Another wet, squally Sunday so I decided to tidy up what I call my “dolly trolley” and it occurred to me to show it to you. I do most of my doll cleaning in the kitchen so it seems practical to keep the supplies there.

This three-wheeled trolley was meant to hold vegetables. David bought two of these years ago and used them in the garage for some of his hobby stuff so when I found them, dusty and abandoned, I decided to repurpose this one for doll cleaning supplies. Let me show you what’s in it.

On the top shelf, I keep the things I use most often:

• shampoo and conditioner,
• dishwashing liquid,
• fabric conditioner,
• hair gel,
• acne cream for cleaning stains
• cotton buds
• Brushes and combs,
• hairpins,
• rubber bands
• scissors

I don’t often use nail polish remover but it is handy for some paint removal. Naomi and I use it to de-beard our male fashion dolls as we don’t like beards and moustaches on guys, even vinyl ones. I do like Twin Pines of Maine’s 911 and Remove-Zit but as I have to get them from the USA they are really too expensive for me to buy for rescue dolls. I also use bi-carb soda (baking soda) for stubborn water-based stains.

The middle shelf has:

• hair clips. I would like to find some smaller ones for the fashion dolls,
• cotton pads which I sometimes use for cleaning,
• emery boards which can be handy for sanding off blemishes although you have to be very careful doing this.
• plastic straws can be cut up for curlers. I do apologise to any Zero Wasters reading this. They last for ages because I reuse them but when I finally run out I will buy paper ones.

I rearranged the bottom shelf a bit as I decided the hairpins and cotton buds needed to be on the top shelf. On the bottom are the balloons I bought when experimenting with balloon outfits for Barbie, there is fabric paint for an experiment in making fashion doll shoes. I haven’t tried this yet. The small pliers are handy for some little jobs and save getting my toolbox out. Finally a few old hand towels and face washers for drying dolls after the cleaning process.

I’m quite pleased with how this is working out so far as I can put the trolley in a corner and just wheel it out when I need it.  A lot of these things are items I’d have around the house anyway and don’t require special containers but I may get some smaller ones to fill with things like fabric softener and dishwashing liquid. My Dawn is a sample one as you can’t actually buy it here except online and it is ridiculously expensive. I have recently discovered that in Australia Fairy Platinum which is made by the same company has a very similar consistency to Dawn so I will buy this in future and always have some in the kitchen. I also have a couple of spray bottles for mixing fabric conditioner and water which works as an alternative to hair conditioner and gel and water which I sometimes use for styling messy hair. I had a lot of odd bottles of shampoo at home that I’ve gradually been using up but dishwashing liquid works fine for dolls hair as well.

I hope you have enjoyed a look at how I organise my cleaning supplies.