Organize Jewelry

I find it so frustrating looking for that special necklace and I can't find it right away. Finally, after wasting 10 minutes, I locate it only to discover that it is tangled up with about five other necklaces. Now out of time, I have to leave without my favorite necklace, and my necklace still is in a tangled mess.

Getting tired of my jewelry being so messy and cluttered, I decided it was time to organize it. Surprisingly enough there really wasn't a lot of time involved in organizing my jewelry. I also found that this was one of the more enjoyable organizing jobs that I have done. This was because I couldn't help but to reflect on some of my jewelry items and how I acquired them, bringing to mind some very special moments in my life.

Before my day of organizing, my jewelry was in several boxes and scattered throughout several locations. On the day of organizing my jewelry I gathered all the boxes (and stray pieces) together. I laid out all of the jewelry so that I could see what I had.

Then I began to sort the jewelry into groups. As I went through my jewelry there were pieces that I knew I would never wear. These pieces were placed in a pile for me to give away. All my broken pieces went into the discard pile. If they were valuable to me and I knew that they would be repaired, then I set those pieces aside. If the broken pieces were more casual then they will stay in the discard pile.

Now I had five piles of jewelry: give-away, discard, fix-it, casual, and formal. The discard pile was thrown away immediately. My fix-it pile was placed into a container so that I could take them to the jeweler to get fixed, and my give-away pile was placed into another container so that I could easily grab it so that I could give it away. I was then back to two piles of jewelry—casual and formal.

I came to the point where I needed to store my jewelry. I knew that I wanted to avoid the small boxes and jewelry bags; this was how my mess began. I also have a tendency to lose items or not put them back where they belong. Knowing this, I chose to go with a jewelry box. Besides, I like the little compartments for my earrings and rings, and I also like the hooks for my necklaces. Already having several jewelry boxes in storage, I got these out and cleaned them up.

Starting with the pile of formal jewelry I separated the jewelry more into groups like rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, broaches, and my expensive jewelry sets. (I like to keep my jewelry sets as sets.) I then put the jewelry into the jewelry box, using all the little ring holders and compartments. I then put the jewelry box into one of my dresser drawers.

I then turned my attention to my casual jewelry and did the same thing as I did with the formal jewelry. I separated the jewelry into different groups of rings, bracelets, earrings, and broaches. I then placed them into their own compartments in another jewelry box. This jewelry box was placed on top of my dresser for everyday use.

With my jewelry organized, I love how I can go and find what I want and not have to worry about having to untangle the mess. An added bonus is that I find I am wearing more of a variety since the pieces of jewelry are so easy to find.