My Tips for Storing Dolls, Their Accessories and Minis

        Keep this information in mind when putting your treasured dolls, doll accessories and miniatures into long-term storage!

1. Label the boxes clearly on the outside so that you won't need to open them and dismantle the contents to find something you've misplaced.
2. Measure boxes and shelves so that you know in advance how much room you have for storage and what the sizes of storage boxes can be when searching online or at a store.
3. Do not store vinyl dolls in rooms or places with unregulated temperatures. Both extreme heat and cold can change the chemistry of the vinyl. 
4. Extreme damp can actually cause some forms of mildew or mold to grow on vinyl dolls too!
5. Do not store dolls dressed; store them in the buff to prevent dyes from 'bleeding onto the vinyl.
6. Do not store dolls with braids or rubber bands in their hair. Braids left in doll wigs will permanently kink the doll hair and rubber bands can deteriorate over time making the wig gummy.
7. Vinyl dolls must 'breath' in storage. Wrapping them tightly in bubble wrap may encourage damp air to transfer mold or mildew on to the surface of vinyl.
8. Wrap tiny, fragile items in white tissue inside of smaller boxes. This will go a long way to prevent items from breaking should you accidentally drop the larger bin or box your items are stored inside of.
9. Leave room in the storage containers to add more from your collections later. In this way you will not need to keep purchasing more storage right away.
10. Do not leave dolls NIB, new in the box! Even if you wish to include the box later at auction. I have purchased dolls that were NIB and found them to be stained by inks from clothing and from graphics on the original packing. 
11. Fold up original boxes for dolls and keep these stacked neatly in a place where they will not be damaged if you intend to sell them later.
12. Store dolls that you do not display often in the back of containers or at the bottom of containers. 
13. If you have very valuable dolls store these separated from the bulk of your collection. Put them in a place where they can be easily grabbed from storage in case of an emergency. (fire, floods etc...)
14. If you are storing dolls in a place where flooding may happen, put these items in plastic containers so that water damage may be minimized. 
15. You can include baking soda air fresheners in the doll storage bins and in closets however do not sprinkle powders directly onto surfaces. This creates a substantial mess!
16. Use soft, clean paint brushes and feather dusters to dust surfaces of doll homes and displays.
17. Keep doll storage bins up off the floor on shelves if possible. 
18. If you find dolls with mold or mildew on them, you can clean these with a vinegar and water solution. However, if the mold or mildew returns after a cleaning it is too late to save these. The mold will actually change the chemistry of either vinyl or rubber and will spread to any other vinyl dolls stored next to these infected ones. Very often this is the case when one finds that large quantities of vinyl, plastic or rubber dolls are stored together and continue to put off a distinctly unpleasant odor! 
19. Soak doll clothes that are dirty in Woolite according to directions on the bottle. Let these dry in the sun before stacking inside any container. Insects are attracted to body oils or sweat from your skin that is hard to see on doll clothing. 
20. Do not store any food items near or in containers where you do not want to tempt mice or insects to explore.
21. Bait traps for pests can attract pests, so don't use these unless you are certain that you have mice to begin with and switch them out often.
22. Make sure you do not have brown recluse spiders. Watch this video here. Brown recluse are attracted to cardboard boxes in dark basements and attics. They will not hurt dolls, but they make bite you.
23. Keep dolls with flexible joints packed with limbs and hands down so that their delicate body parts will not be tangled with anything that may cause them to break.
24. If you have family pets, consider storing toys out of reach. Sometimes pets like to chew on things when you least expect it and they can get into stored items!