How Do I Store My American Girl Collection?

Storage is one of the most pressing issues regarding any fan of American Girl. Tons of outfits, each with their own pair of shoes, socks, and other tiny accessories bound to be whisked away by some mysterious force have made many parents ask, how on earth does one store all of their American Girl Products?

I have been collecting American Girl for 8 years now, and over time my storage system has evolved, but in looking back at my history, I've decided to show the ways I've stored my American Girl things.

The Beginning

This simple closet, made with one dowel rod and a doll box, was my first ever doll closet. 

Use Mini Doll boxes to add some space to store shoes.

My Doll Box Closet tutorial when I first started collecting American Girl
This is what every single person who ever gets an American Girl Doll should put together, the simplest doll wardrobe. Take your doll box, poke two holes in either side and slide a dowel rod through. If you have the space, you can even have the dowel much longer in length than the width of the box and create hooks on either side for more space, and some display. Using mini doll boxes, some more organization can be given to the space below for shoes, as demonstrated by one lone pair of slippers. Fun fact, the "closet" in this photo was the first one I even made, it's made from Molly's doll box (my first doll) and it hasn't changed much.
It's simple, it doesn't cost much (dowels are super easy to find at craft stores) and it will work as a collection begins. But, it won't last forever.

Boxes

The last boxes left from my days of storing stuff in AG boxes

Split items into categories like "health and wellness items"

I use the box to Rebecca's costume chest to store Historical Accessories that don't have another home, and also giant hats. 

Again, categories like "historical hats" on the left and "historical pants and skirts" on the right, are helpful. 

Re-purposing AG boxes, for a long time, was my preferred method of storage. You split everything you own into categories, and then put it into boxes and label those boxes. The awesome thing is that once a box gets too full, you just split it into categories again. There are a few of these boxes I still use, namely my "Health and Wellness" items, doll food, pet accessories, historical hats and historical pants/skirts. AG boxes are great because you don't have to spend any more money, you simply use the boxes you already have. Some have gotten damaged over the years, but they've been an awesome storage method so far. Boxes, however, do require splitting up the outfits you have, hanging the outfits and then sorting the shoes, socks and other accessories. Boxes don't last forever either, you have to split them a lot of times because, if you keep going for long enough, you'll run out of space. (side note, I have SO MANY BOXES from my 8 years of collecting.)

Higher-Quality storage

Best thing ever! A must for any American Girl collector.

After a while, you're going to need higher quality storage, something that can hold more stuff and hold up for longer than cardboard. That's where Target's Our Generation Wooden Wardrobe comes in. I have a video about it on my youtube channel, but this Wooden Wardrobe is one of the best investments you can make for your doll collection. Why is it better than AG? It's only $60, whereas AG's storage options are always more expensive. It's got different modes of storage, with a drawer, shelves, a rod and space beneath the rod. It's also one of the very few wooden products that Battat makes for their Our generation Dolls. I have packed a ton of stuff into my wooden wardrobe, and if your American Girl fan hopes to be into the brand for more than two years, I highly recommend this piece.
Inside look at the OG Wooden Wardrobe

Historical Collections

After I put all of Rebecca's stuff in her chest, I got inspiration for how to store the rest of my historical items.

My Historical Items are sorted by Character. I have spent a large amount of money over the past year or two collecting storage pieces for my characters, it hasn't been cheap.
The first storage item I got was Rebecca's Costume chest, as part of a lot along with some other stuff. The lot was around $100, but that was a great price considering Rebecca's costume chest was BNIB (brand new in box). Once I got Rebecca's costume chest, I realized that my Rebecca collection was small enough that I could fit everything of hers that I had into it, so I did. I'm sure one day I'll outgrow it, but for now Everything from Rebecca's collection is in Rebecca's costume chest. That concept sparked an idea.

Kaya and Marie Grace/Cécile's collections were the first to get a hanger organizer.

They just look really cool!

I have a third organizer for Melody which was hanging on my wall, but these things can get kind of heavy and the command hook it was on fell off the wall, so I just put it in my closet until I can find a solution to the problem.

