Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Spring Cleaned & Organized!

My doll and craft collection was getting out of hand for my current living space so some serious spring cleaning was in order. During the past 5 weekends I've donated furniture, clothing, house goods, etc. - just about anything that I hadn't used in the last 5 years. I originally told myself I would get rid of things that I hadn't used in the last 2 years, but shoot, that was too hard. Regardless, I made an impressive dent space wise... and then promptly filled it back up with my doll stuff.

BEFORE:

 
Dolls used to be stacked precariously on one another.

I thought this unit would help but the shelves weren't deep enough and could only hold a few dolls.

So, I moved the rest of the boxed dolls to my closet. The top shelf used to be filled with t-shirts and linens and the pants used to spread across the entire bar.

These dolls are "unwashed" ones from the thrift store and live in the box underneath the cherry vanity. They'll get washed eventually. Probably.

The right side of the closet, which held only a few play sets, still was overcrowded since I had to stuff it full of clothing that used to be on the left side.

These are the bookcases in my office and I knew that I wanted this to be the focal point for my boxed dolls since it has the deepest shelves.

After much cleaning and wavering over what to give away, here is my newly organized collection.

AFTER: (Yay!)

Left side of office

Only the right side will get boxed dolls. Once I fill up the space, I'll have to de-box something before I will buy something else. Left side is full of fashion items on the top two shelves. Third shelf is really free for anything and the bottom shelves have craft paper and accessories.

Making use of my home made wardrobe!

Right side of office
Colored boxes and rolling cart are full of craft supplies.

Center of office
Craft supplies and binders for doll clothes. Seven of the binders are currently empty though.

Corner of bedroom
Blue boxes are full of dolls standing upright. Office Max boxes are full of foam, backgrounds and older toys. The black shelves didn't work for dolls but they were great for my games and old movies. I was even able to stuff more storage boxes in there.

Left wall of bedroom
My storage bins are pretty full of accessories but I could squeeze some more junk in there. Those are mostly clothing packs on top and they haven't fell over yet, so I'm good.


Inside closet
Even though I moved all the boxed dolls to the office, I still had a crap load of play sets squirreled away and they now can spread out a bit more. Most of my Gloria and Fancy Life sets were FREE using my Amazon Reward points!

And thus concludes spring cleaning! At this point, the only places that don't have doll junk in them are the bathroom and the kitchen. Hopefully, I can keep it that way.


46 comments:

  1. QQ WOW! Are you for hire!! LOL I really like this. I have been getting rid of stuff too. I have a load of storage solutions for my doll and craft stuff, but have yet to set them up!

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    1. LOL, Grandmommy. I would be a pretty bossy efficiency expert. I think my inherent rudeness would override any helpful suggestions I might have. Getting rid of stuff was freeing but also anxious inducing. I kept thinking, "Dagnabit, what if I can use this thing later that I haven't used in 12 years?"

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  2. Nice work!

    And it was fun to try to ID all of those boxes based on the sides of the packages! ;)

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    1. Thanks, JSarie! You know, even though I bought the dolls I still sometimes stare at the sides of the boxes and wonder what the heck is in the box. I have to pull it out and go, "Oh, yeah!"

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  3. Wow! Muff, you give me hope. I have been spring cleaning my craft room for a few seasons now. Lol! Your spaces are so organized! Did you remove everything out and start from scratch? I have to go back and take another look. Everything looks great!!

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    1. For a few seasons, Georgia Girl?! And I thought I was taking a long time. I didn't start from scratch at all because I had no more room to shift stuff. I first started by hording all the large boxes I get from Amazon. I probably used about 9 of them. I spread them along the living room floor, where they stayed for weeks in case I changed my mind about something I put in them. I went from the closet, to bedroom, to kitchen, to living room and finally storage room. Each weekend I would tackle one area. Slow but got the job done.

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  4. LOVE IT!!! your stash is still so awesome. How do you ever leave the house...I would be rearranging stuff everyday just for fun:-D great job organizing*.*

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    1. LOL, Nykole. I don't rearrange it often, but I do stand in front of it for quite a long time just gazing.

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  5. WOW! You did a great job! If you could make your way over to my house... that would be great!
    You've got some great things in boxes I would love to see! I didn't see your cars. How do you store them. It is good for bloggers to show things organized and tidy. It inspires others.

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    1. Hi, Ms. Leo! Now that I think about it, I would love to go to other doll collector's homes and organize their stuff. I bet that would be fun! The cars are on the desk in the bedroom. The Mini Cooper is on top and four other cars are on their sides underneath it, just on top of the boxes. My Vespas and motor cycles are inside some of the boxes.

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  6. Good organization! xD

    PS: I love Xena! ;p

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  7. Fantastic job and proof that tackling a big job one step at a time pays off.

    If I could get my clothing closets organized, I would be a happy camper.

    dbg

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    1. Thanks, Debbie! My clothes closet still isn't the way I would like it, but some sacrifices had to be made so the doll stuff would fit.

