The Great Jewelry Organization of 2010

It all started when I saw this post on Sweetie Pie Pumpkin Noodle.  I realized that though my closet might not need an overhaul, my jewelry certainly did.  Maybe if I had a fabulous walk-in closet like Ms. Jackie, I would have needed to clean it up : )  But since my closet is only this big <-------->, it doesn't really allow for clutter. That, and I'm a little OCD about my closet (seriously, everything is very meticulously put away in there.)  I was really inspired when I saw the pictures of her jewelry section in her closet and it got me thinking.  Here's what I had going on:

A piece of lace tacked to the underside of my mirror was my earring "storage."  It served its purpose but I'm a grown-up now : ) I loved the idea of using a french memo board for my earrings.  But then I got stuck.  What to do with the rest?

Yes, that is a tin full of necklaces.  And a can full of other various jewelry.

My jewelry box wasn't too bad, but definitely needed some cleaning out.

So, first things first:  letting go.  I have a hard time sometimes parting with my jewelry.  For instance, I really don't wear yellow gold jewelry all that much.  But I have a few pieces that were giving as gifts from special family members that even though I never wear them, I can't bring myself to get rid of them.  So they just clutter up my jewelry box, taking up space that could be used for things I actually wear.  Part of my thinking is that I'd like to pass them on to my children.  So, I went through everything, set aside the pieces that have sentimental value but that I don't wear and packed them up.  They're in a safe place, I can still pass them on, but they're no longer taking up space in my jewelry box.  The rest I offered to my sister-in-law.  What she didn't want, I sold to a consignment shop and some I'm repurposing for other projects.

With what I don't wear gone, I moved onto the next step: where to put what I DO wear.  My biggest road block was my necklaces.  

I love long necklaces.  And I have quite a few.  I wanted something that I could hang them on, where they wouldn't get tangled ('cause the tin just wasn't cutting it) but that wasn't tacky.  Here's my solution:

I found this wooden plaque in the craft section of Wal-mart for $1.96.  I painted it this lovely peacock teal, let it dry, then spray painted the whole thing black.  Sorry there are no pictures for this step-I got so carried away in my excitement that I forgot to take some!  

After the paint had dried, I sanded it all over so that the teal could peak through, especially around the edges. 

Then I screwed in 11 tea cup hooks-this was actually a little harder than I expected because the wood was so hard!  My poor fingers were red for a good day afterwards.  I did them in two rows, 6 on top, 5 on bottom, alternating them so that when I hung my necklaces, they wouldn't overlap.  Then I hot glued some ribbon onto the back to hang it with.

Volia!  There's the memo board that was originally in my letter organizer-I covered the rough edges in a matching ribbon and attached two pieces to hang it.  It holds my earrings perfectly.

And it also gave me a place for my peacock feathers : )

I love being able to see all of my necklaces.  And no more tangles!

Remember this ugly necklace stand?  I gave it a nice coat of red paint and now it's the perfect home for some of my shorter necklaces and bracelets.

Now I have a nice, neat home for my jewels and since I can see them, I can better accessorize!  Which, as silly as it sounds, is one of my goals for the year.

What "spring" cleaning have you done or have plans for?