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How Do You Organize Accessories?

031709_jewelry.jpgAs a staunch believer in accessories, a sucker for shiny things, and a devout follower of the gospel of Tim Gunn, I'd like to put this question out here to all of you: how do you store your jewelry and other small accessories? Do you use a jewelry box? Because mine is always a wreck, mainly due to the tangle of necklaces clumped together...

 
 

Usually, rings and earrings get stashed away nicely in their respective compartments in the box; but since I have an affinity/sickness for large necklaces, it's been a bit of an issue making sure they all play nice amongst themselves. My temporary solution is similar to the one in the photos above: I've got a strip of corkboard tacked in my closet above the dresser with pushpins as hooks to keep everything separating. While it is doing the job, I'm curious to see if anyone has a better solution?

[ Photos from Marie Ici La ]

Tags

organizing, Tim Gunn, hanging necklace, lost earring, organizing jewelry

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Comments (27)

Although this question is directed towards the ladies...

...I use a vintage Bitossi cigarette box for my collar stays and cufflinks - and a Bitossi compote to catch watches and some shell necklaces I've brought home from my trips to the Caribbean.

posted by bepsf on March 17th 2009 at 11:25am
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I use a shelf meant for hanging coats and hang necklaces from the hooks--check it out:

www.rainycitystyle.blogspot.com

posted by RainyCityStyle on March 17th 2009 at 11:30am
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I just go to the Container Store and buy the velvet lined drawer compartments that are specifically for jewelry. I also have two decorative hooks next to my vanity where I hang my most reached for necklaces. I don't want to add more hooks to my wall though, for fear of making my room look like a retail venue.

posted by dnice on March 17th 2009 at 11:32am
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I drape smaller, more delicate necklaces (and sometimes large hoop earrings) over the necks of the perfume bottles on my dresser (sometimes I have to carefully loop the chain a few times so it will fit--not an ideal situation, but doable until I figure out what I'm doing with my bedroom). But in general, I think hanging necklaces is best to keep them from getting tangled. You could try getting prettier hooks or a necklace/mug tree if you're not so into the corkboard pushpins.

posted by slowdown on March 17th 2009 at 11:34am
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Best $109 I ever spent and I just mounted it on the wall...looks like a full length mirror which i needed already:

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Jewelry-Armoire-Over-the-Door-Mirror-Cabinet/3538864/product.html

posted by seattlelite on March 17th 2009 at 11:37am
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I bought a vintage asian jewelry to house my things. I made an earring stand that fits inside it so all my earrings don't get tangled. http://www.flickr.com/photos/greateryesterday/3068657159/

posted by GreaterYesterday on March 17th 2009 at 11:43am
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In my Seattle home I have a mirror/jewelry armoire like Seattlelite's (well, ok, it's freestanding and more oldfashioned looking). In my German home I have an IKEA Skar mirror/shoeholder - I've attached hooks inside the door for necklaces, bracelets, and a ribbon to pin brooches to, and earrings go in a box on the bottom of the shoeholder compartment.

posted by morfydd on March 17th 2009 at 11:47am
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My grandmother very graciously made me three jewelry hangers...she used vintage hangers and several small hooks across the pants area of the hanger...I currently have two on the wall and one in my closet holding my obsessive accessory collection.

posted by kmad on March 17th 2009 at 11:49am
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I have a line of small Command hooks inside the door of the medicine cabinet. I rent so I couldn't do anything more permanent. I hang my necklaces on that. They clang around every time I open the door, but it's ok. And I was surprised that the Command adhesive has held up in the humidity! I keep the few earrings and bracelets that I wear all the time in a small box jewelry box that happened to fit perfectly on the narrow shelf. The rest of my stuff (that I don't wear often) is in another box I build for the purpose in my closet.

posted by Erin C on March 17th 2009 at 11:59am
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I use mirrored wall hooks and brass bowls on my dresser top.

http://www.furbishhome.com/blog/2009/03/17/accessory-storage/

posted by furbishuma on March 17th 2009 at 12:03pm
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this stand from Urban works great for necklaces (I have it in hot pink)... as for earrings I have a vintage wooden box with a floral design on top that was my boyfriend's grandmothers

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?itemdescription=true&itemCount=60&startValue=1&selectedProductColor=&sortby=&id=15563760&parentid=A_FURN_PRETTY_JEWELRY&sortProperties= product.marketingPriority,-product.startDate&navCount=33&navAction=poppushpushpush&color=&pushId=A_FURN_PRETTY_JEWELRY&popId=A_FURN_PRETTY&prepushId=APARTMENT_FURNISH

posted by JenJen on March 17th 2009 at 12:16pm
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I have a vintage glove form for necklaces, a vintage cake plate for earrings, a small covered bowl for rings and pins, and a very simple white box for bracelets.

posted by miss jolly on March 17th 2009 at 12:21pm
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I use a belt hanger, found at the Container Store. One side, I use to hang belts. The other side, I use to hang necklaces.

It hangs in your closet, so even better for the renters (with closet space).

http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=158&PRODID=67251

posted by yenniet on March 17th 2009 at 12:27pm
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I have a jewelry stand/tree I bought from Urban Outfitters that I use to hang my necklaces from. My earrings/rings I keep in a jewelry box from West Elm...however I think I'm out growing it!

posted by fefe on March 17th 2009 at 12:29pm
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As a jewelry designer, I shudder to see jewelry out in the open. Alot of these jewelry storage ideas are very pretty, but sterling silver will tarnish superfast in our sulfur-filled Los Angeles smoggy air (Costume jewelry is no problem). Silver cleaning dips can pit and damage your jewelry, and silver polishing cloths aren't fantastic at removing tarnish from chains. I try to be proactive about keeping my jewelry from tarnishing in the first place.

