My grandmother is well known for her enthusiasm/love of jewelry (which I've noticed is beginning to rub off on my mother...I wonder if it's hereditary?). She has more jewelry than anyone I know. I'm convinced she has jewelry to match every outfit in her closet which is not easy since I don't think I've ever seen Grandma wear the same outfit twice. I can't think of a time when I have not seen Grandma's wrist adorned with multiple bangle bracelets, beautiful earrings and a necklace that coordinates perfectly. And let's not forget her rings! Grandma has an awesome ring collection. With all that jewelry I found myself wondering how on earth she finds all the parts to those jewelry ensembles and is still the first one up in the morning. So a few years ago after my grad parents finished a new master bedroom/bathroom additions that could accommodate Grandma's collection I took a peek and found that she she uses
multi-drawer cabinets for most of it and she hangs her necklaces from hooks (lots of them) on the wall. But if you're anything like me, you don't have all that much jewelry to keep track of but you're tired of hanging your necklaces on thumbtacks next to the bathroom sink. Been there, done that! :)
Personally, I look forward to the day when I can afford to have a jewelry collection like grandma's and a wardrobe to go with it, but in the meantime, a well designed jewelry box and simple necklace hangers do the trick for me. Depending on where you want to store your jewelry (in a drawer, on a counter or dresser top) there are lots of ways you can do it. These are some of my favorite jewelry solutions:
If you store your jewelry in a drawer these
stacking jewelry trays are great. They make one for necklaces, one for bracelets and watches and one with individual compartments for earrings, rings, and pendants. Lot of options, here. They have thin plastic dust covers to keep your jewelry dust free, too (nice).
If you like to have your jewelry out on your dresser you may opt for something more decorative. I love my stackable 3-level jewelry box. I bought mine at an Organized Living store years ago before they went out of business. (I found out later that they were a copycat Container Store which explains why I liked it so much!)
In this picture you can see how I've used the 3 levels. The far left I used for earring, rings and pendants organized by type (studs, dangly, gold rings, silver rings, the rings grandma gave me that are too fancy for anything other than weddings and funerals etc.) In the 2 compartment level I have my bracelets (beaded in one half, gold & silver in the other). In the bottom open compartment I store my watches. The little ceramic bowl you see hold my "daily" jewelry that I pretty much wear every day (favorite watch and rings).
This option is a similar product from The Container Store but without the lid.
For necklaces I really like
this one (see picture below) for my delicate chains. But I recently saw
this new one at the Container Store that I think is pretty. My sister-in-law uses a similar style holder and it looks really nice.
For my beaded necklaces, and pearls I really like my peg-board style acrylic organizer (also from The Container Store, although I didn't see it online today). I chose to hang this one next to my full-length mirror because these are the kinds of necklaces that I like to see with my entire outfit before I walk out the door. (That's just me, I'm sure!)
Now for one of my favorite jewelry suggestions--I like to use a
double sided pill box for my jewelry when I travel. It's hard on the outside which protects the jewelry from getting squashed. It's compact and holds quite a bit in it's different size snap-closed compartments. You have to try it! And for those of you who subscribe to Real Simple there's an article with more jewelry organizing ideas starting on page 253 of the September issue and
some inexpensive container ideas on the website. I would love to hear how you organize your jewelry!
