The truth about jewelry is that most people have a lot of it and rarely use most of it. This is the case because people are creatures of habit and if you can’t see it, you don’t use it. What I often see with clients when it comes to their jewelry is that they keep it in little bags and boxes, which means that they forget what they have and therefore never wear any of it. This is a travesty; jewelry is made to be worn!
See below for 5 tips and tricks to help with jewelry organization and management:
1. Cull – As always, the first step to organization is to Declutter. Pull all of your jewelry out, yes ALL of it, and divide it up into categories. I like to use a bed for this task so that you can spread everything out. Unless you can see that you have 75 necklaces, it’s hard to actually believe it.
Once everything has been pulled out and divided, it’s time to make some decisions. Did you receive it as a gift and are keeping it because you feel guilty donating it? Do you tell yourself that you’ll wear it one day and that day hasn’t happened in 15 years? Do you like the idea of it but it’s honestly not for you? Are you keeping it because it was expensive and you feel guilty for buying it and not wearing it? Answer these questions, and as you do, create a donate/sell pile.
2. Everyday and Other – Most people (there are exceptions) tend to wear the same items of jewelry over and over again. Rather than try to change ourselves, we can just account for that and move on. That’s why I suggest two different areas of jewelry storage, primary and secondary. Primary jewelry is the jewelry that you put on without thinking about it: your wedding ring (yes, I know some people never take it off), watch, earrings, etc. It’s different for every person. This is also a good place to store your wallet, keycard, and anything that you need to grab before you leave.
Secondary is for the jewelry that you’ll wear when you have the time to think about it. When you’re going out on a Saturday night and you want to carefully choose pieces to go with your outfit, dig into this secondary category. There is also the possibility that you have 6 different categories but for the purposes of this blog, let’s keep it simple.
3. Storage - For primary jewelry, I’m a big fan of the Umbra Spindle Storage Box, which has 3 separate compartments and is good for those who have everyday ware or those who have a very small collection of jewelry. I also like that it works well for men’s items; my husband uses one of the compartments for his watches, another for his wallet and glasses cleaning cloths and the third for his building ID from work.
There are a number of different ways to display secondary jewelry. For those with very large collections, check out jewelry cabinets. There are also Stackers, which are available at the Container Store and let you create your own jewelry box. And finally, there’s the good ol’ command hooks on the wall inside your closet to display necklaces. Whatever works for you, just make sure you store and display in a way that will remind you what you have. If you can’t see it or access it, you won’t use it.
4. How to Stop Yourself from Buying Jewelry - Once you’re honest with yourself about what you’ll actually wear, it’s much easier to not buy things you won’t. When I see cute dangly earrings, I appreciate them and move on to the studs! Because the truth of the matter is that no matter how many cute pairs of dangly earrings I own, I will only wear studs, plain and simple.
If you’re a costume jewelry enthusiast then you’ve heard of a site called Etsy. And while I could easy spend $1,490,000.00 on Etsy, I stop myself by using the favorite-ing button, which is similar to Pinterest’s save button. When I like something on Etsy, I click the heart in the right hand corner, which adds that item to my favorites list. Adding the item to my favorites list gives me the same high as adding it to my cart and assures me that I will be able to find it again. Rather than buying it right then, I have the availability to mull over my purchase and go back to it when I’d like. No need for impulse buying, you always have the option to go back!
Your jewelry is waiting for you to wear it. Because if you don’t wear it, then why do you have it?
Try my tips above and let me know how it goes! You can email me at tori@toritheorganizer.com and follow me on Instagram @toritheorganizer.