trying to part with dolls

[kellid60]

"Get the doll and go in the subway, over there will have at least one girl why will look at you and your doll with love and desire and wen you find this little girl just give it to her and go. You will never forget her face and her smile and you will be very happy."

This is so lovely - such a random act of kindness. It restores my faith in humanity. What magic a small gesture can bring.
Kelli

[wiccacat]

I think the subway idea is lovely but i can see how it might cause problems too. Some parents are freaked out by the idea of strangers paying attention to their child or offering them anything. i once offered a Happymeal toy to a kid and had a very irate mommy threaten to call the cops. she was sure i had evil intentions but i only wanted to give the kid a little toy.
It's also possible that a parent might not want their girl to have an AG doll. Although i wouldn't go into details i know that some people have problems with AG and boycott it. That's why i like the idea of the thrift store and always try to give them a big bag of toys before the winter holidays. They usually have really sad broken toys and i'm sure it's nice for parents to find a nice
clean doll for a buck or 50 cents.

[MaryCarly]

I totally understand where you are coming from. I also deal with a disability and find that dealing with the stress of selling and the difficulty in getting things packed and shipped is not worth it to me. I also feel badly that I can no longer help out with babysitting or chauffering other people's kids around like I used to, so giving things to the Goodwill is my way of giving something back. [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img]

We went for over ten years where I only wore cast off clothes and my husband went to work with holes in his shoes, because we had such huge medical bills. During that time, my own children depended on the kindness of others to bring them toys and clothing, so I know first hand how much donations are appreciated. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

Things turned around for us a few years ago and I was thrilled to be able to acutally buy some of the AG things that I had been admiring. I did go a little crazy with buying on ebay and decided a few months ago to seriously cut back my collection. I put up a a very tall bookshelf to display my dolls and then very carefully chose which dolls would go where. My dd said it looked like an episode of Survior. lol
I don't know about that, but I do know that having a safe place to display my dolls was wonderful and it really helped me to see which dolls that I truly cherished. Previously, I would give away a doll now and then, but this time instead of asking which dolls I should part with, I asked myself which dolls that I would never part with. I then deicded that the rest of the dolls should go to someone who might cherish them more than me. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I did the same thing with my doll clothes. First I gathered up some cheap plastic bins that stack. I then labeled each bin with a different time of year and I began sorting my outfits. Once I had enough summer outfits set aside for each doll, then it was quite easy to pass the rest of my summer outfits on to someone else. I recently sorted through my school/fall outfits and did the same thing with them. Very soon, I will dress up my dolls for the holidays and then I can let go whatever is left over there as well.

My collection is now smaller and more organized; which also makes it much, much more enjoyable! [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

[victoriangirl]

If you are looking for a way to store some of your collection inexpensively, you could use a small tension rod like the kind that holds up curtains and put that inside a bookcase and you can use it to hang up doll clothes. Someone a while back had an idea about modifying children's hangers from the dollar store for doll hangers. I would also suggest getting some little plastic bins from the dollar store that you can sort shoes, socks and hair stuff into and then labeling them. You could get stackable ones so they don't take up so much floor space. As far as storing the dolls, you can get doll stands cheaper at Wal-Mart in their craft section. Then you could stand them all up on a shelf. You could just use a plank of wood for a shelf and then use books or cans to stack up and add another shelf depending on how many dolls you have. You could paint them or add stickers or your doll's names to make them extra special. Good luck with your collection. Have fun playing with your dolls!

[wiccacat]

Recently i bought a little Scottish witch on ebay. She was handmade and really special but somehow i lost her or might have even accidently thrown her away or crushed her in a pile of AG. I know this is because i have way too much AG related stuff all packed into one tiny room. i have to keep everything locked up because my dog eats dolls.
Anyway i'm not really enjoying my really special dolls and i'm even losing them so it's time to purge. i donated a huge bag of Barbies to the local thrift store this week but it hasn't made too much of a dent in the pile and i still haven't found my witch. So i know some 18" girls have to go too. But i'm finding it hard to part with even the Our Generation dolls and it breaks my heart to give away even ebay fixer upper AGs. Someone please talk me into it. The little thrift store was so happy to get the Barbies and i know that they need toys this close to the winter holidays.

[Polly Marie]

Maybe all you need are some better storage organizers and a good layout for your doll room.
Labeling containers will help in retrieval of items. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Gomunk]

parting with dollsis not an easy or enjoyable task. On thing that might help is the fact that if you sell a doll, it will be enjoyed by someone else. I recently purchased a few fixer uppers and the buyers were appreaciative since they knew the dolls are now in a good home (and are getting spoiled rotten). Just think, would a doll be happier under a pile of stuff, or in the arms of an excited little girl (or adult collector)? I hope this helps. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Hquads4]

I think that you just need to take your time with this. If your not getting any real enjoyment out of your dolls this way then purging a few sounds like a plan and the fact that you have already donated is even better. It's hard to get rid of things that mean something to you. But in the end if it is going to someone that can really use it or enjoy it then it's worth it.

I'd make a list and prioritize the AG items and try to organize things along the way. Maybe you will find that you don't need to purge as much but when you do just remember that if it is donated then there will be some other little girl who will be smiling this christmas because of you. And if you sell the items on the HB then some other AG Lover will care for it just as much if not even more then you. I think those are win, win situations. In the end you might just find that you will enjoy the collection that you have even more.

Good luck!

[victoriangirl]

How about contacting your local children's hospital. I bet there are a lot of children there who would be cheered up by a doll. Especially if their families are struggling with medical expenses they might not be able to afford a doll for christmas. You probably have enough outfits you aren't that attached to and you could put them on the fixer upper dolls and then brush their hair and wipe down their skin. Then you could bring the dolls to the hospital and you would feel good knowing that you made so many children happy. And also it would be a relief to you and you would be able to enjoy your favorite dolls more and spend more time with them.

[p69]

Get the doll and go in the subway, over there will have at least one girl why will look at you and your doll with love and desire and wen you find this little girl just give it to her and go.
You will never forget her face and her smile and you will be very happy.