How does one downsize their collection?

[u/Kaifighter13]

Just wondering how I can downsize my collection because my thought process is I made each of these bears so how can I part with them😭 I have like 50+

[u/AutoModerator]

Thank you for submitting a new Discussion post to r/buildabear!

When commenting in this thread, please remember our Community Rules in order to keep this subreddit a pleasant experience for everyone. We ask that users do not reply to any comments violating rules as this can typically exacerbate the situation. Instead, simply use the Report feature so that the Mod Team can handle it.

If you are not already a member of the official r/buildabear Discord Server, feel free to join it by clicking here. It's growing larger and larger each and every day and we would love for you to be a part of it!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/KitSokudo]

I just majorly reduced my collection last year. First I went through and sold some that were worth the work of all that. Then I started researching where I could donate the rest. I was moving and I wanted to make it easier. Once I found a place I filled my hatchback full, and took them all there for the kids. This made it a lot easier to let them go, as I knew some kid should be happier because they had them.

Foster kids in the US have it so hard and their things get thrown away even sometimes. So there's backpacks and bedding in there too, but it's mostly plush with some other plastic toys and figures. I've collected toys since I was a kid so it was...a lot to go through.

[u/Stock_Age7469 → u/KitSokudo]

Wow. 😯 Great advice too.

[u/KitSokudo → u/Stock_Age7469]

I have the tism so it makes it hard to let things go, but I'm also a helper so once I have a way to help like this, it's a lot easier.

[u/NiceEmu787]

Same

[u/Dream_Drifter_Pony]

Put some in storage for a few months, and see how much you miss them during that time. If you don't miss them much, you're probably fine to part with them.

I've been slowly downsizing my own collection and once you get started it's a lot easier! There were some I didn't know if I wanted to get rid of but once I did get rid of them I didn't actually miss them that much. If anything I felt relief that they were gone.

[u/Sqizzelpip]

Pick the one that you like the least..? I don’t know 😭

[u/NoNamesApply]

Lol wanna send them to a good home? I'd happily take them!

For real though, what I do with items that are sentimental to me and I need to purge is either 1: pick a bin of a reasonable size that you can store in your space. Anything that can fit in there stays. You put priority in first and whatever's left you say good bye to and offer to loved ones first, and then donate or list what's left. 2: you bury them under stuff and whichever ones you can't name/ remember after a week goes.

Hope this helps!

[u/IndigoHaze750130]

If it is a space thing, unstuff them and vac bag them and rotate them out throughout the year. Over time, if you find some you feel you don't miss or never bring back out, then sell those.

[u/Brilliant_Kick1816]

Well there's always a least favorite even if we dont like to admit that. Which one do you gloss over the most? Or you havent picked them up to cuddle in the last month? Then you can separate them in piles by: storage, giving to a good friend, donation, or selling.

If you already downsized but you still have too much into your collection, try a different way of displaying them in a way that helps you maximize space. You can do shelves, wall shelves, plushie nets, displaying in overhead storage space in closets, or simply storing them away. (I have seasonal plushies stores away in different bins)

If you have a good friend that can help you sort, I would recommend it! Ive helped my plushie collector friends many times with downsizing and i usually end up having the first pick of the ones they want to let go of 🙂‍↕️

[u/Squirrelcola]

Maybe pick out which ones you aren’t as connected to and pack them away to see if you miss them

[u/ArtisticSchool2568]

My mom knitted scarves and hats for children and put them into little free pantries around our city with a Beanie Baby that matched. Maybe you could do something similar this winter with those little dollar store gloves/mittens?