Tracking, organizing, cataloging to prevent those lost / misplaced BJD items

Right now I only have one doll, so I don't have too terrible much for her, although she is a bit spoiled. I currently keep all her clothes in a cheap decorative jewelry box I found on clearance. Papers and the like are in another decorative storage box, and that, along with her shipping box are stored where we keep all the boxes for the collectables in my household. I knew from the start I didn't want to lose anything, so I'm trying to keep everything really organized and together.i

 

Do you know what you have? Yes. I don't have a spreadsheet or database, but I am super impressed by the people who do!

Do you know where everything is? Yep. I keep everything separated in ziplock bags inside several bins that go in my Ikea Expedit bookcase. I keep doll boxes inside large sterilite/rubbermaid containers that get stored in my attic.

If you are very organized, do you any tips? I guess just to keep things separated and categorized in a way that works for you, whether that means separating by doll, item, color, or whatever characteristic is easiest to remember (for instance, all shirts together, everything red together, all winter clothes together, etc.).

Have you lost or thrown away items by mistake? Nope! I've always been afraid of that possibility from the moment I got my first doll years ago, so I dutifully check and unravel every piece of tissue, bubble wrap, or other packing supplies before throwing it away.

 

I like to organize my items by doll. Each one has their own box full of stuff. I only tend to lose things when I have a mess on my sewing table, or things accidentally fall into my hamper. I washed my dolls clothes once because I didn't notice it when I did laundry XD. But a storage box is a good idea for keeping things. I like to have a more secure location for eyes, so I'm buying a small lock box to keep those in. I also have a list on my computer for the things I've bought and at least have the company name of the product in case I ever wanted to sell. I've only thrown away clothes that I made for them. Some were definitely on purpose, others fell into the garbage can when I was cleaning. But I recovered most of them before they got thrown away for good. And I keep all of the patterns I use so I could just make another one.

 

I organize their clothes and accessories in decorative boxes. I went back through recently and started subdividing the clothing -- I originally had a box for SD girl clothes, MSD clothes, etc. I got some of the larger zip lock bags and bagged up pants, tops, skirts and so on and labeled them by what dolls actually wear them since they don't all share the same stuff. It gave me a much better idea of what I have and what I need to get for various dolls. I still need to work on better wig storage.

 

Do you know what you have? Short answer is no. I often go through my clothes/wigs and would think "Oh, that's cute. When did I buy that?"
Do you know where everything is? Yes, I do. All my dolls have their own drawers. I have:
Drawer 1: Littlefee clothes
Drawer 2: Minifee boy clothes
Drawer 3: Pukifee/tiny shirts (top half clothes
Drawer 4: Pukifee/tiny bottoms
Drawer 5: Shoes
Drawer 6: Miniatures
Then I have a seperate box for Minifee girl clothes because I have so many!
Then I have another box for wigs etc.
If you are very organized do you any tips? See above. Have a different box for everything!
Have you lost or thrown away items by mistake? Yes, I did lose a pair of Pukifee Jeans, which is quite easy to do. I lost them about 2 months ago. I found them the other day in my underwear drawer!?!?

 

Do you know what you have?
I do, but I don't think I have a very large collection, so it's not a great task.

Do you know where everything is? If you are very organized do you any tips?
I keep my BJDs (2 58cm, 3 42cm, 1 25cm, 1 tiny cat) either in a display cabinet or in their box in a deep drawer. Clothes and accessories I keep in parts of two drawer chests in my workroom. One drawer is for wigs, one drawer for shoes, jewelry, headwear, etc, one for miscellaneous resin parts, and one very deep drawer for clothes, which are further divided by size in 3 shoeboxes. Each outfit also get individual plastic baggies.

I have only a few pairs of extra eyes, and those go in a small box. Things I intend to sell are placed in a separate box. Things like face-up supplies and fabrics I keep separately in another drawer chest.

While I may not remember off-hand everything I have, I know to look in those places if I need to know. Sometimes I enjoy pulling out these drawers and just looking at my collection, and sometimes I'll rearrange some things.

Have you lost or thrown away items by mistake?
I'm somewhat of a packrat, and I won't throw away anything without looking through it first.

 

Do you know what you have?
Yep! I keep multiple lists of everything I own (an abbreviated one in my profile, a detailed one on my computer, and box-specific ones with my storage boxes)

Do you know where everything is?
Yep! I have different storage boxes for each thing I'm storing (one box for dolls, one for heads, one for parts, one for wigs, one for eyes, one for clothes, and one for props). I keep an itemised list in the lid of each box, which makes it very easy to doublecheck what I own without needing to rifle through everything. I also have symbolic stickers that I attach to everything that is obscured by padding (clothing wrapped up in bags, heads and parts in bubblewrap), so that I can easily find things without needing to unwrap everything.
If you are very organized do you any tips?
Pay attention to how you use your collection. Someone who changes their dolls outfits once a season would need a very different clothing-organisation system than someone who changes their outfits every day.

