How to pack Dolls for a Move

 Moving is never easy!
But, when packing and moving 
antique and vintage dolls, it's 
important to take special care.

Since I am packing and moving all my dolls,
This is a great time to discuss proper handling.

Antique bisque articulated dolls may need 

to have their heads removed from 

their body and filled with tissue paper

 to protect their eye mechanism. 

If you have dolls of this kind, 

Do your research!

I do not have any of the above dolls, but

I do have china head dolls

Clara from the 1890s, and my other china 

head dolls will have their heads, arms and...

feet wrapped in tissue paper and

then in bubble wrap.

Clara is ready to go!

When packing composition dolls

special care must be taken to keep

them dry and protected.

Composition dolls should be wrapped

in unbleached linen or clean cotton.

NO BUBBLE WRAP!!

This is mostly when considereing

long term storage, as any plastic

can hold in moisture and moisture

is damaging to Composition dolls.

After warapping Sally in linen, I then used

a pillow case to cushion and protect her.

I am only using carboard boxes

and my dolls will go with me

in our personal vehicle.

My tiny compo dolls and my

grandmother's tiny china doll I put 

in a smaller box for their safety.

Each doll was carefully wrapped

in cotton so they won't rub.

I am also using my doll quilts and linens 

for extra cushioning. Crumpled paper 

filled the gaps so there is no movement.

This box has a lid and the whole thing 

went into a larger box.

This way small dolls will not get

lost in the packaging of bigger dolls!!

Plastic bins are fine for temporary storage

and transportation, but not so great

for long term as they can hold onto moisture 

and damage dolls, especially composition dolls.

My Crissy growing hair dolls all had their hair

retracted as far as possible to protect their

ponytails.  All my American Girl dolls also 

had their hair carefully wrapped to 

protect their hair from breakage.

All my dolls are safely packed and ready to go.

 AGAIN, this is only for transport,

 they will not go into storage!

Sadly, the dolls will be camping out with

 me in a rental house until we find our new house.

So, no dollhouse, no beds, no dressers...

But I did hide a bunch of summer outfits!

Utah here we come!!