What's your collecting style?

Hi folks! Are you having a great 2011?


I made a somewhat big decision this week. I vowed not to buy any new toys until I go through my tubs of toys and properly categorize them. This may take several weeks but it will allow me to save some cash and get things settled. Instead of having toys scattered on weird surfaces all over the house, they will be in the tubs and labelled baggies I want them to be in. This should make for some sanity all around.

I don't know about you, but I find a lot of joy in meticulous collecting. I like hunting down what exact pieces went in what sets and making lists and then finding the missing parts. I love having a completed set too.

To this end, I have created a sort-of OCD process. When I get a toy I immediately figure out what's missing, if anything. I add that information to a color-coded spreadsheet and then "accrue" for the missing part and its cost. Accruing is a fancy word for figuring out the probable cost and creating a spending forecast. I learned this behavior when I worked in accounting.

For example, if I get a Rainbow Brite doll, but she's missing her dress. I might add $7-$10 for the missing dress and then add it to a saved search on eBay (in order to possibly buy it later). After doing this for every toy part I have bought or intend to buy I can see what it will cost me over time. Then the fun is trying to beat out that cost by buying smart.

But not everyone is as brain-damaged as I am. Some people just like amassing without rhyme or reason. Everything is in their memory and nothing is written down. If a piece breaks off or gets lost, they don't fuss or fret. They don't go buy another. They just stick the thing on a shelf and love it anyway.

So, what is your style? Would you be afraid to see a spending forecast, or would it be fun and helpful to know what might be in your fiscal toy future?

This spending embargo will be tough to control, but I know it will lend to a balance that will put peace in my mind. Step one is to get off eBay. That place will be the death of me!

Tomorrow I will try and post some pictures of things that came in the mail this week!

My Lady Lovely Locks Wants

In an effort to get my wish list under control I decided to use regular posts and link to them through the static "want list" page. It's getting too huge to fit on one page anymore (too many pictures!) So you will see these periodically as I go through my junk! They will not replace regular posts, just add to them.

LAST UPDATED 2/09/11

I need a few Castle Lovely Locks pieces: Green Bird, Pink Chipmunk, Saucer, Flag, Purple Bunny

All the kittens and accessories, except Sapphire Shy

Fairy Tail Bedroom Playset

Beauty Magic Throne Playset

Headband set (from what I understand, the pixietails vary)

Missing Merry Curl pieces: Everything but pixietail (incl dragon)

Missing Sweet Curl pieces: Everything but dragon itself

Complete Enchanted Island Maiden Fairhair and Curly Crown. I need an upgrade for Enchanted LLL doll (body only)

Sparkle Pretty LLL's comb

Birthday Party Set, Teatime, Garden Party Gown

Ballerina LLL Pink Bird

Slumber set, Riding Outfit

Plush wrap, satiny robe

LilySprinkle's Aqua Turtle, Lily Splash's hat & Pixie, Entire Lilybubble Set

Perky & Pearly Peeks & Accessories

 * I also need misc LLL dolls for customs!

Please email me at poseableplace@gmail.com if you want to sell or trade!

GO TO MAIN WANTS PAGE

Cleaning Stuffed Animals with Water Pressure

When I find a stuffed animal from a thrift store it often has dirt and grime on it. Since I am a collector my goal is to clean it without compromising its other physical features such as stitching, plastic-painted eyes, tags (which we'd like to keep nice and bright) or the fur itself. I have tried putting it in the pillowcase in the washing machine on all settings and I am usually very disappointed about how it looks when it comes out. The fur piles, any hair mats, and the overall shape changes. The factory luster on the other parts of its body is worn off and often the tag has faded white. This seems to be the case with vintage stuffies only, as newer ones tend to hold their own in the wash cycle and not come out too damaged.

