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And today’s Shade of Shay…organizing and storing that wonderful jewelry of yours!
You know how I love my jewelry, right? I love my bangles and my big earrings…I love to wear all of it at once. But what do I do with it when I take it all off? I store it carefully. The thing about jewelry is that it’s fabulous, fun and the best way to make any old tee shirt and jeans shine…but if it’s a big tangled mess in some jewelry box, you might as well throw it out.
About two years ago, I decided enough already. I was so tired of reaching for an earring only to find one of the two. I was tired of grabbing a necklace only to see that it was caught and twisted around 4 other necklaces. And I was tired of wearing the same 3 bangles every day because I couldn’t really see or get to all of mine, and so I just wore the same ones over and over again.
One day, I dumped all of my jewelry out on my bedroom floor. All of it. I sorted it, threw away what was broken, divided it into piles (gold bracelets, silver bracelets, necklaces, earrings, watches, rings and very special pieces from my family). I looked at what I had left there on my bedroom floor, wrote down a few notes and then went to The Container Store for some solutions to my jewelry madness. And this is what I came up with…
1. First and foremost, I took all of my very special family jewelry that I don’t wear but need to keep forever and placed it somewhere safe (not pictured). I didn’t want that being confused with my fun costume jewelry any longer, and I especially didn’t want it damaged.
2. Next, I tacked my earrings….
These are all of my earrings, each in their own little sandwich bag inside a plastic box with lid.
See 🙂
Each pair is inside the bag and placed in the box. This way in the morning, I can just look through the box, find a pair for the day and go. I always have two of each pair, they’re not damaged and they’re really easy to look through since they’re all laying on top of each other in the box. Plus, since they’re in the plastic box with a lid, I can stick that box in any convenient spot I have in my bathroom (and not just in a jewelry box). My plastic box is inside a drawer that houses my hairdryer, flat iron, hair brush, etc. My earrings are safe and protected and valuable jewelry box space isn’t used up.
3. I took the exact same approach with my necklaces. I found a bigger box with a lid and placed each of my necklaces in a sandwich bag inside. Every necklace is safe and protected and most importantly, not getting tangled up with other necklaces. I can just look through the box each morning to find one that suits me for the day. I know some people hang their necklaces, but I don’t have wall space for that. I like to just close this up and stick it under my bathroom counter. Easy.
My necklaces. Because the baggies are clear, they’re a cinch to look through and find the perfect necklace for the day.
My gorgeous Bauble Bar necklace is safe and sound.
4. And then of course, there are my bracelets. I love my bracelets. I have so many bracelets that I divide mine up into two categories, gold and silver. If you don’t have as many bracelets, then you only need one box…but for me, I need two.
I found a great compartment box at the Container Store and use that for my bracelets. Every morning, I just open up a box, pick a few bracelets (or maybe 9), load up my wrist and go. By using the compartment boxes, I’m able to see the bracelets at one time and then really decide how I want to mix and match them for the day.
These are my gold bracelets 🙂
And my silver bracelets (I wear much more gold than silver).
5. And for watches and rings, I decided to get one good jewelry box from Pottery Barn and go from there…
This is just your basic old jewelry box but I only keep watches and rings inside (and a few bracelets that I tend to wear every single day with my other bracelets from the bracelet box).
Inside on the first level.
And down below on the second level.
I’m not going to lie…piling on my jewelry has been so much simpler (and faster!) now that I have a good storage system in place. Plus, I really feel like I’m wearing more of the jewelry and getting my money’s worth now that I can easily access everything.
And don’t forget, this week, I’m doing a Stella & Dot giveaway! Talk about fabulous jewelry! Click here for more details and to enter to win my big prize!
Thanks for stopping by to see how I store all of my jewelry! I bet some of you just assumed I slept in it and never took it off :).
And today over on Sheaffer’s blog is her
I showed you my post about shopping for girls clothes and today, Sheaffer is showing you boy clothes. You must go check it out!!
Check out dinner tonight…
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Kelly Jo says
Love being organized! Great ideas!
Sheaffer {Pinterest Told Me To} says
I'll be over at about 10:00 to come and play dress up. If you're not home, that's okay. And if you pass before me, I get your watches. Tell Andrew to update the will. Oh. I want your bags too.
Wendi and Terry says
The compartment boxes on the CS website look super small – can you remove the dividers to enlarge the boxes?
