American Girl dolls might have been one of the "it" toys of the '90s — and in fact, they are still popular today. However, the American Girl brand expanded far beyond the dolls and their stories. The company also published books for young women, from DIY books about crafting to advice books about puberty, friendship, and beauty.
Our favorite, perhaps unsurprisingly, is Groom Your Room: Terrific Touches to Brighten Your Bedroom, a book published in 1997 that offers decorating and organizing tips for bedrooms. Curious to know if the tips have held up all these years — and to laugh at some of the '90s throwbacks — we flipped through its pages to see what advice still works today.
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1. Tidy up.
The book opens with a suggestion for what to do before tackling new decor or organization systems: clean. From picking up dirty laundry and sorting through loose papers to tossing what you don't need (Marie Kondo would be proud), it's best to start a redecorating project with a tidy space. And that advice still holds true today. Two classically '90s tips from this section include wearing a fanny pack to store tidbits you pick up as you clean and listening to music with a "portable stereo" — but feel free to skip those two.
2. Decorate your light switch plates.
Light switch plates can be quite dull, so American Girl suggests decorating them for a little pizzazz. Some of their DIY ideas are a little over the top — they suggest gluing silk flowers or rickrack to the plates — but we love the idea of gluing "bits of brightly colored paper onto your switch plate." Well, we'd probably recommend using peel-and-stick wallpaper, but the idea is the same. You can also buy a decorative switch plate if you don't want to go the DIY route.
3. Give your special collection its own spot.
If you're a collector of any kind, whether it be plants, matchboxes, or vintage posters, your collection should be displayed in the home, and that's precisely what American Girl suggests. That fits right into the cluttercore trend that's so popular today. Of course, American Girl's collection advice covers one of the biggest toys of the '90s (other than its own dolls): Beanie Babies. The book suggests making a three-tiered hanging bin to display your collection.
4. Use smaller containers to organize your things.
Here's another Marie Kondo–approved tip. American Girl recommends decluttering by creating DIY organization systems using upcycled jars, cardboard boxes, or even over-the-door shoe storage for objects other than shoes. Instead of leaving your cardboard boxes (or cereal boxes, as is recommended in another tip) bare, the book suggests covering them with wrapping or contact paper, which we think is a good idea too.
5. Add life to your pillows with patterns.
American Girl suggests gluing ribbons or painting patterns on your pillowcase, and while we're not entirely fans of that idea (the texture might be uncomfortable), we do love patterned pillowcases to add a little flair to your bedding. And if you'd prefer solid pillowcases, you could always go with a patterned sham.
6. Paint your wood chairs.
If you've ever hacked IKEA furniture, you probably already know this tip — you can paint unfinished wood furniture, including chairs, to customize the look. American Girl suggests painting stars onto a chair or opting for a full rainbow effect, both of which bring very '90s vibes. You can go bold with your patterns or colors like that, or you can opt for a more subdued color. The choice is yours!