Jewellery Storage Refresh...

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

SPOTLIGHT: Jewellery Collection - Ring Storage Update (Part 7)...

Happy New Year everyone! I've been revelling in a couple of weeks off work, my first significant holiday in 2 years, and while destressing, relaxing and re-establishing my (much needed) exercise routine have been my highest priorities, I've also been rethinking some of my jewellery storage options. I reckon that even if something works well, it can most likely be improved with a regular reassessment and further investment. My ring storage needed an overhaul if for no other reason than my collection was outgrowing its housing, so I was inspired to seek out a better way to store my bling...

Back in June 2016 (oh wow, I can't even say "last year" any more lol!), I'd found some plastic swivel containers (Part 2 HERE), and they worked pretty well up until recently when I ran out of room, plus it was becoming increasingly difficult to swing out the shelves without the whole thing toppling over. So off I trotted to KMart, and to my delight, spotted the below acrylic 3 drawer organisers for $9 a pop. The drawers slide in and out easily, and the bonus is that they're pre-lined with a protective gauze - score! So I bought 6 sets, which gave me enough room to spread out my collection, as well as allow for future expansion (whoops! - ha ha)...

As you know I organise just about everything in my wardrobe and makeup collection into colours of the rainbow - honestly, it's the only way I can manage to put my outfits together each day! And my rings are the same - I've sorted them into colour families if they contain stones, and then there's a drawer for gold, rose gold, silver, silver with diamantes etc. The boxes stack pretty well too, and I've placed a non-slip mat under each one so they don't move ♥...

Overall I'm delighted with how this new storage system is performing - next job to tackle is the rest of my jewellery collection, which has also almost outgrown its current home. Hmm, maybe I should just stop walking into Lovisa and Colette! ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

SPOTLIGHT: My Lipstick Collection & Storage...

There's no denying my lipstick collection is quite extensive (!), and being the size that it is, storage is somewhat of a challenge. Of course there's a wide variety of acrylic units available which are effective and look super pretty, but when the volume gets beyond a certain level, they're impractical, both from a space perspective, as well as the cost factor. Just for the record, the main thrust behind amassing such a number of products is because I'm a colour-matching nut. I experimented with blending colours back in the early days when I only had a dozen or so, but with the range of lippies available these days, and so many at ridiculously affordable prices (plus the frequency of free ones available with GWP's and on magazine covers), my kit has grown with not too much outlay over the years to the point where I can now lay my hands on the exact shade to go with any outfit. I've also won quite a few in various competitions, and some of my gorgeous friends have generously gifted me with sets or colours they would never wear. But the sheer volume introduces a new dilemma which is... "how do I find what I'm looking for?"...

This is my entire collection, including the ones I haven't tried yet (part filled container far right)

The original solution I worked out was to store the products in colour families and/or type, and to do that, I needed to be able to see each and every one, and have enough storage space to group them into their particular category. Until recently I kept them in inexpensive plastic trays & cubes of different sizes (see below). This worked fine from a practicality point of view, but it looked messy...

And then just the other day, I spotted the container below in my local bargain store for $9.99. It's solid and sturdy, has removable dividers, handles, and a clip on lid should I need to transport the contents (not the tall ones of course), and I can lift the whole thing off the shelf and take it across the room to the window so I can select the colour and finish I'm after...

I bought two of these, and can fit most of the products into both, needing only a couple of my original containers for the overflow. I might add that I have no intention of expanding my collection any further - my mission is to limit the quantity to these two boxes, so over the next few weeks I'll be doing a serious cull, and in future when I buy a new one, it will be on the condition that I toss an existing one away. Wish me luck lol!...

So here is what my lippie storage looked like before... 

And here it is now...

It's a whole lot neater, and my plan is to eliminate the narrow box in the middle (currently lip glosses) and the one at the back (ones I rarely if ever wear because they're way too pale), and I'm confident my clean-out will achieve that. I have literally dozens of lip products that are darn uncomfortable on my lips, too drying, too streaky/patchy, or the colour is simply not all that flattering - it's just a matter making the time to do it...and letting go ha ha ♥...

