How do you store your DD clothes? (In need of ideas!)

Hi

 

Today I made a dreadful discovery while changing my dear Josephine clothes. She, the clothes I was about to put on her, and almost all the clothes that I had stored, smelled like tobaco smoke.

I do not smoke, but my mom does (we do not live together though), she made some dresses for my girls (that I did not try on Josephine...) that even after washing smelled a bit. I stored them in a plastic bag like the ones you get with volks oficial clothes. And all the rest of the clothes were stored in similar bags in the same box.

I've already take away the *suspected* offenders, and I cleaned all of my girls clothes with warm water and white vinegar, so I hope they'll go back to normal soon.

But I'm scared of storing them in the same plastic bags they were, since those clearly doesn't get the job done... so:

 

How do you keep your girls clothes fresh and clean?

I've always used Volks bags or ziplock bags (with some sort of anti-moth thing in the general vicinity) but I've never had to deal with smoke. I do think large ziplock bags may be better than usual plastic bags because they are supposed to be airtight, but then again the plastic itself may be porous enough to allow smoke particles to permeate.

 

It may be best to store any new outfits separately and also air out everything you already have for a week or more (hanging out of sunlight somewhere) to let the smell diffuse out of the clothes, if it's not already gone with the treatment you gave them.

Vinegar wash is totally what I would recommend for cigarette smell. If that doesn't help, also try airing the clothes outside, preferably with at least an hour of sunlight. It was basically the only thing that helped my own clothes when I spent a month in an apartment with frankly atrocious cigarette smoke seepage. (I also used that trick again when I moved out of an apartment with a mold issue.)

 

As for storage . . . I guess ziplocks? But in my experience, something about cigarette stink sticks worse to plastics than it does to organics like cotton. :/ Maybe some good tupperware might be an option, in this case?

 

The way I store my plastic midgets' stuff is a wee bit janky, but it works for now. I have a three-drawer dresser and a three-drawer little end table thing, both filled with doll stuff. Dresser, top drawer is all props. Dresser, middle drawer is all mix-and-match-able items, held in order with those cheap little plastic organizer baskets. Dresser, bottom drawer has fullset items and specific costumes where I don't want to mix n match, so those are kept in big gallon ziplocks. The end tabe: top drawer is shoes and hands. Middle drawer is. . . more props. Bottom drawer is wigs.

 

This system won't work forever, though, so once I get my people-closet reorganized, I intend to get one of those big, flat Rubbermaid bins and move the fullset stuff in there--it usually only comes out for special occasions anyway. Then I can further reorganize props and separates into something that's more accessible.

If that doesn't help, also try airing the clothes outside, preferably with at least an hour of sunlight.

 

Wait, sunlight helps? I always thought it'd just fade the colors with prolonged exposure (granted that'd take more than a few hours, but still)

If that doesn't help, also try airing the clothes outside, preferably with at least an hour of sunlight.

 

Wait, sunlight helps? I always thought it'd just fade the colors with prolonged exposure (granted that'd take more than a few hours, but still)

 

It does in my experience, anyway. I dunno if it breaks down some of the compounds, or if the light and heat expedites their release into the air, or what, but other people have said that it helps with weird stank too. (Believe me, I wound up looking up a LOT of techniques on dealing with weird stanks after living in those two apartments LOL)

Sunlight is one of those "small amounts good, big amounts no". It would also depend on the harshness of the sunlight you put the clothes in. If the smell is still there after the wash I'd recommend hitting it with all three previous suggestions at once. 1) Vinegar wash 2) Dry in partial or dappled sunlight 3) If there is no breeze, aim a fan on low at them as the dry.

 

For an example for the sunlight : I have a screen sliding door that leads into my back courtyard. Just inside would still be 'light enough' to suit your needs.

Yeah, and if you can only really do direct sun (like my south-facing porch), then definitely set a timer to remind yourself to go out there and fetch your stuff. I did that earlier in the summer when treating some particularly bad stains on Fate and Homura--AZ summer sun is serious business, but there really wasn't any other good way to get them any sun exposure. So, timer in 1 hour increments it was.

http://www.twinpines.com/D-stinker

I got clear storage totes from my local grocery store, and just kind of toss things in. I had tried keeping outfits on the cardboard shapes most Volks outfits come on, but then they started fastening them to the bag, and I started really mixing and matching. So all bottoms are in one tote and tops are divided up in SS only, M only and fill all, since I have 2 sizes of busts on my girls. And I've had to go get bigger ones already as the small ones got full fast. They all stack under my bedroom window out of the way. Except for the tote of pantsu. Those are still in a small one (Life goal: to collect so many pantsu that I have to upgrade to a bigger tote.), and are kept in my underwear drawer of the dresser of course.

