How often do you declutter & organize your collection? Are you satisfied with the results?

I'm due a declutter but unfortunately the family is moving house yet again soon so have not been able to access the dolls for months! I swear I'm in withdrawal... But one thing moving did was get me to itemize every doll/doll item I have so I intend to do a major declutter once finally in the final house and after that, a new years resolution of sorts to organize it every month. Though since dolls in storage I have yet to test my resolve on that.

 

I have a system for some years now, every doll/doll related thing has its place and therefore... I don't need to declutter or reorganize? As nothing is cluttered. I just access the dolls when I do things with them (like taking photos or crafting) - I have the system in my household overall.

When I notice a display or a doll space could need an upgrade I work on that but as said, I don't really need to organize anything as the system works. I don't have the feeling any of the dolls need to go just for the sake of letting a doll go. Doesn't sound appealing to me.

 

I used to have to do that, but now I don't actually declutter anymore. I have this basic 1 in=1 out decluttering rule (some have 2 out) for resin, but when it comes to dolly clothes, I make them on my own, so I don't throw out everything, because I'm not going to rebuy it. Same with tiny accessories. Generally, when it comes to clothes and accessories, I'm in the hoarding-collecting mode right now. Once I'm done (it'll happen when I run out of my stashes of sewing supplies I need to use up to declutter xD) I'll see what I like, what works fine and then start to declutter. So, in fact, my dolly decluttering at the moment is using up all the fabric, threads and beads I only sew for my dolls, so this is strictly related

 

Due to Covid I wasn't able to go to meet ups.Which is usually when I can remove the items that belonged to a doll that had no one to share clothes with. But when I entered year two of Covid and had a meet up finally I began the purge of stuff! I have removed many things that my dolls don't need and it felt good. Now these past few months with not one but two meet ups approaching I have filled bins and bags with many doll related items to sell and give away. As well as non doll items for some special friends. After the meet ups I can work on items in my two other hobbies to be gone as I found they helped get me through this time but I rather concentrate on just my dolls.

 

I’d say once every 6 months or so I reevaluate my collection and sell off some dolls I’m not feeling as much anymore. It’s not a conscious thing, but looking back, that’s definitely been the pattern. Lol

 

I rarely buy things, and my collection and the things belonging to it have always been well organized and in appropriate spots within drawers. So there isn't a regular need for me to do so. If I get rid of things it's less "declutter" and more "I just don't need this anymore, might as well sell it" and sometimes "I'd rather have the money than own this".

 

I've just bought into many dolls after leaving the hobby for about 10 years - wondering about anyone's organization/decluttering methods. Do you utilize something like those plastic storage bins with 1 drawer per doll or is it a more free-form "eyes go in this drawer" "wigs of X size in this drawer" etc. ?
I'm sorta waiting on an order to finally figure out a system to roll with. I'm swimming in loose eyeballs, wigs, and other bits.

 

Happily, I no longer have the need to declutter where my bjd collection is concerned. I’ve spent many years discovering my personal aesthetic, refining my collection appropriately, and building display and storage solutions as my collection has grown. Everything has a happy place now, and I no longer feel the need to sell as my collection feels perfect to me. It’s taken me many, many years and a lot of hard work to get to this point however.

I’ve organized everything according to the doll’s character and where they are displayed, as I like to keep their things nearby (at least in the same room usually.) I’ve accomplished this by refurbishing a lot of furniture pieces I picked up cheaply at charity shops over the years, making them beautiful again to appropriately fit in seamlessly with my decor…things like display units with hidden storage, dressers and trunks. Things hidden inside are kept in clear zip-lock bags so I can keep all the individual pieces together and easily see what I have.

 

I mostly don't...
I am fortunate enough to have enough storage space that it's not much of an issue, at least not yet. I could do with a bit of organizing, though. Right now the doll clothes, wigs, shoes and eyes are stored in various boxes and while roughly sorted, the boxes are overflowing and could be split up into more boxes.
Since I sew a lot for my dolls, the clothing is a steadily expanding collection.
Furniture and other larger things are tricky because some things are a bit fragile and can't just be stacked up or shoved into a box, but oh well.

I do have things that I don't have much use for but hold on to because I know from experience that sooner or later me or one of my friends will have a doll that it works for. Or I may start some side project where the item suddenly makes sense. And having a healthy stash of clothes, wigs and eyes is valuable when a new doll arrives. Sometimes being able to try a bunch of stuff out is the only way to know what works for that specific doll.

 

I just did redid my doll room/sewing room.
All my dolls are stored in plastic big boxes in their boxes or in black dolls bags with dolls wrapped in bags. I have 50 of the little minions plus a few heads hanging around.
I moved all my doll clothes into a old dresser as the plastic totes I had them in made it hard to find stuff.
At some point I need to finish outfits for dolls and find wigs for dolls. My raccoon girl is still bald. I've been promising her a wig for a while now.

