Besides weight loss, smoking cessation and the goal of not eating out as much, one of the common resolutions that people make for the new year is to be more organized. I am no exception when it comes to that one because I do want to become more organized and be able to find things a little easier. One of the areas that I wanted to organize a bit more were my doll things – the dolls themselves, clothes, shoes and accessories. Now the shoes were fairly well organized to begin with, I use plastic boxes that have built-in partitions to keep the pairs of shoes grouped together so it’s already easy for me to find full pairs at a glance.

I buy my plastic boxes at a chain craft store – you can find similar ones at different shops (hardware shops, dollar stores, other craft stores). I always wait for a sale though, unless you’re in a hurry you can always wait for a sale. I believe I got these at 50% off, so they came to under $1.50 before tax.

The clothes for my dolls typically live in two plastic drawer sets. Each drawer holds different things, and to keep things even more organized, I keep clothing sets and clothes made by the same designer in plastic bags. I picked up drawer sets at a hardware store and resealable plastic bags at a dollar store. Keeping like-items in bags makes it easier for me to dig through the copious amounts of doll dresses and it makes it easier when I get the urge to dress a bunch of girls in clothes by the same designer.

I want to further organize things. I have a small collection of eyechips that haven’t been given to a particular doll yet, and customizing items for the small pangs I get towards the notion of attempting to customize a doll. Plus I really want to start building up a wardrobe for my solo Middie, so I plan to get another box (not a full set of drawers…) for Middie items! Because I really don’t want to mix in Middie things with full-sized Blythe items.

A lot of people keep things a little bit more organized than me – I’ve seen those gorgeous shelves with dresses on real 1:6 sized hangers hanging on rods like a closet. That’s a little too organized for me, I’d much rather just be able to grab and go when it comes to dressing the dolls that I have.

My best tips: get boxes, or drawers, organize items with other like-items, remember where they are kept and always, always remember to put them back where they belong as not doing so it the best way to mess up the system.

Produced By: Junko Wong
First Published: October 2011
Publisher: CWC Books
175 Pages

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Little ornaments on the small fibre optic tree… Christmas cards on the table… There was going to be two dolls in the photo, but honestly, nobody else wanted to wear a bath-puff dress. The bodice is made out of felt, I took apart the bath-puff to use as a skirt – I can’t tell if it’s too puffy though. But I do love the little hair-clip hat. Too adorable (and only $2!). I’m going to be borrowing it for a Christmas party next week.

I will, however, be on the lookout for a more traditional tree on Boxing Day this year. Something that can handle ornaments, for one, and is closer in height to the Blythes.

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The challenge? Shop for all things holiday at the dollar store with $10 (plus tax). I needed to get everything that was necessary to create a holiday scene for my dolls. It’s totally doable… Right? Right? If not, I’ll be eating crow for Christmas and I don’t think that’ll taste particularly good! So here goes…

Challenge: Accepted

I set out to my local (and favourite) dollar store. The staff there is super friendly and they’ve had Christmas themed everything in stock since around Halloween. Yes. Christmas in October. Stores just keep going earlier and earlier with their red and green and ho-ho-ho all over. But, I digress. I was on a mission! Even if Christmas music was playing over and over again and it was driving me insane – I had a challenge to complete.

I bought…

• 3 sheets of felt (white, red and green) – you had already seen some of it earlier this week with the Felt Stocking pattern -$1 for 3
• 1 package of silver jingle bells in two sizes – $1
• 1 package of silver-lined plastic beads – $1
• 1 spool of 30 gauge silver-tone wire – $1
• 1 package of 4 bath puffs – $1
• 1 teeny tiny Christmas tree – $1
• 2 festive mini-hats (meant to clip onto your hair) – $4

Things that I already own are exempt from the challenge – like glue and thread, but I will point them out when I successfully complete the challenge to do the ultimate holiday scene on a budget.

It will be a weekend of crafting for me as I figure out just what I will be doing with all of this stuff. What do I have planned for those bath puffs? Guess you’ll just have to wait and see! But it will be a festive scene, it will be a very festive scene indeed! If you want to find out what I’m doing with the beads and the wire, you’ll have to check in next Wednesday for Day 3 of Giving!

I will be sharing my very festive dolly holiday scene next Friday, so be sure to check back to see I do to make the holidays happen for my Blythes.