I really prefer to re-use things i.e. vintage bowls, etc. but my jewelry collection is a bit of a mess. I have a cut glass ashtray (very small) in the bathroom with my most often worn earrings and necklaces in it, a larger cut glass bowl in my little dressing room with more necklaces, and then a small (like six by six by six) cube of drawers with pins, other earrings, necklaces and bracelets. It's not horrible, but it is not great either.
What do you do??
Bead organizing kits. I think I bought them at Target and I use three smaller ones rather than something large:
Sorry about the long link. I hit send and then realized how long it was. If it doesn't work, go to Amazon and search 'bead organizer.'
I use this jewelry tree:
http://www.lovejewelrydisplays.com/jewelry-display-W2a.html
I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!
I bought it on Ebay for around $40 so it's a little pricy, but so worth it!
I do have a separate expandable coat rack for my longer necklaces and more bracelets:
Thanks you guys! I also love that jewelry tree. I like the bead organizing kit - it appeals to the super-organizer in me but I want to display the jewelry too so it is perhaps too practical. I did have a mug tree that I used for a while but I think I rummage-saled it.
I don't want to display mine but just want it sorted so I was thinking about sticking some hooks (I have some with a sticky pad) inside a wardrobe door. Unfortunately the wardrobes belong to the landlord so I will oprob try and mount them on a large piece of card and hang that inside a wardrobe door.
I used to have an earring tree but it was too hard to keep up, so I gave up. Then, because I am cheap, I had about 4 teensy little secondhand boxes. This was also too hard to keep up over the long term. I am thinking I'm a bit older than many of you, so let me say by "long term" I mean 30 years.
About 10 years ago, I got a largish jewelry box at Costco and consolidated everything. I will say that jewelry is not something you should unclutter. It's small, so weeding out the collection won't gain you that much. And, it will be back in style. (in the 80s I threw away all my mom's rhinestone pins...and today I put my cute Bluebird girl pin on my jacket -- keep that stuff unless it's truly junk or is broken!). Having it all in one spot helps me avoid duplication.
Yes, the box is a bit of a jumble, but it's one small jumble, I can close the lid, and it's in my bedroom so guests will never see it.
So, despite my very real OCD organizational tendencies, this is one jumble that's okay with me the way it is.
i really don't have enough jewellery to organise.
i keep it in a single elfa drawer in my wardrobe....it's a grid thing so everything is separate and visible.
i have found that by having it all separate and visible, i wear it all more often....because it's no big drama to just pick out some earrings when my clothes are all right there too.
Badkitti, you can use hooks with adhesive that can be pulled off the surface when you leave. 3M "Command" is a common brand name in the US, and there's another one very common in Europe whose name I'm spacing on right now.
My necklaces and bracelets are on just such hooks on the inside of IKEA's shoe-wardrobe/full-length-mirror. Brooches are pinned to a ribbon on another hook in the same location. Earrings are in a little box with holes for the studs, that sits on the floor of the shoe-wardrobe.
I buy the inexpensive semi-clear plastic compartmentalized tackle boxes. They come in different lengths and widths, but they are usualy 1/2" to 1" deep. They work great for chains and earrings. The compartments help everything to stay sorted and it is easy to find what I am looking for.
Morfydd, Those are the sticky hooks I have! Marvellous - they shall go up in the new place - the small bedroom has a mirror and sink foir make up so I shall probably keep them there.
I had to unclutter my jewelery a while back before i moved b/c i had accumulated so much from places like goodwill and salvation army, i used to buy anything that looked cool or looked like it could be made into something else b/c my mom likes to make bead stuff. I had a small jewelery armoire that i bought for like 100$ a big lots and i had it stuff full of stuff i never wore. so i got rid of most of it, and only kept a few of the thrift store finds that i thought looked really cool that were made of glass beads. gave the bulk of it to my mom. now i have a small jewelry box i had got from my grandmother before she died and a small glass dish with a lid that was a Christmas gift from a friend and everything fits in those.
Really interesting seeing everyone's responses to this. I used a clear acrylic jewellery hanger for a while, but I got tired of dusting it, having things fall off it when I bumped it, and having a bowl with a jumble of stud earrings and brooches that wouldn't go in it... And then I accidentally knocked it off the table it was on and it broke. Hooray! So I ditched it, and at the same time got rid of most of the jewellery I don't currently wear. Funnily enough, now that I've uncluttered, I wear the pieces that are left a lot more and enjoy them immensely - something I didn't expect!