Alison @ Get Your Pretty On says
I discovered sandwich bags on a trip we took a few years ago. They are wonderful! No tangling of necklaces and earring pairs stay together. My jewelry organizing could use a "tune up". Thanks for the tips!
Mix and Match Mama says
The compartment boxes come in a variety of sizes. Some of fewer compartments than others.
Carmen says
Hehehe…Sheaffer's comment….hilarious!! 😉
Love your jewellery organising tips…I have a new pack of mini Ziplocks calling my name…off to organise my messy containers right this minute!! xx
Blue-Eyed Bride says
Love it! Never even considered sandwich bags! So smart!
Julie Willmert says
Thank you so much! My little boy just started Kindergarten and now I have some more free time to organize around the house and this was one of the first things I wanted to do. But I really wasn't sure how to organize my earrings- that's what I have the most of by far. Thanks so much for the tips!
Tamara @ The Workout Mama says
Ummm, can I come over and play dress up too? Your jewelry collection is awesome! Love all your watches!
MorganizewithMe says
Genius solution to use the ziploc baggies…I think my problem is that I don't have enough jewelry!!!
aprilparrish says
I agree- life is too short to wear boring jewelry!!! 😉
Kim Kauffman says
Wow, you've got some bracelets!! I want to go through them and look at them all (and try them on of course)! So fun. Thanks for the jewelry storage tips – never thought about the sandwich bag thing but it makes a lot of sense!
Sarah says
What a great idea of using sandwich baggies. I have a drawer full of Container Store jewelry dividers, but it's quickly filling up…this is a VERY good alternative and will implement when on maternity leave next week! Thanks!
Amie says
Thank you so much for this idea. My jewelry is a serious cluster at this moment!
Amie says
Thank you so much for this idea. My jewelry is a serious cluster at this moment!
Nicole Lee says
You should do one about how to wear and walk in wedges and heels all the time because I wore some yesterday and totally beefed it.
Kori says
I used the baggie idea for my jewelry when we moved a few months ago, but used some small ones I got from Michaels (or any craft store, I would assume) called Bagettes. They're maybe 2 x 3 inches and perfect for earrings and chain necklaces. They made for a lot less baggie 'overhang' than even the snack size baggies.
Sara Bruesewitz says
LOVE stella and dot! Your style is awesome. 🙂
Sara Bruesewitz says
LOVE all things stella & dot! Great choices 🙂
Sara Bruesewitz says
LOVE stella and dot! Your style is awesome. 🙂
Anonymous says
Love your blog and would love to win your contest!
Staci
salomax75@hotmail.com
Laurie S says
Hi Shay: Great organization tips! I have my earrings in one of those compartment boxes, BUT several pairs per compartment. Along came the day I selected two DIFFERENT dangling earrings and wore them to work. No one told me I was wearing different earrings!
What do you do when you have a whole jewelry set – necklace, bracelet, and earrings – do you still separate them?
mel @ the larson lingo says
What a great idea….plastic bags!!! I would have never thought about that. I think I need to re-organize my jewelry this weekend. Seriously great idea!!
Nicki says
I love these tips! So simple but something I never thought of – ziplock bags!!
Sheaffer's comment had me cracking up!!
Oh and Shay… I just love seeing the bracelets I sent you (My Happy Place) in that red box!! YAY! 🙂
Mod Commonplace says
Did you say you have two pairs for each earring? Wow! Great ideas!
finkytooshbees says
I took an old wood mirror from a dresser and removed the broken glass, painted the wood frame and attached pegboard to it. Then bought a pegboard kit at Home Depot and hung up ALL of my jewelry in one spot 🙂 My fiance just hung the frame on our bathroom wall (into a stud of course). Art and organization!
Shelly says
I loved this post so much that I stopped at The Container Store on my way home tonight! I found the compartment box you listed, but there was no way the compartments were big enough to fit any bracelets. I showed a sales girl the photo from your blog and she explained it was a plastic box with separate compartments added to the inside. After we figured out the right containers to use, it did look exactly like yours. Just thought I'd let you know the links you provided weren't for the items used in your photos. I love browsing around The Container Store anyway so I didn't mind. 🙂 Thanks for the great idea!
Adina Smith says
I really love your blog. your are right life is too short to wear boring jewelry. Thanks for sharing.
Bangle bracelets