Jewelry Organization
Three Easy Steps to
Jewelry Organization
If you’re like me, you’ve got more jewelry to wear than occasions to wear it. Perhaps you quite like the pieces you already own, and every so often, a new one catches your eye in the store, so you decide it’s worth adding to the collection. You might have even edited/curated/simplified what you’d like to keep already, but now it’s just sort of…hanging out on top of your dresser.
In this post, I’m sharing three keys to sorting jewelry:
Curation – Keep what you love, what you wear often, or what holds sentimental value, and let go of the “meh” pieces.
Organization – It is possible to keep pairs of earrings together and necklaces untangled.
Storage – Yes, it’s all beautiful, but that sea of shiny baubles can still feel like clutter.
Curating Your Jewelry Collection
Will you actually wear it?
The type of jewelry I wear most often is earrings. I have a few casual go-to pairs that I wear most frequently. They’re small and basic – mainly small hoops or basic studs, plus a few short, dangly numbers – and I don’t have to think too much about putting them on. I most often select them by material – silver, gold, rose gold, gemstone, or pearl. I have more variety in pieces for special occasions, but I work from home, so I don’t feel the need to wear jewelry daily. If I’m going out to run errands and just want to feel like I’ve “gotten fully dressed” (all you remote workers, parents, at-home caregivers… I know you feel me on this) then it’s as easy as, “Silver…hoops…check!” and I’m ready to roll.
Does it hold sentimental value?
Do you cherish it because it was gifted to you? Have you had it since childhood? Does it just plain “spark joy” a la Marie Kondo? Then by all means, make space for it. Whether that means you’re holding onto an extra 20 pieces or just one more, that’s okay. After all, you’re the curator here.
What about special occasions?
Maybe you wouldn’t wear it to the grocery store, and it wasn’t received as a cherished gift, but it’s beautiful and perfect for that fancy dress you’ve got hanging in the back of the closet, waiting for the next wedding/holiday/fancy-pants event. While it can be fun to shop for new jewelry as events arise or new outfits are acquired, it’s also nice when you find special pieces that you love enough to keep and wear multiple times.
Organizing Your Jewelry Collection
This is my favorite part! If you’re looking for simple and affordable tricks to organize your jewelry, check this out…
Earrings: Keep pairs together easily!
I learned this earring hack years ago, and it’s one of those things that still kind of impresses me every time I use it. It’s so simple and effective. The secret is…buttons.
You know how sometimes you buy a shirt, and it comes with an extra button or two? Well, I take them off the shirt and put them right into my jewelry box. I simply thread the earring posts through the buttonholes, attach the backs, and voila! An inseparable pair. When it’s time to wear the earrings, I just pop them off the button, and then I make sure to put them back when finished. And if I ever do need a particular button for a shirt repair, then I simply pull out the matching button from my earring collection and find a different button to use for the earrings. Don’t worry if you haven’t been saving your random buttons for reuse – a bag of buttons can be purchased for a few dollars.
Necklaces and Bracelets: Stop the torture of tangles!
My super cheap, flexible solution to avoiding tangles in necklaces and bracelets is…straws. As you can see in the photo below, I found a pack of 50 paper straws at a discount store for $0.99. This brand can currently be purchased from Amazon for $4 or less. I chose paper straws because I prefer them to plastic, they’re more eco-friendly, and they won’t affect the surface of the jewelry. You can choose from a variety of widths, and paper straws can easily be cut to the desired length. Maybe you’ve got half a pack of straws in the back of a kitchen cupboard in case of impromptu picnics – great, you’re already set!
Multipurpose: Grab a tray or three!
After grouping pieces by type, style, or material, I use clear trays with multiple, small compartments to hold them all. Large or unique earrings can go into their own space. Several pairs of studs can be kept together. Whatever system makes sense to you, follow it. This is also good for things like pins or small keepsake items.
Bring It All Together
Your jewelry collection will ultimately need to be collected somewhere. As you saw in the photo at the beginning of this post, I had several types of jewelry containers and it just made everything feel scattered. I’d been using a necklace tree for necklaces and bracelets, small boxes for rings and miscellaneous earrings, a crystal tray and ring holder (which have sentimental value), and a wooden box that I repurposed for jewelry. I really liked the box at first, but it was heavy, and the drawers barely opened far enough. Now, I have a jewelry organizer that was specifically made for jewelry (go figure). It takes up about the same amount of space on top of my dresser, but it keeps everything hidden and takes away the feeling of clutter. The three plastic trays fit nicely in one drawer each, with extra space to the side and front for larger/longer items. The soft lining helps keep everything from sliding around.
I enjoyed this jewelry box for a while, then found a very similar one that was sturdier, with easier to use handles and a splash of color and style.
Which tips will you try today? Do you have any of your own that I should add to the mix? I’d love to hear about them!
XO, LL