I think I've decided to get a proper jewellery box with dividers, something lined that won't scratch pearls and silver. That's what I'm worried about with those plastic bead boxes. I do LOVE the idea of Bandicoot's Elfa drawer though! One day, when I have the wardrobe of my dreams...
I have an "official" jewelry box on my dresser, a little tall and very elegant, with tiny drawers and fold-out doors. Except... it's mostly filled with unused jewelry, safe keys and the foreign coins I collect. I wear one necklace almost all of the time (had to swap it out for the rather gaudy but still sweet necklace my boys bought me for V Day; it's now serving as a sun-catcher in the bathroom!) and about five pairs of 'hook-style' earrings.
Since necklace + earrings are the only jewelry I wear, I hang the hook earrings on the lip of glass cup in my windowsill that holds pens & nail clippers. Poor lonely jewelry box...
Another way you could organize jewelry is to hang up a pretty French bulletin board, stick tacks in it, and hang necklaces and bracelets from them. Here's a picture:
http://www.redbookmag.com/recipes-home/tips-advice/clutter-tips?click=main_sr
Well, I don't have a lot of jewelry, but I do wear it more often when it's out where I can see it. I covered a cork bulletin board in some fabric, and use straight pins to hang up my necklaces. it's hung on the wall by my dresser. I also have the EVA foam trays for earrings, etc.
@jspeck08, I love both of your solutions!
I actually have the big giant jewelry box from Pottery Barn. I mean the supremo, monster, super expensive - was an incredibly thoughtful gift from my husband.
http://bit.ly/93lj35
But, it's actually not that well organized for me. First, I have a lot of long earrings and they just end up dumped in the middle sections that are open flat sections. All a jumble. I have like two rings and it has this super long sections for rings (or small earings) to poke into. Then you have to LIFT that top section, to get to the next necklace area. And, the tray that comes out at the bottom for necklaces has to lay horizontally which doesn't work well. Sigh, it was this incredibly thoughtful and amazing item to receive, but it's just not working that well.
I like your solutions @jspeck08, especially the rack for necklaces b/c I have a lot that are multi-tiered as are in style these days. Or I mix several when I wear them. They aren't "precious stones" or crazy expensive jewelry but they will get mangled if I leave them horizontally lying around. Right now, I've taken to putting them over our sconces on the wall and even around my lamp - clearly NOT a good solution! :-)
One thing I'll add - and this is not a long-term, nor as high-class solution, but is adorable. I have little ones and my youngest decorated an egg crate and gave it to me. It actually works really well for casual necklaces, each goes in the little egg space. So sweet - and sentimental. Eventually, I'll phase it out but it's a cute idea and probably works better than my super expensive jewelry box!
One question for y'all - do you ever get nervous that all your jewelry is out and visible, from a "theft" perspective. Not that I've ever been broken into but you see all the shows. I kind of think, eh, they'd find it anyway, but I just wondered what you thought.
After years of trying many different ways of organizing my extensive jewelry collection (I have well over 100 pair of earrings and more than 30 necklaces), I finally found a system that works. For the earrings, I use stackable acrylic divided trays like these (http://www.shopgetorganized.com/item/jewelry_stax/19965). They come in various configurations for small jewelry (18 and 36 compartments), pins (6 compartments), bracelets or necklaces. They're the only things that have ever worked for me to keep pairs of earring together because all I have to do is stick them in the compartments when I take them off. For my necklaces, I use a spinnable tie rack and hang them in my closet.
@Patti D. - that link is not found, is there another one? Oh, it might be the parens at the end?
Just saw this one on eBay - it's a doozy but sure would hold a lot! I have more wall space than dresser space.
http://bit.ly/aFLNbR
Kind of like this one - it's not as big and looks like it would hold a lot. Reasonable price too (four different stains avail: white, natural, mahogany, black)
http://bit.ly/by1QSY
OH - one more thing! I gave my sister a mesh jewelry organizer (really best for earrings) but don't have one myself and it is great, esp for dangling earrings. I just saw this while searching and it's a cute idea, especially for do it yourselfers out there: take a picture frame and replace center with mesh.
http://bit.ly/aGfqVP
Very cute and would match your taste and decor then. I might do it!
I use a hanging organizer. http://www.theshoppingchannel.com/product/prezerve+hanging+door+organizer+mirror+503632.do?search=basic&page=1&N=0&Ntt=jewelry%20organizer&Ns=P_DATE_CREATED
And I also hang those that I use often on the closet wall. It was featured on Ikea Hacker. http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2009/04/its-girl-thing.html
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