I store all my jewelry in small clear ziplock bags (available at Michaels - has the added advantage of keeping your jewelry from scratching other jewelry pieces) or tightly closed jewelry boxes that I add small strips of 3M anti-tarnish paper to.

posted by romeoandjewels on March 17th 2009 at 12:38pm
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i use a jewelry box mostly, but my bangles were just to big, so i put those on a wine bottle. the bottle is blue, so it stands out from the dark stained dresser... that is my favorite display option so far...

posted by conflictedthimble on March 17th 2009 at 12:52pm
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Trees! Ok, not real trees, but things that look like trees.

I have two branch hooks mounted on the wall to hold necklaces.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elissamae/3071743783/

And one sculptural tree thing on a shelf in my bathroom to hold earrings. (I don't have to worry about stud earring, cause I don't wear them)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elissamae/3101367333/

And I also have a small tin, that used to be a candle, to hold my rings.

posted by sparkle on March 17th 2009 at 1:28pm
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I bought a dress form jewelry tree from Hobby Lobby. It originally had some horrible Barbie looking clothes on, but I took them off. I hang all my dangly earrings on it and most of my necklaces. I double wrap the long necklaces & have some hanging on screws that were in the wall that I never got around to removing and have now become handy. I'm really out of space for earrings & neclaces now, so I've been trying to come up with something similar with more space.

posted by TrueTex on March 17th 2009 at 1:29pm
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I keep all of my jewelry in boxes-- mostly in a large, padded, cloth-lined decorative box. delicate pieces are stored in their own pouches or boxes within it. but I don't have large necklaces, so it all packs away pretty easily.

egg holders (like the cute ceramic ones at anthro) are great for holding earrings in a box or drawer.

posted by foodefafa on March 17th 2009 at 1:31pm
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Oh yeah, I keep rings on a silver cat one of these- http://gold-cat-ring-holder.picked-patrick.com/

Seattelite, I've been considering getting one of those. The one I saw was more expensive. I'm just concerned I won't have enough space for what I need. I have tons of dangling earrings.

morfydd, I like the Skar idea. I've never even seen those, but it seems simple.

GreaterYesterday, very pretty! I love how you dressed up the inside.

posted by TrueTex on March 17th 2009 at 1:40pm
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I spray paint the trays that hold chocolate truffles and use them for small necklaces, earrings, rings and pendants.

posted by EAH on March 17th 2009 at 1:43pm
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All of my stuff is in shadow boxes hung on one short wall.

posted by TheUpstart on March 17th 2009 at 1:53pm
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For my more delicate necklaces, I use a jewelry tree from Ikea, which is enamel-coated metal.

For longer or bulkier necklaces, I use a piece I rescued from the garbage. It was a panel of wood that was used to display reading glasses. The board is about 4.5 feet long, and a little over 6" wide. There are circles that line the board on both sides, which is where the feet of the glasses used to go. I used the top two circles to hang from the wall. There are a row of screws that go down the center of the board, for where the bridge of the glasses rested. I hang several necklaces on each of the screws. There is even a small mirror about one foot from the top. It seems like it would be easy to recreate.

As for earrings, bracelets, pins, pendants, watches and bangles, I use several of The Container Store's acryclic cosmetic organizers. These are arranged in one of the top drawers of my dresser.

i have a ring holder by my bed for the ones I wear the most. I just realized, though, that I need a small dish of some sort on my nightstand for the earrings I take off just before drifting off to sleep. I keep a tiny dish in the bathroom for when I take off earrings just before a shower.

posted by sandra_m on March 17th 2009 at 10:50pm
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TrueTex, that thing holds TONS of earrings. I have a huge jewelry *ahem* problem. :) The left side you can hang earrings with fish hook backs and no the lower right there are about 9 trays that you can put more in.

posted by seattlelite on March 18th 2009 at 6:38pm
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romeoandjewels---that is exactly what I do!

Although it is not the pinnacle of "pretty", I own a lot of expensive jewelry from my grandmother that I want to keep around for a long long time. Each type of jewelry (necklaces, rings, bracelets) has their own box full of clear plastic ziploc bags (I got them at a bead store, so they don't have the distracting blue/green/yellow color and you can get them in man different sizes). So--when I'm setting my outfit out for the next day, I can rummage through each box and think about which pieces I want to wear the next day.

Granted, it's not a perfect system. But for the volume that I own (and wear), it's the best I have come up with to date.

posted by amidalailama on March 19th 2009 at 9:34am
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I posted my jewelry storage situation in another thread, so here I will just say this. Necklaces can be hung from wall mounted bars of hooks meant for necktie storage. Hanging t hem is the best way to prevent tangles, and they can be hung on the backs of doors ant other unobtrusive places if desired.

Other small pieces like rings and pins can be stored a lot of ways depending on quantity.

I need to have my stuff visible or easily sorted t hru to be able to select what I want to wear -- people with smaller collections that they remember clearly might know where to look for the one specific thing they want to wear, but my collection is too big for that.

If you live in a place where air pollution is damaging to silver, the next best thing to hanging necklaces is a jewelry roll. You can buy fancy padded ones but the simplest solution is to get a silver polishing cloth (Sunshine Cloth is one I have used) and lay it flat. Place a necklace parallel to and near one edge and fold the edge over the necklace. place the next necklace parallel to the first one and roll the cloth to enclose both. Keep adding necklaces as needed, roll the remaining fabric up fully, and tie witih a ribbon. Store the jewelry roll in a drawer. This method also prevents tangling.

posted by SherryBinNH on March 19th 2009 at 10:31am
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If you want your necklaces out on display, you could use a wall-mounted rack; there are many nice options. And dress forms are another option.

posted by Jeri Dansky on March 21st 2009 at 6:46pm
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