Preparing, Packing And Storing Strawberry Shortcake Dolls Properly

Strawberry Shortcake was huge back in the 80's, and the dolls remain a hot commodity among vintage collectors. The cost of these dolls is just going up year by year. If you have your own collection of Strawberry Shortcake dolls that you want to hold onto for a few more years, or many more years, the way that you pack and store them will determine the condition they will be in when you retrieve them. Here, you will learn the best method of preparing, packing and storing your vintage Strawberry Shortcake doll collection.

Clean the Dolls

In order for your dolls to come out of storage in good shape, they must be placed in storage in good shape. Cleaning the dolls and their clothing will help to ensure that they are ready for years of storage.

If your dolls aren't in very good shape today, it is time to send them to the spa for an afternoon. Remove the head of each doll carefully. They should pop right off with little force. Soak the bodies in a bucket of hot soapy water for an hour or so while you work on cleaning the heads.

Use a small flashlight to illuminate the inside of the head by shining the light through the neck hole. If you notice spots shining through the surface, there is mold inside the head that must be killed and cleaned. Do this by mixing hot water with a little bit of liquid dish soap – don't use bleach! Pour the mixture inside the head and use a baby bottle nipple brush to clean the inside of the head as best you can. Dump the water out and rinse it. Dry the inside of the head by draining it as best you can and placing the head in front of a fan with the wind blowing up into the neck hole. Be sure to move the head around often to dry up the puddles of water that will set.

Now, clean the bodies well and once the heads are completely dry inside, replace them onto the bodies.

If you notice any stains on the body or face, you can apply a small amount of zit cream on the spot and set it in the sun for a day or two – serious stains may take several days, but eventually, they will come out of the surface.

The doll's clothing should be soaked in some warm water with color-safe laundry detergent for about fifteen minutes. Rinse the clothes and lay them out to dry.

Redress the dolls and continue to pack them.

Pack the Dolls

To pack the dolls properly, you will need some clean socks and small boxes.

Slide the dolls head-first into the socks to protect them from dust and to keep their hair in place. Dolls with curly hair should be stored in socks that are very loose fitting so that the curls don't get crushed.

Place them neatly into boxes without stacking them on top of each other. This will help to keep their clothing from becoming wrinkled, their hair messed up and their faces from being misshaped.

Store the Dolls

For best results, store the dolls in a climate controlled setting. These, and all of your other vintage toys must be kept somewhere that will not experience high and low temperatures and high humidity. A climate-controlled storage unit is an excellent place to store these items while the value grows.

Your dolls and other vintage goodies can bring quite a profit now, but will only continue to increase in value over the years. These tips will help you protect the investment for years until you are ready to part with the collection for a nice profit.

If you're looking for a place to store  your dolls, contact storage units like Walsh Moving & Storage.