Does anyone have any great tips or systems for organizing their jewelry? I have a couple of jewelry boxes but they are smallish and everything gets tangled in them. I hate the way my jewelry is organized! TIA!
I'm in the midst of solving this problem too. I just saw a post on craftster(I forget under what heading/topic) and the women used all of these cool bowls- for her bracelets anyway. It was amazing she had MASS-QUANTITIES. Right now I hang all of my necklaces and bracelets on an over the door hanger with hooks. I really need a solution for my earrings, right now they are resting in a cheesy pink leopard print box I got at Claires a year or two ago out of desperation. Those plastic organizers with dividers that are used crafts or tackle might work well too.
Why are traditional jewelry boxes always so teensy?
i have a solution for earrings! (everything else is tangled up in a jewelry box that i got like 5 years ago at urban) go to a craft/fabric store and get an embroidery hoop. it's just two pieces of lightweight wood- i think it's like 2 bucks. then get some sort of fabric to stretch across it. i'm not sure what kind i bought exactly. it's cream-colored, pretty thick/stiff, and it's easy to poke holes in. i'm definitely not describing it right- but it seems like something you would use for embroidery or needlepoint or something. somebody at the store could help you (the guy helping me suggested this particular fabric when i told that i was making an earring holder/display thingy). once you put it together, just stick your earrings through and hang it up on the wall! it's a really cute way to display your dangly earrings.
i've also seen picture frames with screens in them to hang earrings on- looks cute.
a friend told me about a cool solution for necklaces (i haven't tried it myself yet, though).
you get a large glass jar, like the kind you make lemonade or sun tea in, but make sure it has the cork top. or i guess you could line the lid of a plastic or metal topped one with cork, if it was thick enough. then you get those very small brass cup-hooks and screw them into the cork and hang all of your necklaces from them, into the glass jar. it keeps them from tangling--cute, huh?
My mom is a major (like hundreds of earrings, bracelets, necklaces) jewelry collector (not really nice stuff...not really cheap stuff...mostly sterling, etc.). She spent years looking for a jewelry box that would fit it all to no avail. Anyhow...her solution? A tackle box. Like, for fishing. It's supremely ugly (green plastic w/brown trim), but she has the most organized jewelry box in the world. It has all these little compartments and drawers and it works really well. She keeps her really nice stuff in a velvet-lined wood box.
I don't really have costume jewelry...maybe 10 pairs of earrings, 3-4 bracelets and 2-3 necklaces. I keep those in a dish in my bathroom so I can put them on easily. My expensive stuff and sentimental crap I keep in a wood jewelry box on my dresser.
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I went to Michael's yesterday and for $2 I bought this cylindrical (sp.?) stack of 4 containers about 3 1/2" in diameter and 6" high. Then I traced the circular shape on to felt, cut it out, and lined the container with it so the jewelry won't slide as much. I am so happy with it. All my earrings fit and it takes up little space. Plus they are air tight so your jewelry wont tarnish. woo hoo!!
I got an earring holder for Christmas which is basically window-screen mesh attached to a wire frame. I suppose you could use a photo frame for it & place the mesh in it & either hang on a wall or stand it on your vanity.
As for necklaces, I use the hooks from my mail center. Since I only have 1 set of keys, the others are free & I place all of my better pieces on one hook & then the fun, chunky stuff on the others. No tangles & it's w/in eye level so I can decide easily.
For everything else--bracelets & watches, I have a wooden box that has 3 layers that open outward like a tackle box or cosmetic train case. When it's completely open, the bottom layer is the largest w/the other two layers opening like wings. Hard to visualize, but it's very easy for me to use & is easy on the eyes.
Right now, I'm not the most organized about my jewelry (I have so much), but a good way to keep necklaces from getting tangled (and it also prevents tarnishing) is store them in little plastic ziplock baggies and then put those into a jewelry box.