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Tuesday, October 8, 2013

7 Ideas for Organizing Jewelry

When I cleaned apartments professionally I noticed organizing jewelry was an issue many women struggle with. So many of us keep heaps of earrings, necklaces, rings, and bracelets thrown around on top of our dresser. It's great because everything is visible. However it also makes it hard to dust, it makes it very easy to loose pieces, and there is risk of scratching your furniture.

My sizable collection of jewelry and years of retail experience have provided me with lots of ideas for keeping jewelry visible, easily accessible, and organized.

Vintage dishes


I store my post earrings, earring backs, and rings in a dainty sectioned candy dish. I also store bracelets in a small bowl. Tea light candle holders and 4 oz mason jars also make sweet jewelry holders. You can find cute ones at your grandma's house or at an antique store.

Glove molds


These are wonderfully quirky way to store and display your favorite rings. I found a great glove mold in the clearance section at Fishs Eddy. I keep it in the kitchen to hold my ring and bracelet while I cook or do the dishes.

DIY Wall Jewelry Display


I made my own jewelry display for free. You can too! Here's how: 1. Grab a large piece of cardboard and a piece of fabric that is about 2 inches bigger squared than the board. // 2. Staple or glue the fabric to the board. // 3. Staple or pin a cute ribbon to one corner then another corner to create a hanger. // 4. Stick pushpins in the board. // 5. Hang earrings, light bracelets, and necklaces from the pins. // 6. Clip hair accessories to ribbon. // 7. Hang from a picture hook.

Another way to make a hanging display is to use a screen, picture frame, and a few pretty vintage knobs. Check out this DIY jewelry screen tutorial by Lauren Conrad.

Key Racks


I hang my chunkier necklaces from a little row of key hooks. I got mine at Anthropologie clearance section but you can probably find a cute one secondhand. I don't recommend storing anything too precious this way, as the strain of the weight of the beads does make the string more likely to break sooner.

Retail Display Racks
You can purchase retail grade acrylic and metal jewelry displays for pretty cheap on Amazon. For example, this slightly decorative metal earring rack can hold 78 pairs of earrings and is under $8. You can find inspiration for more beautiful and clever jewelry display by poking around well merchandised boutiques and booths at craft fairs.

The problem with a rack is it needs to sit on a dresser. That's fine if you don't have a cat or curious kids, but a hanging one might better suit the needs of those who like a clear dresser top.

Egg Cartons

Vintage Hen Egg Tray via Etsy seller Cynthia's Attic
If you have lots of little post or clip on earrings, egg cartons are an eco-friendly storage option. The carton is a little ghetto fabulous but it can be stored out of sight in a drawer or on a shelf in your closet. Vintage ceramic and glass egg trays and deviled egg plates are a classier, more displayable alternative that can be found on Etsy and eBay.

Jewelry Box
If the thought of tossing your jewelry in a dark abyss to never be seen again doesn't turn you off, go ahead and put it in a jewelry box. Just kidding. If you can keep your jewelry to a minimum, putting it in a jewelry box, especially one with little slots for rings, is fine.

How do you store your jewelry?

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4 comments:

  1. Tip from your friendly jeweler: always store precious and semi precious stones out of direct sunlight. over time the stones can basically bleach and lose their depth of color. so keep a box for all your fancy pants jewels =)

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    1. That's a great tip Jenn! I have a pair of plastic earrings that got sun bleached. I had no idea stones could be affected by sunlight too. It's good to have jewelers for friends! <3 Thank you!

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  2. I have a jewelry box that holds some of my jewelry, but most of it is randomly stored in drawers in the original pouches or boxes that they came in. Definitely not the most efficient way, but I'll come up with a better system someday soon! I really like that vintage egg tray!

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    1. Hey Rachel! Moving all the boxes and pouches into the same drawer could be a step towards keeping them more organized.

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