I've been working on a personal project for a few months now - the refresh and re-org of my jewellery collection. My plan was to have it all done and dusted for spring, and I'm absolutely chuffed that I completed it with one day to spare! I have a vast array of costume jewellery that I've amassed over the years (only buying when items are on special, natch) - I guess you could call it part of my persona or my signature. In fact, I never leave the house without something pretty on my bod, although thanks to COVID, it's usually just earrings or bracelets as I'm constantly sanitising/washing my hands. But on the two days every second week that I head into the office, I get dressed up to the nines just like I used to in the old (BC) days. When you have a collection as big as mine, it's VITAL to be organised, so I'm also constantly on the lookout for new and effective ways to store the precious contents. The final piece of this "overhaul" puzzle came just last Thursday when I picked up the rainbow box (below left) from Spotlight, and I've been flat chat ever since cleaning, rearranging and culling all the bits and bobs to get them into their new homes...
The main impetus for the re-org was the fact that I was running out of space for my rings and earrings. The rings were so jammed into the drawers (below) that sometimes I couldn't open them without jiggling the box. I've had these perspex containers for several years (reviewed
HERE), and while they provided a nice display, they've been in front of the window for so long that, as you can see, the plastic has dulled (and in some cases turned yellow) from the winter sun that comes streaming in (thankfully!). So, what to do?...
I was searching for another cabinet like the tall one below with 33 drawers, which up until today contained my earrings. But everything I found online looked too much like a toolbox you'd normally keep in the garage. And then I spotted the rainbow box (which has 60 drawers) on the Spotlight website - perfect for my earrings! And it just happened to be on special, so I thanked the Universe for providing the answer, and cleaned up and repurposed the black one for my rings ♥. Problem solved!
I already had the other 5-drawer cabinets for my necklaces and bracelets - also had these for years but they are still in good shape, so I dusted off the spare one I had on the shelf, re-lined the drawers of the old ones with some black non-slip vinyl I found on eBay, and then spent hours untangling everything and setting it all out so it looked pretty ♥. These drawer cabinets are actually for stationery, and Kmart still sells them for $18...
I'm over the moon with this new arrangement - like my wardrobe, everything is sorted according to colour or gold/silver, and I'm especially excited as I now have enough space to dedicate a drawer each to the rose and silver diamante pieces ♥...
So here's the final layout - I have wind out windows that I need to access so it's not entirely perfect, matching or symmetrical, but it works well, I know where everything is and I can find whatever I'm after in a flash. Incidentally, in the bottom right of this pic you can see my Empties tub, which is already overflowing, so expect a post soon ♥...
Stage 2 is to re-line my makeup drawers and sort/cull my lip liners which you can see on the right-hand side of the dressing table, but that won't take long. My lipsticks are stored separately (still the same as
HERE), well away from the window so they don't get affected by the extra heat and light, along with my perfumes, the re-org of which will be Stage 3. It's endless lol!...
How do you store your gems?
Take care of you, and keep safe,
kats xxx