Thank you for the sugestions in how to clean the clothes, after drying everything with the help of a fan (I live in a 3rd floor flat, and I don't want any of those little socks gone with the wind xD)

As for the clothes, I'll try with ziplocks and hope it works...

 

http://www.twinpines.com/D-stinker

I'll search for something like this in Spain, since importing it would be as costing as a fullset for my dolls xD

 

(...) Except for the tote of pantsu. Those are still in a small one (Life goal: to collect so many pantsu that I have to upgrade to a bigger tote.), and are kept in my underwear drawer of the dresser of course.

I don't have enought patsu to do that either xD

I have no idea how to remove smoke from clothes so I can't help with that unfortunately but I wanted to share this real quick on how I organize my doll clothes. If you use this method, I'd suggest making sure that you remove all the smoke smell first from the clothes because it'll probably stink up the entire drawer otherwise.

 

(note: the photo I'm linking to shows my Smart Doll clothes which is why I'm not posting the photo itself since it's not showing DD clothes, but I do own DD clothes and organize them in the exact same way - you can kinda see it in the photo in the drawer if you look closely )

 

 

I have a bedstand (that's really just a 3-drawer unit) that I use to organize most of my doll stuff. I use plastic A4 sized portolios that I purchased from Daiso (I tried to find it on their website but I wasn't able to - you might have to buy it in the store itself? Each one cost $1.50) - they come in other sizes also and different thicknesses. I usually put "outfits" together (if it's got more than one clothing part - I put those things together - often I can fit 2-3 outfits in one box) and then with miscellaneous clothing items, I try to sort them according to type (shirts in one portfolio, pants in one portfolio, etc.) and fill in any gaps with additional clothing that didn't fit anywhere else. I'm planning to use my label maker to put labels on the pink closure handles so I know what's in each one without having to pull it out and looking at it. This system works the best for me because I can just grab whatever I need for a photoshoot or doll meetup, throw it in a bag, and I'm good to go It's also really sturdy and won't accidentally open since the closure snaps closed (if you wanted to be extra secure, you could use a large rubber band or a bungee cord to hold it closed but I haven't had any issues at all). If I really want to, I can use an empty portfolio and fill it up with what I need and take it with me, then come home and put everything back where it belongs but the way I have it organized now works for me.

 

I will say that this sort of system will probably take up more space than just using ziploc bags where you can remove as much air as possible and store a lot more in a box but opening this drawer makes the OCD part of me happy Maybe I'll show a photo of how I organize the other doll items I have but it's similar to this concept of "grab-and-go".

 

Last note, I keep all the original Volks packaging in a separate Artbin scrapbook box that I store in my closet so in case I ever decide to sell anything, I still have it

The hardcase portafolios is a great idea, sadly there are no Daisos in Spain that I'm aware of T_T. It wpuld be really great for "special clothes" that need to be stores carefully.

 

And it does look good in that picture

I store my doll clothes in plastic zip bags that are labeled. As for keeping them safe from odors I started putting my doll clothes in large cookie tins like Royal Dansk, or tea tins.

Sorry to be reviving this post from the past (going through old topics=chance of zombie threads, I suppose), but has anyone made a closet for their girls?

 

I have been tossing around an idea of making a sort of carrying case/closet and was curious if anyone else had already done so for their clothing items. Any suggestions or pictures are very appreciated!

I do not have collectible ones. If I have some spare pieces I keep them in plastic basket. But primarly I sew for them most of clothes. I do not change my dolls they have only one skin that describes them bestly. Just like in cartoons.

 

Sometimes a character have more skins but I keep the main skin allways active.

My doll clothes always in some sort of set, so I put each set in separate ziplock bags. Then, store everything in a small plastic drawer you could find in a stationery store. I don't have any particular carrying case for doll clothing. Just pick up those ziplock and put it in my bag.

Update from me on how I have my girls' clothes. The plastic totes weren't really working for me. I got tired of always needing to find room to get them out as the one I wanted always seemed to be on the bottom. So I got some of those fabric drawer shelves.

 

 

And the drawers I got had label windows. So I sorted all my outfits by size and now it's much easier to get what I want. Then when it comes to looking for something or knowing where an item goes back, I have a PDF on my tablet of all the outfits I own so I just thumb through it to find what I'm looking for.

I have several plastic storage drawer units.

 

For outfit sets, I try to store them in their original packaging. Otherwise, I try to keep sets in plastic baggies.

 

Shoes are just sort of randomly arranged in a couple of drawers. I need to find a better storage and organizational solution for them. Maybe something like the tackle boxes I use for my boardgame components as well was Star Wars and Gundam figures would work?

 

And then separates are just crudely stacked in one of the drawers.

 

Everything used to be sorted by theme, but now I'm starting to reorganize things by size.