that aren't sleeveless, and some SD boy suits and shirts. Very good for hanging pants over them, though! Or long strappy dresses. I have found some good wire ones on Ali Express for 1/3 dolls. Some bjd dealers carry them too, but they tend to be a lot more expensive, and sold individually. Barbie size can work for some YoSD and smaller.

 

By the way, for the folks who miss the JoAnn magnetic boxes: Michael's has some right now with Xmas stuff, and a good size for dolls clothes I'd say! Spotted them getting something else. Several of the designs are winter/pink in a way that doesn't scream Christmas, too.

 

Why, thank you! Though to be honest, I've been organizing and reorganizing my toys since I was a little kid, and it's just like 35 years experience at play here. I've even helped family and friends with organization just because it's fun for me. But yes, if you have free drawer space, it's a good way to do it! Organized, clean, safe, easy to find what you're looking for, and out of sight!