The Space Issue

x-posted from LJ (which is the mirror? I can't remember :P)

It's finally happened: I'm running out of space. ._. See?

My husband has said absolutely no more bookcases in the room where I display my stuff (even though I'm certain I could fit one more!). I am now facing the dilemma of what to do as I continue to acquire stuff. >_>

I am certain there's still some expansion on the existing shelves that I could have with some serious rearranging. I have a whole shelf that just has gashapon on it and I can spread those around to make room on that shelf for larger things. I have a few shelves near the bottom that have lots of space to fill, but I worry about stacking things in so tightly that you can't really see what's there. I also have some shelves that are actually being used as storage for boxes and some other things like comics.

I've been getting a lot of boxed dolls lately and they really do take up a lot of space. I think the dark blue boxed dolls are probably the set of which I have the most, so I was thinking if I had to pack stuff up, it might be those that get put away. But the thought of not displaying the entire collection really bothers me. What's the point of having these pretty things if they aren't there for me to sit and look at and enjoy? I feel like if things are going to be packed up and put in storage they might as well just be sold. But I spent so much time trying to GET these things, is it really worth it to then turn around and sell them in trade for space for different things?

Or, do I need to recognize that there are just some things that I want MORE and I need to be willing to part with the things I want less to have them? Do I need to have 6" long face Irwin dolls in dark and light blue boxes? Do I NEED to have two sets of 17" dolls? I like each set because they are unique - thinking about parting with one of them seems like a terrible decision to make.

I know a lot of people don't collect the dark blue boxed dolls because they are "ugly," but I really like them mostly because of the villains that were made. Do I get a point where I sell the old versions of dolls when I have the new editions? Do I sell my 1997 11" Super Sailor Moon just because I have the 2001 version? They aren't the same doll and they have aesthetic differences and intrinsic value in those differences. At least to me they do.

The other option is deboxing. Ordinarily I'm not a deboxer of unopened dolls, but I don't think the dark blue Irwin dolls really maintain that much higher a value by being sealed. I think as long as I kept all the bits and could repackage them up to look nice they would maintain a resale value. Not to mention, how likely am I to want to sell them anyway? I assume at some point in my life I will decide this is silly and I need to sell all or most of this stuff... (right?) ... but I have no idea what the market for Sailor Moon toys will be like then (if it even still exists) so should I WORRY about resale value? Or should I just display the dolls with their stands in nice, neat little rows of compact space? Should I make the sacrifice of the nice pretty box in order to have the option of keeping them all on display?

The sum of my problem is that I have over 80 dolls and most of them are in boxes.

OVER 80 DOLLS. These really take up the most space. And I don't really even have the Japanese ones that I'd really like to get. I feel like I haven't started. ^o^ There are another 70 dolls on my wish list. Can you imagine? Where on these shelves could I fit 150 dolls in boxes?! It would be like the entire collection! xD

tl;dr I need to be realistic at some point and commit myself to either SELLING or STORING.

I don't like either. :\