i kinda had to move my toy office into the basement of my house, and it is pretty damn cold down there, which got me wondering if there were pros and cons in the conditions for housing your collection (humidity, temperatures, blah blah blah)...

I had to move mine in my toy kitchen and I must say it's abit cramped there.

Unfortunately most of my shelving is along a wall where a heater runs. I think about it a lot. I do my best to keep temperatures within a "safe" range for most plastics, but still the heat concerns me, mostly with small things like doll shoes & accessories.

My bigger concern is actually sunlight. I don't think about it until the weekends, but the room where most of my toys are gets fairly bright during the day. I'm at work 5/7 days, so I don't notice, but on sunny weekends I go "wow, that's probably not good." Its tough, but when you live in a small space, there aren't many options. I just try to keep the really important stuff out of the heat & sun best I can.

I would be on the lookout for any mold or dampness which can creep into some basements.

I would think the cool darkness of a basement would be good for vinyl toys. With the exception of the moisture as stated by liquidsky.

cool and dark>hot and sunny

Extremes in hot and cold, humidity, and any kind of light can damage your toys. Generally speaking, what is most comfortable for you will be best for your toys.

Entropy is inevitable, though. Embrace it.

I'm sure most people know of a local record store where all the posters in the window have turned blue due to exposure to the sun; that's why I recommend spending a few bucks on anti-UV window film at the hardware store. It's pretty easy to apply and you can cover a large window for $10 or less.

Or just displaying your toys out of sunlight? I have my stuff broken into 2 groups. 1 group is on a dresser and gets about 3 min. of sunlight a day (I've counted, might be more when the seasons change) and it's not totally direct, there are curtains blocking it but it still gets through. These toys are all solid, maaaybe 1 or 2 GID I don't mind there. NO CLEAR, NO HP's, MOSTLY NO GID. Those all go on a bookshelf that gets NO sunlight ever. Ideally they'd all get no sunlight, but I gotta rework stuff.

I cover my windows with an extremely cheap anti UV plastic called a trash bag. The toys are in the bedroom and the only light in there is the one we turn on and off. I keep it a dark as possible. It's like being on a submarine, but the vinyl stays nice and pretty.

Keeping real in the ville!

honestly, unless you live in a dungeon (which is cool if you're heavily into S&M) or alaska i can't imagine where you could keep toys that don't get ANY sunlight at all.

I only have 1 wall with windows and they're not floor to ceiling. ALSO, in that same room, there's an extra wall to block the windows. ALSO My book shelf is short and fits UNDER the windows, so being on the same wall as the windows the sun can't hit them.

I tinted all the glass on my Detolfs w/ UV protection film.
Lol, I wish.

its 46.5C here today and the air conditioner isn't working half the time so my stuff has probably just melted into a gooey pool of sofubi goodness.

Me and my g/f kinda war about the windows. We have 3 standard sized windows in a row in the living room. Obviously it lets alot of light in but the toys are never in direct sunlight. In the morning she blasts open the shades but I end up closing the shade closest to the toys. I haven't noticed a decrease in gid glow capacity or fade on any toys. I think as long as the toys are not kept by direct sunlight or moisture you should be fine....

apart from sunlight, trying to keep it out of kitchen area,
i was told that fumes from cooking & toys no good friends at all!!!

thanks for all the input. glad to hear i'm not alone in my anti-entropy craziness!

i'm like a hypochondriac, but for my toys...