For example, I have one wig per doll, plus a couple of 'communal' wigs that any new dolls use until I buy them their own. So, I store my wigs by putting each one in a plastic ziplock bag (with the wig safe inside a wig net, of course!), and then labelling each bag with a symbolic sticker representing the character it belongs to. The same system works for outfits, since none of my characters share outfits (except the communal ones), eyes and props.

Keeping a detailed list of items on my computer is also incredibly handy, since it means I can buy things without worrying that I'm doubling up on anything. I make my computer list as detailed as possible (listing things like company, size, colour (using company names, not generic ones), age, seller (company or second hand) and similar things).

Have you lost or thrown away items by mistake?
Nope, never. I'm always incredibly careful about throwing things away, and would never accidentally toss anything doll-related!

 

Do you know what you have? Yes I do. I keep a list of everything I buy related to this hobby (and several other hobbies of mine as well ) and what it costs, as well as the person/company that made/produced it and how much it cost (in my own currency as well as whatever the original currency was).

Do you know where everything is? Yes. I keep all of my doll stuff in one place so I can find what I'm looking for easily. Also, doll items are separated by size so I can just grab one set of items if I'm looking for SD size stuff for example.

If you are very organized, do you any tips? I think the biggest thing is to catalog as you go. If you want to keep a list of things you buy/own make sure to mark it down asap after you purchase it. I keep a master list on my computer but I also keep a list on my phone which I mark things down on right away.
Also make sure to keep everything in one place. Don't be lazy and just leave it wherever willy nilly like. Be sure to put it away when you are done with it and it will be where you left it when you need it.

Have you lost or thrown away items by mistake? Nope. I keep very good track of things and try to keep my house organized and clean so I don't misplace things. Although one time at a convention I was trying an outfit on my girl and lost her choker. I didn't even know until the very kind people who I bought the outfit from told me and gave it back. I was lucky

 

I have never lost or thrown anything out, but I was careful about my doll stuff from the beginning. I only have three dolls with a few outfits each and some various odds and ends. I have a doll carrier that I store everything in, and different pockets hold different categories of things. This is nice because I can always take all of the stuff I'd want or need with me. These dolls are my prized possessions, so when I'm finished with them, I ALWAYS put things back where they belong. However, I'll eventually run out of room in my carrier and then I won't know what to do!

 

At the moment my stuff is stored in shoe boxes but eventually I'm going to buy those plastic drawers you can buy in supermarkets etc and buy ziplock bags to keep things neat and labelled.

 

My dolls are all out, mostly in our living-room, but tend to end up wherever I put them down around the house.

Their stuff is mostly in boxes in the spare bedroom - a series of "Really Useful Boxes" arranged by size and gender of doll and stacked on three very wide, very deep shelves along one wall.... There are clothes boxes, shoes boxes, wig boxes, sock boxes, accessories boxes and a box each for jewelry and for hair stuff (clips, ribbons, pins etc.).

The SD shoes are in boxes with trays and dividers. Here's one of the red trays from one of the boxes:


Despite this attempt at organisation, I still have trouble finding stuff, and have to make a real effort to pull out all the boxes to find (and again to put away) the items I want. The boxes take a while just to arrange so they will all fit back onto the shelves they came from.

Teddy

 

Do you know what you have?
In regards to clothes, shoes, wigs and eyes, yes. Props, I forget what I have sometimes if it's not something that I use regularly.

Do you know where everything is?
Yes, but only because there are only two places where it can be, the middle drawer of my dresser or the upper left compartment of a cabinet to do. I keep
each outfit in its packaging or a large baggie and those are stacked on top of eachother on one side of the dresser drawer, the shoes are in front of the clothes in little boxes that they came in along with DP16 Kurumi's hat. Wigs are to the side and the other side of the drawer is for props and my little essential supply bag that I take on photo-shoots, it has a magic eraser, wig spray, eye putty, toothbrush (for combing wigs), a dryer sheet (to get rid of static in wigs) and a little towel.
The upper left compartment of the cabinet is where I keep the props that I don't use very often.

If you are very organized do you any tips?
Keep everything in one place.

Have you lost or thrown away items by mistake?
Thankfully no.

I did have a catalog of all the stuff I had bought at one point but I seem to have misplaced the file ^^;

 

Do you know what you have?
Mostly yes. I have a spreadsheet that catalogues my dolls, clothes, shoes and wigs.
I do it so I don't accidentally buy something again.

Do you know where everything is?
I put them in containers and labeled the sizes.

If you are very organized, do you any tips?
It helps if you are willing to dish out money on storage units.

Have you lost or thrown away items by mistake?
Not so far. I have misplaced them while I was using them when doing a shoot but I haven't lost anything yet. Haven't thrown anything away either because I keep items I want well clear from the rubbish.