So how do you store your lipsticks?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

P.S. Adding this post to Ingrid's weekly Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party - every Monday morning from 6:30am...

SPOTLIGHT: Jewellery Collection (Part 5) - Main Storage...

My Jewellery Collection was one of the series that fell through my blogging cracks last year, but now that the gems are all set up and organised in their new home, it's time to resurrect this particular theme, and show you how I manage to co-ordinate everything each day. I've been asked "how do you do it?" - well organisation is the key, and of course, having everything arranged in colour families is also essential to finding just the right pieces. Below are two of the cabinets housing my collection (you've seen the rings before in Part 2 HERE)...

So the dilemma was how to keep all these beauties safe, laid-out and dust-free, so I went with the same system I use for some of my makeup - these 5 Tray Organisers from K-Mart, which only cost $18.00. Together with a couple of rolls of that sticky, non-slip material from the $$$ shops (for a couple of buckeroos) to line the trays, it was the simplest and most effective way to make sure everything stayed fresh and super easy to choose...

For the move I left everything in the drawers, taped them up, and when I unpacked them, all I had to do was rearrange the pieces that had slipped sideways when the removalists hoisted the boxes onto their shoulders (well at least that's what I think they did ha ha)...

And here's a sneak peak of a couple of the drawer contents - the big reveal of ALL of the drawers will be in Part 6 (coming soon!)...

With this storage system, everything is visible and stays put, and I can put my hand on anything lickety split. Of course there are far more glamorous ways to store baubles and beads, but with the sheer volume of my collection, I decided on practicality rather than glitz, and let's face it, the less I spend on storage, the more I can invest in additional bling pieces, although I might just have enough now lol ♥...

So how do  you store your jewellery?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

P.S. Linking to Ingrid's always entertaining Monday Makeup Madness Linkup Party - don't miss a post, starts every Monday morning at 6:30am ♥...

SPOTLIGHT: Jewellery Collection Part 2 (Ring Storage)...

Who doesn't love long weekends hey? Nothing I enjoy more than three whole days to sort out my various bits and pieces. Rising at 4:30am on weekdays, I HAVE to be organised, and as far as fashion and accessories are concerned, I find colour categorisation works best for me. Whether it's my clothing, shoes, scarves, jewellery, makeup OR even my umbrellas, I group them all according to hues, and that's my secret for co-ordinating my outfits. Each day I choose a colour theme - I work out what I'm wearing the night before (my brain doesn't function till my second morning latte lol) and lay it all out in readiness for a quick pull-together in the wee hours. Storage is another challenge, and I go with practicality rather than glamour, so you won't see any fancy trinket boxes or expensive acrylic solutions in this series - what's inside the modest containers I choose is pretty and fun, and that's enough for me. Plus the less I spend on exxy boxes and ritzy ditzy display stands, the more I have for the bargain bling I'm so passionate about ♥...

So this is my current collection of finger adornments, all safely stored away from dust, and sorted into the colours of the rainbow, plus black, white, plain silver and gold. I should add that this isn't necessarily my long-term solution, but it will do for the time being, plus it's reasonably portable if I need to shift things around in my room. I bought these acrylic 3-tier swivel boxes from Target last year for around $10 each. I lined them with some non-slip bubbly plastic shelf liner which I picked up at a Hot Dollar store for less than $5. To make the inserts the right size, I used the base of the unit as a template, drew around it with a pen, and then cut inside the line and snipped out a piece to fit either side of the spindle. In hindsight, a more rubbery or sticky kind of material would have worked better to cushion the pieces, but I chose what I did because it was transparent...

As mentioned in last week's post, there's no diamonds, rubies, sapphires or gold in this lot - the robbers cleaned me out long ago! Actually my "gold" collection changes every few months or so because the finish wears off, and I just toss them out when they start to look scruffy. As you can see I have quite a few rings made of acrylic & enamel - they're probably the most practical of all because they're virtually indestructible lol. And if I find something that really suits, I have a tendency to buy several in different colour variations - I do that with shoes and clothing too. I guess it's a case of "if the shoe fits, wear it"...

So how do you store your bling?

Take care of you,
kats xxx

P.S. I'm linking to Ingrid's awesomely interesting Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party ♥♥♥