Day 129: Jewelry Jumble... no more!

You may remember a while back when I posted about a truly unusual - and VERY neat - little black dress.... a little black dress that's actually an organizer for jewelry! Well... I couldn't resist this adorable doo-dad.  I put it on my "wish list," and my wonderful hubby bought it for my birthday!

Following is the saga of getting all my jewelry - and the jumbled, annoying heap of boxes and bags it had become - into tip-top shape and ready for my new, little black dress!

First and foremost, here is the jewelry holder I was using.  I was on the right track, with a convenient, hanging organizer on the back of my closet door... BUT this two-sided, pocket-loaded item did not have specific places for bracelets or necklaces.  So, most of those bulkier items stayed in their boxes... and ended up in my sweater organizer!

I don't have a jewelry box, so the sweater organizer was the next best place.  Everything was together... but everything was a mess.  Any time I got any new jewelry, I just piled it on top of the other stuff!  So, it looked like THIS!. :(

The next step was to take everything out of the sweater organizer and spread it out on the bed.  Here is the mass of boxes and bags.  Goodness!  What a disaster!  (And quite an embarrassment for a neat freak!) There was stuff in there that I hadn't seen in years... it was just too buried underneath all the other jewelry boxes!

I sorted through everything and tried to put items in places where they would be convenient and neat and where they would make sense to me... with "popular" earrings and necklaces near the top and less-often-used or larger items near the bottom. 

I worked this method the same way on the flip side of the dress for all my necklaces and bracelets, and I tried to keep sets close together, as well!  Everything looks super cute and super organized now!  I just need to put it in my closet.  (BTW: I did keep the other organizer with some other jewelry items in it; I just placed the organizer behind my clothes instead of on the door!)


I only had a few boxes and random items left over from the massive clean-up, and those went back into the sweater organizer.  And one important item I kept here, mostly for convenience, is my watch.  You can see it there on the bottom left.  I wear it every day, and it was just easier to have it here!  I can slip it on while I gaze at my lovely, little black dress of bobbles and bangles! ;)



Now, THAT's neat!

Day 121: Knotty No More!

Necklaces make me mad.  Well, not necklaces in and of themselves... it's the twisted, knotted ones that really irk me.  Call it a pet peeve, if you will, but a tangled necklace is as good as broken in my hands.  I just don't have the patience to deal with it!  And if it's stuck on my neck because of a knot or a broken clasp, then I'll tug and pull until it snaps.  It's terrible, really.  If I ever needed anger management for anything, it's with necklaces.

That's why THIS idea makes me SO very happy!

What a clever and fun way to keep those darn, decorative strands separate and ready to wear!  Just take a simple wood piece, painted or distressed to match your taste or decor, and add some knobs - random, colorful ones, matching knobs or just all the "extras" you have lying around in junk drawers!  Hang it in a closet or bathroom or even on a door, and now necklaces have a happy - and safe - home!

Now, THAT's neat!

Day 112: Little black dress?

You know how you got that adorable, little, bird-shaped ceramic dish to sit on the bed-side table and help keep your jewelry nice and tidy? How's that working? ;) If you're like me, anything small and cute will just be quickly overwhelmed by either the volume and/or the size of jewelry items that are fighting for elbow room! SO.... I say, ditch the impractical, cutesy stuff, and sort your bling with the simply irresistible "Little Black Dress" hanging jewelry organizer by Umbra.



How cute is THIS!?!?! The smart and stylish black "dress" is two-sided, with 39 clear pockets on one side and 24 hook-and-loop tabs on the other. SO handy! AND... it fits nice and neat in your closet, meaning you'll never have to look at all that clutter on your nightstand again (at least not jewelry clutter!).


Now, THAT's neat!