 

I really need to go through all of my doll stuff. I don't change the clothes/eyes/wigs on my dolls, they've all got their set look, so I've got a bunch of extra stuff in a couple of boxes hiding in the closet.

 

A while back I started organizing my supplies for different arts and crafts into their own individual clear art/tackle boxes & other containers. Each box holds the equivalent of a portable kit of tools and specific supplies for each medium/hobby. Bigger pieces tend to stay in their original containers and be put on a shelf.

For my doll stuff; doll wigs and some stiff clear bags are in a clear large cosmetic bag, doll clothes are in another clear structured plastic bag, and my restringing tools, eyes, extra parts, and other assorted supplies are in one of the aforementioned art/tackle boxes. Faceup supplies are in another box and I keep most of the empty doll boxes in long flat shoe storage bags that go under the bed.

The clothing is starting to get a bit unruly so I will probably get or repurpose a three ring binder or something with pocket pages to put the clothes into. Teeny Tinker did this in a youtube video and it looks easy to do and convenient to use! This all makes me sound very organized but it's because I need things to be somewhat visible or I will tend to forget that thing exists.

 

I'm starting to own more wigs than I need but they're all so beautiful I don't want to part with them. ^-^; Will have to think of a way to store them, though for now styrofoam balls and a drawer seem to be working all right. I also really want something like a doll closet to hang up clothes so I can see them at a glance, but settled for giving up a portion of my closet to BJD outfits too. I discovered these really neat foldable travel hangers that are perfect size for SD clothes if you leave them half-open, so I'm really happy about that.

I don't really have a schedule to organize/declutter because I don't have much stuff to begin with, only 4 dolls and like a couple outfits for each. I tend to take long breaks from the hobby in between buying stuff/accessories as the costs add up very quickly. ^-^;

My dream is to have enough doll furniture to act as both a diorama and a working storage space while on display. But 1/3/SD-sized doll furniture can sometimes be equal to the cost of a small doll themselves, so it's been hard...would say I lucked out on a SD-sized couch for dolls on Etsy for below $60 and never found anything like it again. Time to scour more yard sales and antiques shops for options!

 

I get into organizing every time I get a new doll or change a doll’s look. After collecting for a year and a half I have not really sold much. I sold a couple dolls but clothes, shoes, and wigs that I no longer use are all in a small storage bin in the closet. I need to sell a bunch but I hate listing the little things.

 

I declutter on average probably every two to three months, and always after deciding to sell a doll, since a lot of the clothing and accessories are specific to that character most of the time. Organizing...I do that almost every time I'm in the doll room, in some form or other. I'm pretty happy with it, I just wish I had a better way to display my dolls in a diorama.

 

I'm a neat-freak. I don't let the gang's stuff get to that point in the first place...

As for the dolls themselves? I seem to go through phases about every five years or so where I'll look around at them all and decide it's time to "cull the herd". That's more of a refinement of the collection... basic curation... than 'decluttering', though, since I don't ever allow my dolls to take up more than their allotted amount of space in my house. Their display cabinets are all they get. Like their props and clothes and wigs and such, they aren't ever allowed to clutter up the rest of the place.

 

I don't declutter/ reorganize my collection on a regular basis. I am currently slowly refining my collection by selling the dolls that I no longer want to keep. I have reconfigured the clothes storage somewhat in the past to make it work better, though multiple plastic tubs isn't the most elegant method, its functional enough for now.

 

The standard state of my collection is cluttered.

With over fifty BJD ranging in size from miniscule RealPuki up to a Lusion (and a house full of other types of doll, bear, and stuffy) there simply isn't room for uncluttered display or storage space for the dolls and their many boxes of clothes, wigs, and accessories.

If I happen across an outfit/garment that doesn't get worn when I'm pawing throught he clothes crates for a change for one of my dolls, I'll shift it ot the sales-and-swaps box and hope I remember to take it to the next meet with a sales table and sometimres i give them away to friends who will make use of them, but that's about it.

Reorganising happens sporadically as-and-when a new doll joins the hoard and needs a space to get crammed in alongsde the rest, or when there isn't space in a particular crate for a newly completed outfit or whatever. My current situation with the main SD-sized BJD shelf is about to reach burst-at-the-seams point but, as my mother would have said, "I'll burn that bridge while I'm crossing it."

Teddy

 

I've been doing that today having a good sort out and and finding things I forgot I even had which will work well for some new dolls I've got.
I now have a small bag full of items ready to sell but these are mostly items I got that came along with dolls I've bought 2nd hand which arent to my style, it's very rare I sell an item I've bought for one of mine.