A big box of sparkly stuff!
Jewelry – See It, Use It!
We love our jewelry! From a home organization perspective, unfortunately, this love leads most of us to collect too much jewelry of all kinds that becomes largely inaccessible when we attempt to store it in a traditional jewelry box that we outgrew when were sixteen!
It's about the display!
There’s one big problem with a stuffed jewelry box – if we can’t find items quickly, we don’t wear them. Then all we have is a mass of jewelry with only a few pieces near the surface that ever see the light of day. We can always buy more jewelry boxes, but the problem remains – the jewelry stays out of sight and out of mind!
There are several inexpensive decluttering tips that can help us keep our jewelry neat, visible and accessible without requiring acres of display space (like at the jewelry store). If it’s highly accessible, then it’s ready to be incorporated into that next killer outfit!
Try the following solutions to get control of your jewelry collection as part of your home organization, especially when you need to make-do with what you likely already have about the house:
Flatware Divider
Convenient space!
Putting an unused or under-used flatware divider to work is a great way to begin. Flatware dividers are readily available at your local hardware store, home center, and even yard sale. They come in a wide variety of configurations to accommodate various pieces of jewelry.
Dividers can then be placed inside any convenient drawer, especially important if you’re living in small quarters. Good home organization principles tell us that available space in the bedroom, bathroom, and even living area, can be used to keep our jewelry accessible.
Put old trays to work!
Ice Cube Tray
Ice cube trays also make suitable dividers. They’re great for small jewelry pieces, including rings, earrings, and pins. They readily fit into small spaces when room is tight.
Finding an unused tray usually means going to the garage or hitting the neighbor’s next yard sale. Worst case, you grab one the next time you visit the market.
Hardware Organizer
Adjustable dividers a plus!
A step up from ice cube trays are hardware organizers or craft organizers that typically offer many more divided areas. Both are readily available at hardware or craft stores.
These types of organizers often have the feature of adjustable dividers so you can create larger or smaller container areas. Many also come with a lid to prevent damage or additional clutter.
Ribbon
Any grosgrain ribbon works!
Pinning earrings to a length of ribbon is an ideal way to keep them paired-up and clearly display for use. For best results, use grosgrain ribbon to handle different styles of earrings without damaging the fabric.
You may already have a length of heavy ribbon available around your home. If not, you can pick up a suitable piece for pennies at the nearest fabric store or flea market.
Shoe Pouch
A shoe organizer that consists of clear plastic pouches is another great way to organize larger piece of jewelry, such as bracelets or larger pins and brooches. The shoe caddy can be easily mounted on the back of the closet door or to any other unused space.
Because the pouches are clear, you can always see the contents for quick wardrobe decisions. Shoe pouches of clear plastic are readily available at your local home center.
Cork Board
Re-purpose the message board!
A step up from the ribbon solution is a cork board or message board. A cork board can accommodate earrings, small pins, and even lightweight necklaces and bracelets. Simply add a push pin wherever you want to display the jewelry piece. For an extra touch of style, cover the board with a piece of fabric.
You can recycle any size message board for this purpose and mount it on the back of the closet door or to any available wall space. If you don’t have a board handy, visit any yard sale and you should find one easily. If you plan on covering the board in fabric, it’s condition or appearance makes little difference.
Cup Hook
Hook 'em up!
Cup hooks are great for keeping necklaces and larger bracelets orderly. We’ve all seen the tangled mess that a mass storage of necklaces can produce. As mentioned previously, if you can’t see the jewelry, it’s of little use when the time comes.
Screw in the cup hooks into any suitable surface, usually wood. If a wood surface isn’t readily available, you may want to mount the cup hooks on a piece of wood and then affix the wood to the wall as you would a picture.
Belt
If barrettes are one of your favorite hair adornments, an old belt makes a great place to secure your prized collection. The typical belt can accommodate 15 to 20 barrettes in an ordered, highly visible fashion. The thickness of the belt keeps the barrettes firmly in place (unlike a piece of ribbon).
If you need more display space, simply locate another belt and keep going. The belt can be mounted on the back of the closet door using little more than a cup hook.
As you can see, solving a jewelry problem is not only important to home organization as a whole, but it determines whether or not our jewelry is ever worn. Finding creative ways to display our jewelry help us maintain an un-cluttered environment and take advantage of what we have. When it comes to jewelry, out of sight truly is out of mind!
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