Next, I bought these Hanger Organizers from Pleasant Company. Originally, they were sold with books in the velcro pockets, but over the years people now just sell the organizers separately. I found an excellent deal on ebay with two of them for $20, and I found a third one later. These organizers are perfect for medium sized collections. They have enough loops for 8 outfits, they look super cool, and they can hang in a closet if necessary. Although the original ones were Pleasant Company, Mattel also made a purple version to go along with the Just Like You line in the early 2000s. I bought one of these for all of my Girl of the Year stuff. These hanger organizers are awesome, they have plenty of room for a medium sized collection and they look really nice hanging up. The reason I say "Medium Sized" is because Kaya is the only doll who has pieces that don't fit in the organizer. Her furs from her bedroll don't have space to fit in it, but everything else does, including Tatlo's Travois. The Travois, for those who don't know, is a rack that can be tied to Kaya's dog, Tatlo, and he can pull stuff on it, but the rack is huge and doesn't break down much, so the hanger organizer is a relief to be able to keep it somewhere with the rest of Kaya's stuff.

Finally, the biggest storage piece of them all, Molly's Trunk. My Inside look at Molly's Trunk
Molly's Trunk cost me $160, but they go on Ebay for around $200, which was my budget when I bought it earlier this year. The piece is amazing, and I'm so happy I held out for a trunk in great condition. It has two shelves, three drawers, and a rod that can hold quite a bit of clothing, plus floor space below the rod. I keep all of Molly and Emily's items in there, and it is one of the coolest things I own. Trunks of any kind from American Girl or Pleasant Company are going to be expensive, but if you have one doll whose collection you really love, spend the money because it will be so worth it!

Coveted Storage Pieces

Julie's School Locker, it can fit dolls or tons of clothing and accessories- especially long dresses!

Despite all of the storage pieces that I've covered, there are some that I believe are great that I don't have. The first thing that comes to mind is Julie's Locker. It's basically a giant closet that looks like two lockers, has two sides, and you can fit a lot of stuff in it on the shelf above, on the clothing rod, and on the floor below. You should be able to find one for around $100 including shipping, but I decided not to buy one yet because I've almost run out of stuff to store, and my doll box closet is still going strong.

I actually was into collecting when this came around. I've debated on it for a long time. On the one hand, it's a cool accessory for any doll room, but on the other hand, it's kind of... pointless, at least with all the other storage I have in place.

Then there's this pocket organizer American Girl made a few years ago. It always seemed pretty cool, and finding one on Ebay at a reasonable price isn't difficult.

This is my future plan for my Molly and Emily collection. From what I've read, if you have this chifforobe and the trunk, you should be able to fit all of Molly's clothes inside of it...

Molly's chifforobe is one item I would love to find, but it is even more expensive than her Trunk. Still, I've read that Molly's whole collection can be split between the two storage pieces. I'll just have to wait and see though.

The following are various trunks produced throughout Pleasant Company/American Girl history. They are all really expensive.  Each piece can easily cost you $200, and maybe more, on Ebay. I would recommend these pieces, and other expensive pieces like them, only if (1) You have enough items to fill one of these trunks for whatever character you collect and your Doll Box Closet is bursting at the seams. Or, (2) You plan to save the items you have for a future daughter, granddaughter, etc. For those two reasons, I recommend the trunks.

If you collect for a character that doesn't have a specific trunk, pick one that you like the best or one that most closely matches their time period. If you don't have a reason to buy any of these trunks, then don't! Stick with your doll box closet, after all it's basically Free, and you can use American Girl boxes to store everything until you accumulate enough to go up to the next level.

Kirsten's Trunk

Josefina's Trunk, which will probably be next on the list with my growing Josefina collection.

Samantha's Trunk, not as hard to find as Molly's I don't think. But a long way in the future because I don't own a Samantha doll, I just like the trunk. 

Almost forgot about this one, this is Kit's trunk.

Addy's Trunk, with an Addy doll and clothing stored inside. 

Of course one day I would love to own Addy's trunk, Kirsten's trunk, Josefina's trunk, or Samantha's trunk, but those pieces are a long way in the future.
So, start humble, with your doll box "closet", and who knows where you'll go from there.