 

Do you know what you have?
Sometimes I'm surprised that I find things I've thought I'd lost. I mostly know what I have, and I try to keep the stuff in order. Which is so hard.

Do you know where everything is?
About. I have containers for shoes and clothes and doll parts but I would love to be more organized. Like have a box for each doll, or doll group (boys, girls, size, type...) and put their clothes in a zip bag and store them in nice boxes or so.

If you are very organized do you any tips?
This I'm going to read from peoples answers, since I'd love to know how people store their stuff.

Have you lost or thrown away items by mistake?
I'm sure I have, but as I'm not quite sure about what they might have been, I say yes.

 

Do you know what you have? Yes, I keep track of everything I have.

Do you know where everything is? It is surprising because I was a little disaster when it came to know where my own things were, but with dolls' stuff I know where every single thing I own is.

If you are very organized do you any tips? I have one box for each one of my dolls with separations on them so the shoes are in one place, the shirts in another and so on. I also keep an extra box for resin pieces, things like extra hands or heeled feet, and other accessories like wig caps or masks.

Have you lost or thrown away items by mistake? No, because 5 years ago, when I wasn't in the hobby, I lost a silver ring while I was cleaning and I wasn't able to find it; I felt so bad about it that I have been very careful since that day to have all my own accessories and all dollies' things located.

 

Wow this is such a helpful thread for someone relatively new to the hobby - well I bought my first doll about 18 months ago and the other two more recently.

Do you know what you have?

Yes because I don't yet have a huge amount, and it all lives in one large box.

Do you know where everything is?

Pretty much - in the above large box! Paperwork is filed elsewhere.

If you are very organized do you any tips?

I am a very organised person, possibly a bit OTT if I'm honest. I use Really Useful Boxes which come in a gazillion sizes. So far all my dolls are MSD and it will probably stay that way so I don't have to worry about sorting sizes etc. I have a smaller box for wigs, and a separate one for shoes. I try to keep outfits together in a ziploc bag. There's another box for eyes and lashes etc, and so far it all fits within one large RUB but will doubtless grow!

Have you lost or thrown away items by mistake?

Not so far .... but I might well!

 

Do you know what you have?

Absolutely.

Do you know where everything is?

For the most part, yes.

If you are very organized do you any tips?

I use open office and make a detailed list of what is in every container. Each table has 5 columns. Location, Item description, scale, Which doll can wear it, and currently worn (I only put a yes here if I don't plan to change the doll again for awhile).

Full outfits will go on one line and will have all of the pieces to that outfit listed in the item description. I also find the category for who fits what a huge time saver for both current and new dolls. The whole system saves me time when trying to dress up my dolls because I don't have to pull out tons of containers to find things, I just peruse my list and pick it from there.

Have you lost or thrown away items by mistake?

I have lost things before I sat down and made a list of everything. A ferret I used to have also managed to abscond with a few bits and trinkets. I very much doubt I'll ever find those again. :P
I haven't lost anything since though, and I've never thrown things away by mistake.

 

I never lost any of my dolls items. There have been a few things I threw away determined I wouldn't need them though, and after a few years started thinking that maybe I should have kept this or that, not because it's something very good, but because it would have worked as a prop making photo stories. But my dolls are very much aware of what they have .. and probably because they don't have that much! But then, the less you have perhaps, the more you appreciate it

 

I have few dolls, and even fewer shoes/clothes/wigs/eyes for them. I plan on making most of their clothes and wigs (or they're partially made but not finished, d'oh!) and I need to order eyes after I'm finished researching what sizes of eye/iris I think would work best with my dolls (I am very particular). I keep my dolls in their boxes for the most part, but i have taken their COAs out and put them in a special file in my filing cabinet labeled "BJD". The COA is a very important thing to have these days, so I make sure they're in a place where they absolutely cannot be lost. Doll boxes may be unsafe for the COAs, as I mostly keep the dolls in their boxes to avoid sunlight and resin yellowing and when I take them in and out of their boxes the COA could fall out and be lost. The rest of their stuff I have stuffed all in one shoebox for now, since I recently moved. The plastic organizer drawers seem like an awesome idea, though, and when I get more stuff I'll be sure to purchase one, as I tend to lose things...

 

Quite frankly: No, my organization is quite poor. I have one plastic container for the guys, one for the ladies, and the one box my tiny girl came in with her stuff. Otherwise, I tend to collect quite a lot of "in scale items" which are spread over our house, some waiting for refurbishment (e.g. new paint or similar). I try to keep my eyes in one place, the metal stuff in an organizer (not really successful), and the art supplies. All kinds of fabrics are eating my big plastic containers up, same with leather.

However, I still can remember quite well what I have and what not. Occassionally it may happen that I buy some glue although that type is still somewhere in a box...but oh well.