10 Tips for Organizing All That Bling

Still inspired by Marie Kondo's little book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I decided to go through my stash of costume jewelry. It was everywhere . . . some in an official "jewelry box", some in a junk drawer, some in the bathroom cabinet . . . you get the idea.

I didn't even know what I had.

Here are some tips I learned during the process.

 

 #1. Start by de-cluttering (de-blinging?).

 

Lay all of your costume jewelry out in one place; I used my big craft table for this part.

Who knew I still had old Ross Perot and Clinton/Gore campaign buttons mixed in with my . . . 

toe rings???

 

#2. Use Marie Kondo's criteria of asking yourself if a piece "sparks joy" when you wear it. If not, out it goes.

Goodbye toe rings!

3. Avoid using that beautiful old jewelry box (we've all got 'em).

If you can't see it  . . . and grab it in a hurry . . . you won't wear it.

(And you'll end up in 10 years with a stash of toe rings you didn't know you had.)

 

4. Store your jewelry near where you get dressed.

 

Yup, mine really is in the bathroom closet.

 

 





5.  Consider using divided jewelry storage that allows you to see what's in it at a glance.
These are from TJ Maxx. I like that they stack.

6. Hang necklaces.

Now you can see them all and quickly choose the color and style you want.
And no more tangles!

I just used four inexpensive hanger bars from Walmart and stacked them down the wall inside my closet.

If you feel like being more creative, there are tons of DIY ideas on the lifestyle blogs and Pinterest.


from brightnest.com

#7 Hang a mirror near your necklaces.
Now you can quickly try one on, or switch it out if it doesn't work.
I loved this mirror the minute I saw it at Marshall's a few years ago.

#8. Try some fun & funky ways to display your earrings.
Same reason . . . if you see them, you're more likely to wear them.

I was inspired by this idea - using a grater to hold earrings. Since I was running out of shelf space, I modified the project so that I could hang my earrings on the wall (again near a mirror).


DIY instructions at endlessacresfarmtique.com

It was very simple . . . an inexpensive grater from Marshall's, a can of spray primer, and a can of spray paint. I roughed up the metal grater a bit with sand paper before spraying it.

I found these electrical nails (or whatever they're called) in a jar in the garage. They worked perfectly as "spacers" too, keeping the grater away from the wall just enough to hang the earrings.

Done!

( I had also forgotten that I had earrings shaped like Maine Whoopie Pies . . . bottom right of my new grater rack.)

#9. Think outside the box!
Some of the best storage ideas are probably already in your house, or garage, or cellar, or shed. Look at old things in new ways. Turn them upside down and sideways and look again. If you can help it, you don't need to bring more "things" into your home just to store what you already have.

 

Why can't a no-longer-used tennis racket work as an earring rack?

Or an old rake, a dented bulletin board, a rusty old screen, or  . . . . see what I mean?



from upcyclethat.com
 

10. Don't forget to lock away your fine jewelry. Mine is in a fireproof safe, after a robbery at our farmhouse about five years ago taught me this lesson. There are some things that you'll never want to hang on a tennis racket in the bathroom closet.

How do you store your jewelry?

 

 

p.s. No blogging last week. We were "Upta Camp" on a beautiful lake in New Hampshire. Here's proof that I don't spend all my time reorganizing my jewelry. (I have a life!)


 

"Upta Camp" in the Casita



My sister Joanne camped with us in her red t@b

Two crazy sisters, one beautiful lake

 

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