Organizing American Girl Dolls – Heather O’Steen Photography
While we are organizing our Kid’s Rooms this week, I thought I would share with you how we keep all of our American Girl doll clothes and accessories organized. Boo is lucky enough to have two big sisters who played with them, so she has inherited quite a bit over the years. The girls are ALL so lucky to have a Nana who has been giving American Girl doll gifts at Christmas and birthdays for over the past 18 years! Wow! Her big sisters do keep some of their dolls and accessories tucked safely away in their closets. I love seeing how special they have become to them over the years. My oldest Punkin (Kirsten) was given the Kirsten doll on her first birthday almost 19 years ago now.
Needless to say, we now have quite a collection! We keep most of it in the basement in a large toy box that the kids uncle made them a long time ago – thanks Uncle Ricky! Sometimes Boo will have some of it set up in her bedroom closet – the locations of play tend to move around the house a bit, but the big box full of everything stays put. Sometimes she even sets up an entire classroom for her dolls!
Inside the toy box we have eight plastic shoe box storage containers full of all the doll clothes organized into these categories: shoes, boots, pajamas, coats, historical clothes (2), and modern clothes (2). This helps a lot when she is looking for a certain outfit for her dolls. We used to have everything just thrown into this toy box but it was just a huge disaster all the time while she dug through it all looking for certain things. These boxes are jam packed! They are the perfect size to be able to lay each dress or outfit out flat without having to fold anything. It keeps them better protected too.
Okay – they look a little messy here but that’s because of course Boo was hard at play while I snapped these pictures – she was digging through them all!
We keep a smaller lidded box for all of the doll’s hair accessories, and a little basket for other doll items.
A little basket for all the socks, tights, and doll panties is nice for keeping it all separated. A basket of hangers is in here as well. She LOVES to hang up different dresses here and there on a simple tension rod – she gets very creative with where those spaces are!
Right now it is hanging in a little alcove in the corner of the basement. Today she wanted to make a bed for each doll she has right now. Looks like Kit gets the floor! Haha!
All of the hats are the trickiest thing to store. I find that a box without a lid set down into the toy box works pretty well to keep them from all getting squashed. I do have to re-organize this every few months after some intense play time, but she is pretty good about keeping things together. There is plenty of extra room in front of all the shoe boxes to add in all the extras – the music stand, pet accessories, suitcases, umbrellas, backpacks, musical instruments, school supplies – you name it! I think the dolls may have more belongings than my kids do – HA!
Here’s a tip for your doll loving girl – a lot of the unfinished wood at Michael’s is perfectly doll sized. Boo likes to get little dressers and other things to paint to use for her dolls – those little drawers are full of little doll things as well!
I just love the age Boo is at where this kind of doll play is so magical!! Be sure to protect your investments by keeping it all neat and organized – plus BONUS – your girl will enjoy it all even more! It won’t be long until her dolls are all packed away somewhere in the top of her closet too, just like her big sisters. I’m treasuring up every moment!
Happy Organizing!
Follow me on Instagram here and post your pictures using the hashtag #organizeeverything You can follow along and catch up on all the organizing in the links below. It’s not too late to get started!
MAIN LIVING AREAS – WEEK ONE
THE KITCHEN – WEEK TWO