So when I found this Birthday Bear plush at a thrift store this week I decided to try a new approach. We recently purchased a Waterpik water flosser, which shoots high-powered streams of water out of the nozzle. This water-stream cleans between your teeth better than floss, but when my husband and I were fooling around with it we discovered it can also be used to clean grit out of the faucet, shower and other small places that collect grime. It stays completely sanitary because the nozzle doesn't have to touch anything. Just aim and shoot!

Birthday Bear had a lot of dirty spots on his back. I try not to think about what caused them!

Here you can see a spot on the back of his head, and there's one (not pictured) on his tail too. A big, brown glob of gook (ew!).

I cranked the water up to 10, which would strip your gums off your bones if you tried it on your mouth, but for this purpose it was perfect! The spots washed off lickety quick and Birthday was set in the tub to dry.

This device isn't all that expensive at $50 or so, and I have noticed a great difference in my teeth since using it. I am really thrilled to have also found a safe way to spot clean my plush!

Lots More Fun Stuff! Finds & Trades for January 12, 2011

What a fun day for toys!

I get off work early on Wednesdays so I always try to hit the thrift store on the way home. The first place I drove didn't have anything.  It can get pretty discouraging to scrounge around in old junk and come up empty handed. But, I started to use a philosophy to make myself feel better when I go out of my way to drive to a thrift store and can't seem to find much. I believe each store I step into has something that wants to find me. It wants me to bring it home. When I start to think that way it lessens the feeling of discouragement when I only find one small thing. It kind of makes me feel like I rescued something and it was worth the drive.

I was really thrilled with my finds at the second store. Especially the Fluppy Dogs!

I just made up my mind last Friday to start collecting these, but I didn't want them if they didn't have the bow and collar. So low and behold I find one (first one I have EVER found in eleven years of thrifting) and what do you know, it has all its pieces! Then I got the baby with its bonnet. What fun!

For a girl who hates animatronics, I sure own a lot of Teddy Ruxpins. This one came with a tape. Do you think it works? I doubt it highly. No TR's I find ever have! ;)

Check out the Smooshees haul! That was the funnest find. I was also pretty happy about the Glo Worm. I need to test him to see if he still glows.

Some of these finds will end up on my trades page. Let me know if you are interested in anything.

So, speaking of trades . . .

When I came home I had some packages waiting for me! Nice people on The My Little Pony Trading Post have kindly traded some fun things with me!

If any of my trading friends read this blog THANK YOU!!

There on the bottom of the first picture you will see some Moon Dreamer and Glo Friends DVDs! They contain the complete series of each show. I can't wait to watch them one day. I might even take screenshot stills to share. My girls really like them so far. Now I need to get my hands on all the vintage Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, and Lady Lovely Locks episodes.

So, this big all-at-once haul has really got me thinking. I need to create some sort of "system" of organization. An inbox of some sort. My goal is to have all my toys stored like this:

I have about 50% of my toys stored in baggies with labels on them inside labeled tubs. The rest are in jumbles in tubs and need to be organized. I was thinking that from now on I will put all new toys in some sort of inbox that I would ideally go through on a regular basis--bagging and tagging things as they come in, noting what's missing and all. If anyone has a process you'd like to share, please comment. I certainly need to ditch the old "throw it all in a tub" thing, even if it means I need to hold off toy buying for a month or two while I get it all organised.

Christmas Pictures!

So how many of you still have Christmas decorations up? I do! The halls are still decked at my house. But soon Valentines day will be here, so I aim to take them down this week. For now I want to keep my promise to post pictures of my kids Ponyville Christmas! You may remember this post where I bragged that I found all the sets locally for about $70, a great deal!

Here's a picture of me, my two sisters and my brother in law having a ball setting it all up on Christmas eve while our kids slept in the basement. I am the one in the red.

Even my dad got into the action. Everyone had a blast!

Here is what they woke up to Christmas morning! They absolutely loved the Ponyville sets.

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Just for fun I am going to post some other fun toy Christmas pictures from my past. Good times!

You can see my My Little Pony jammies in this one!

 

HAPPY *LATE* HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! HOPE YOUR 2011 BRINGS SOME AWESOME TOY FINDS!