Leaving Dolls in Storage Units

hi, I have little experience to share but I thought I'd weigh in as I have done it once. I've never put my resin dolls in storage but I have had vinyl in one, here's how it went...
I had no choice as the car was already loaded with my resins (I don't trust movers with my babies) and so I put my vinyls into storage with other things until I could come for them. Mostly vintage barbies but also my smartdoll so I made sure each was wrapped carefully in white tissue paper first then into boxes, I didn't bubble wrap them because I was worried if it would mark or melt of something, it's very hot where I live and humid.
Knowing this I put them on the concrete floor and not on top of anything else where they'd be cooler. I did make sure a lighter box was on top and all around were boxed in. (I thought it might help dunno why lol)

When I went to get them out about a year later (I know!!) it was mid-summer, and it was very hot inside, I pulled them out on the spot and somehow they felt cool to touch, and best of all, not a single one had any damage or yellowing. I was so shocked I cried in relief truth be told, I expected them to be ruined! I can't vouch for resin at all but If it wasn't so hot I may have put a few resins inside.

 

Heat is not really good for resin. I don’t know why vinyl is different than resin, but many vintage dolls end up stored in garages and attics for years, and are not much worse for the wear.

But, I would not feel comfortable leaving my resins anywhere that could get extremely hot. I believe it accelerates yellowing, but I could be wrong about that. I know it can also soften in heat because you can boil mod their hands. And, I can only assume it would get temporarily brittle in extreme cold.

 

Not quite a storage unit, but I had a doll stuck in an airport warehouse in summer that warped due to a combination of the heat and tight stringing - I would store them unstrung if I left them in a unit in the future just to be safe. If they aren't strung and in a box, even if they become malleable in the heat there shouldn't be any damage to the resin with the lack of external pressure.

 

I did manage to repair a lot of the damage with a hair dryer and some boiling, but ultimately it was warped to a point where I opted to replace the main body rather than deal with it anymore. Even after a lot of heating/straightening/sueding it couldn't stand unassisted any more. (The good news is that the body went to someone who had missed the order period and was happy to deal with a project doll though )

It was also from Dream Valley and all their dolls are strung to a point of ridiculousness, so perhaps more normal amount of elastic in the doll would be safer? I think restringing will always be a bit easier than repairing though, and the only other thing I might be worried about in an ordinary unit is moisture - but that will depend a lot on where you're located too.

 

After reading @nyxx2 's account of surrounding boxes and cool concrete floor, it makes me think that storing them in a lidded cooler could help control any temperature fluctuations. Also, each doll unstrung and wrapped white tissue, quilt lining or fleece, placed in a thick paper grocery bag, and labeled would offer more insulation, too.

 

an esky or cooler would be wise but also if it's made of plastic and sealed then it is not breathable which in my mind is also not a good thing for resin or vinyl? good idea though just don't lock on the lid too tight.

 

Ah my time has come lmao. I literally just got my dolls out of storage after they had been packed away for 6 years.

So! I had all four of my dolls, as well as all my doll clothes, wigs, shoes, etc in a storage unit that was not climate controlled and I live in Arizona where most of the year is 90+ degrees out.
The clothes and accessories were in simple small shoe-box sized boxes, inside of a bigger storage box. Most of the damage accrued was actually probably mostly age (all of this stuff is from 2007-2009), although the heat certainly didn't help - I had to toss a lot of shoes that were simply coming apart. Some of my wigs are damaged, but I'm pretty sure it can be fixed with some work.

The dolls themselves all were stored inside their original boxes, with those long fluffy pillow things they come with, one on the bottom and one on the top, and then their boxes were stacked inside of a bookshelf rather than being directly/near the floor or walls.
Honestly they came out of the experience much better than I expected! They all needed a bit of a wipe-down for dust, but honestly none of them were damaged or even more yellowed than I would have expected them to be. My Luts Woori and Lu Wen both have normal skin, and it looks fine! My Breakaway '05 doll was in the infamous 'beauty green' skin and had already begun to yellow even when I got him second-hand, so now he's very yellow but again not beyond what I was expecting.

SO in my experience, if you make sure to take some precautions with keeping them insulated and away from the floor/walls, your dolls probably won't come out of it too worse for ware if it ends up being necessary to pack them away in less-than stellar conditions.

 

I had to evacuate my apt and store all of my belongings in a storage unit for 18months no resin bjd's at the time but I did have vintage hard plastic, composition, porcelain, vinyl and modern plastic dolls. I stored them all in tubs being mindful to keep plastics and vinyls from touching so as not to end up with melt marks. They were stored through all 4 seasons here on the east coast so all weather types and I had no casualties.

 

I live in Northern California, where the weather tends to be dryer than most places, but also relatively mild year round (55-70 degrees Fahrenheit or 13-20 Celsius). I kept all my dolls wrapped in face shields, snuggly bubble wrapped in their default doll boxes, cushioned against the pillows they also came with. In my decade-long hiatus, I've forgotten about my dolls and left them in a storage unit after my family sold their home here... My three and half dolls were all in storage for at least 5, 6 years, safe from theft and break-ins. Mind you, the Bay Area has become notorious for break-ins, robbings, and petty theft. But, nonetheless, everything was safe and undisturbed for those years.

With all that said, to save money since storage unit rentals were going through the roof here, I made the mistake of mass donating most of my storage unit to Goodwill WITHOUT checking a lot of stuff during the pandemic. The result was losing a full MSD doll and a floating head, both of which are discontinued... Just be careful and keep track of all your dollies (aka don't have short-term memory like me)

The two that survived and made it to where I currently reside have either evenly yellowed or maintained pretty good skin tone (one white skin, one normal skin) and their faceups miraculously look good as new.

 

The only thing I have to add is that heat and humidity make elastic lose it's stretch faster. You may want to get new elastic whenever you get your dolls out of storage.

 

I keep humidity lower because I don't want mold to grow on my dolls

 

I've had to store some dolls in non-climate controlled storage. I put some silica beads in with them to hopefully help a bit with humidity.