2023 in Review 1: the great decluttering of Mom's collections

 These are the survivors from decluttering my late mother's extensive doll collection (we are talking over 1000 dolls spread across four rooms!) and my much smaller collection. Obviously, I've bought more dolls this year (at a pace I don't intend to sustain), but that's for another day.

This 2023 recap is a monument to having sold, donated, or given away on FBM so, so many dolls and dollhouses!

Some of my favorite moments:

• In selling the dollhouses and some of the Playmobil, I consistently met delightful buyers who were so excited to get a bargain. One of my happiest afternoons was sitting with two buyers and a box of furniture and accessories that I was letting them have free or cheap, listening to them be delighted over items I'd ceased to care about. This whole process has surely done something to boost dollhouse love among a younger generation. I met a number of lovely people as repeat buyers or freebie takers, too. And the son of one of Dad's friends is now the Playmobil Tycoon of his kindergarten.
• Photographing vintage playsets was fun, and those buyers were nice enough.
• Kelly collectors are adorable, and Kelly lots were the most fun to sell.
• One My Twinn buyer told me about how she chose that doll because it reminded her of a childhood friend. There was also a buyer of over 100 vintage dollhouse dolls who was charming and saved me so much listing and shipping time.

All this stuff is out in the world, giving more joy than it could possibly have given to me alone, even if I'd liked more of it.

The survivors are:

• Fashionista Teresa, who I'd found at a thrift store and given to Mom for a birthday.
• Manbun Ken, my grail doll from the TRU going-out-of-business sale.
• Articulated Kelly, who was a long-time grail doll from Mom's collection and makes a good body comparison doll. I'd originally intended to trade her in for a different doll from the same line, but she grew on me.
• Scarlet the Sparkle Girlz Mini, who I bought in Connecticut. 
• Vinyl dog and white tiger from Mom's collection, because they're cute.
• Felted dog from Target because I was totally taken with those when I bought it.

What I learned was that I'm happiest with a leaner, more focused collection, where I have space and time to make clothes and furniture for them.

A later recap will discuss the dolls I've bought this year, which was definitely a pace I won't be keeping up in future years!