During a recent Friday Artwalk, 007 was sweet enough to purchase me a piece of jewelry at my favorite store here in Fairhope. I came home with an addition to my collection, which helped me get started organizing jewelry. As I began to unpack my purchases, I realized that I needed to purge and access my needs. So I began the task of going through EVERYTHING!

Organizing Jewelry

Here a few ideas of how to organize your jewelry. My friends, Denise and Hope were also kind enough to share some of their tips as well.

As it happens, our precious little Shih-Tzu sat down in a bed of fire ants on this particular morning, so I needed to nurse her and keep her from chewing the bites.

So…. I hauled all my jewelry out on the porch – it was a beautiful morning – and began to separate.

1. Separate Your Metals

The first thing I did was place all of my favorite pieces together. Then, I divided everything into 3 separate categories.

• Mixed Metals – jewelry with both silver and gold accents.

• Gold Jewelry 

• Silver Jewelry 

All of my colored pieces went to another jewelry box or were donated because I’ve started wearing mostly metals and very little color. I wanted all of my favorites easy to find and quick to put on.

2. Store by Color

From there, I separated everything again within the categories above.

• Mixed Metals:  a) earrings b) bracelets c) rings d) necklaces

• Gold – same

• Silver – same

3. Collect by Jewelry Type

I put my everyday rings together in one place.

4. Assemble by Gemstone

Pearls of all colors, styles and shapes are stored together.

5. Stack in Trays

All of the gold pieces are stored in the bottom tray because I wear more mixed and silver than I do gold.

Once I organized this tray, I realized that I need another tray for my earrings. I can’t see all of my earrings easily, since they are all located in one compartment. (Second from the top on the far right.) My trays were purchased at Bed Bath & Beyond.

Then I stacked the next tray on top with the mixed metals and silver pieces that I wear most. In the back of the drawer are my pearls, rings and oversized pieces.

6. Use different boxes as part of the collection

Here’s a great option and the search will be half the fun. Look for vintage or antique storage boxes and store different metals or styles in a different box. This one from Etsy is one I have my eye on. Another idea is to pick up jewelry or jewelry boxes when you travel. Each piece will have a special meaning.

When Cozi Rosie isn’t traveling the south, she models all of my belts for me.

Currently, I have all of my scarves stored in pretty boxes in my closet, but I’m searching for new ideas. Every time I want to wear a scarf I have to dig through the boxes and then they are wrinkled and not ready to wear. How do you store your scarves?

Here are a few more ideas from my friends.

Denise:

Denise is one of my most organized friends. She is the mother of two young men, married to “Handy Dan” himself and has a beautiful home that she decorates herself. I’ve featured her basement update here.

7. Choose Tackle Boxes

In her dresser drawer she has several tackle boxes that she uses to store her grand jewelry collection.

8. Hang Your Jewelry

She also uses a hanging jewelry organizer.

And my personal favorite idea of hers: a sock drawer organizer. This is such a great idea. In addition to bracelets, she stores some of her belts here as well.

9. Sock Away Your Jewelry

My sweet friend, Hope from Crafty Hope is an artist when it comes to jewelry. She designs, makes, sells and organizes her craft. Here are a few of her storage solutions:

Hang with Christmas Ornament Hooks

Brilliant idea! This is a baker’s cooling rack hung on the wall to hang all of her dangling earrings.

 

Another brilliant idea from Hope is to hang her necklaces on Christmas ornament hooks. If yours are stored away, you could also use straightened-out paper clips.

10. Dangle Earrings on a Screen

Here she painted a frame, stapled on some screen and voilà, lots of earring storage! Check out many of her ideas on her Pinterest page.

Mission accomplished. My little Latte (shih tzu) is feeling better and my jewelry re-organization has taken the sting out of searching for what to wear every morning. Thank you so much, Denise and Hope for sharing your ideas!