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  8. Hello from Spain: awesome collection. You have many dolls in boxes ... I love seeing the way you arrange your collection. Very inspiring to me. Your desk is very organized and nice with your dolls. I have the luck to have a large room for my Barbies and accessories but I'm also starting to have space problems. You are doing a fabulous job-Keep in touch

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    1. Thanks, Marta! I guess that space problems are always an eventuality when it comes to doll collecting. If I had an entire room to devote to it, I'm sure it would be full already.

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  9. Congratulations! Amazing. Inspiring. Fun to look at, but I can imagine the challenge of doing it. Great job and thanks for sharing the results and some of the before photos.

    I need to follow you in this action ;-)

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    1. D7ana it was a tiring job but I'm soooo glad it's done. Hopefully having designated spaces will keep my collection from getting out of hand again.

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    2. I'm glad that you spared the time to share your progress - yay Muff!

      Taking notes, "designated spaces" ... okay, every little bit helps ;-)

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  10. Impressive organization, and an impressive collection!

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    1. Thanks, Barb! I actually thought my collection was on the small size but I guess it's all relative to when someone started collecting.

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    2. Oh no, I was talking about you having so many accessories, backdrops, pieces of furniture to go with your dolls, as opposed to the number. I like collections that are actually "played" with.

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  11. Wow! Seeing the way you organized your collection gave me hope for my own. I may have to start this summer.

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    1. Hi, Saturday! It's an undertaking, I tell ya.

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  12. You did a wonderful job at organizing, I deeply ashamed of myself.....I'll neve have the nerve to show the miserable condition of my collection....LOL

    Kisses

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    1. LOL, Billa. It cant be that bad... can it? 0.o

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  13. :O

    Can I come to play there sometimes?

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    1. Sergio, that would be a long flight, but I play long into the night. ^_^

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  14. My hat goes off to yoy! Yes, I started cleaning out too but wow, you have a lot of stuff! I have been moving some of my clothes out but new doll stuff keeps appearing, lol.

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    1. LOL, Brini! Isn't that the way? Soon as you make a little space, here comes another doll taking possession of it.

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  15. Hola, que gran limpieza, hace poco hice algo parecido, aunque yo tengo menos cosas, felicidades, gran trabajo.
    ¿La foto de la joven rubia, eres tu?

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    1. Muchas gracias, Lindaivette por visitarnos. No, eso no soy yo en la foto. Ella es un personaje de la serie de televisiĆ³n Xena.

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  16. Woooo child is this heaven or nah!!! Everything looks so neat and tidy! I just wanna let you know now if anything, im mean anything, comes up missing IT WASNT ME!!! lol Im slowly rearranging stuff myself just to get some kind organization going on, but we'll see how that will last!

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  17. LOL, Jay! You are sounding super duper suspicious! He who smelt it, dealt it! I have been called a neat freak a time or two... words well deserved, lol.

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  18. OMG, you have a great collection!!! I´m very surprised 0_0
    Recently, I did the same in my bedroom but I haven´t finished yet...
    Note: I love Xena the warrior princes too ;)

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    1. Thanks, Ana! It does seem like it takes a long time to finish once you start.

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  19. Congrats, I knew a post like this was on your horizon, and you did not disappoint! I'm sure you will be inspiring quite a few people to Spring clean. I'm feeling inspired to donate 90% of the clothes in my closet. As for the doll stuff....that's a hopeless case at the moment. I have two unopened boxes in the living room and I'm expecting at least 10 packages in the next week. It was really nice seeing your collection. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hiya, Vanessa! I was surprised at how hard I found it to spring clean. I've done it before of course but I guess that then I mostly shifted stuff around than actually getting rid of it. My place does feel "fresher" even though in the end I just filled back up the space I made.

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  20. Wow what an inspiring post - all doll lovers need to see how exactly to keep things neat and orderly - Fabulous Ideas, and LooKs Great - Congratulations!

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    1. Thanks, Tiggy! Being neat and orderly is kind of one of my foibles, so the neater the better for me.

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  21. I read many doll blogs, not as much in the last few months. I rarely comment (lurking in the shadows work for me). However, this was so awesome I had to say, "Girl you ROCK!" That is mad organized.

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    1. Wow, Inzie, thanks so much for coming out of lurkdom to pay me that great compliment. ^__^

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  22. It looks like your collection was in such a state where you couldn't access or enjoy most of it. Congrats on getting it organized!

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    1. BlackKitty, when its all piled on top of one another, it does start feeling a bit sloppy. Now it's all neat and shiny!

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  23. I'm in the process of organizing my doll room now, so I came back here for some inspiration! You've shared some great tips, and I am feeling inspired. I can do it! I can do it!

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    1. Ah, the good old days, Roxanne. Now my place looks a right mess again, lol.

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