The biggest mistake women make with organizing their jewelry

Are you making this common mistake with your jewelry?

How do you organize your jewelry?

Do you keep all your necklaces together?

All your bracelets in one place and all your earrings together in one box or ear tree?

If so, you’re doing it wrong. This is a mistake that many women make.

Yes, you read that right you are doing it WRONG. When you store or keep your jewelry by category you make it harder to find the piece you want. This is especially evident if you have a lot of jewelry. This is the biggest mistake most women make in organizing their jewelry. Let me ask you a few questions: Do you find that when you get dressed, that you tend to wear the same jewelry over and over? Do you forget what jewelry you own? Do you feel like your style could be better or do you feel like you have lost some of your styling ability? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions then keep reading, as I have some great ideas and solutions to help you get a better handle on your jewelry collection. My tips can help you get dressed faster, look better, and feel really good about your wardrobe and how you are finishing your outfit all by better organizing and using jewelry you already own in your jewelry box. Okay, ladies, let’s get organized!

You can do all these steps in one fell swoop or pace yourself to do 1 step per day. If you implement these steps you will be able to:

• Get dressed faster
• Look better, more put together and polished
• Feel good about your appearance
• Feel confident

So let’s get started! This should be a fun project and I assure you that taking the time to do each of these steps will improve:

• the task of getting dressed
• your style
• your mood

Clean Your Jewelry Box. When was the last time you cleaned your jewelry box? Women hang on to their jewelry and often times they hang on to inherited jewelry too. Depending on how much jewelry you have, schedule some time or an afternoon and go through every piece of jewelry. Try every last piece of it on. If you love it or wear it or both, keep it. If you don’t love it or don’t wear it, donate it or sell it. By clearing away the pieces that don’t work for you anymore, you will make getting dressed easier and not have to manage and store unloved or unused pieces.

Get Organized & Think Like A Merchant. How do you organize your jewelry? Most women organize all their by category meaning storing all their necklaces together, all bracelets together, all earrings together, etc. If this describes your jewelry organizing strategy, I bet you forget what you own, and fall into a rut in which you wear the same pieces over and over. This is the biggest mistake most women make and one of the easiest to overcome. Stop storing ALL your pieces of one category together. It is far too hard to locate the right piece when you have piles of jewelry to sort through. Store your jewelry by activity or season in groups that make sense for you and your style. Image walking into a jewelry store and all the necklaces are heaped together, all the bracelets are grouped together, earrings, brooches, etc. The key is to merchandise your jewelry collection. Store and organize pieces that work well together, so you can easily find complimentary pieces and not have to dig.

The first step is to define your style and activities. And then organize and store those pieces that you wear together in the same place. For example, organize jewelry that you wear primarily for your office job in one place. That means all the necklaces, bracelets, and earrings that you wear to work in one drawer, tray, or box. If you still have too much, break it down again; put all your gold tone together, all the silver tone together, all the pearls together; you get the idea. Like goes with like. Make it easy to find the right pieces that work together.

There are lots of ways to store jewelry. My personal favorite is stackable trays. These are a great way to keep your “like” pieces together, prevent jewelry from collecting dust, and make it super easy to see what you have, all together in one place – meaning pieces that work really well together in one place. You can buy these online at Jewelry Supply for a fairly affordable price, check out the options here. This tray idea is how many jewelry stores keep their jewelry and I almost always subscribe to taking tips and pointers from professionals.

Check out my photos below: on the left, I have put all my turquoise and orange or coral colored jewelry in one tray as these colors work really well together and I usually wear these items in warm weather, or on a beach vacation. On the right, you can see all my costume pearl jewelry and gold-tone pieces that I might work in with the pearls. Each person’s collections and the way that you sort them will be different. It depends on your style, and taste. One person could fill 12 trays and others may only need 1 or 2.

Repair Broken Jewelry. As you clean out your jewelry box, you may come across some pieces that you don’t wear because they need repair. This might be restringing, replacing rhinestones, fixing a broken clasp, polishing silver, sizing a ring, etc. Make a pile of the pieces you are willing to repair and visit your local jeweler and get those pieces fixed so you can wear and enjoy them. Don’t make the mistake of hanging on to broken jewelry.

Leverage Pinterest For Inspiration. If you like fashion and or want to be better dressed and accessorized I highly recommend you utilize Pinterest. If you are already on Pinterest, excellent! I like to create private boards that only you can see to help visualize your activities and style. When you see a photo of a celebrity or model that demonstrates a style that you like, pin it to one of your style boards. Create a board for each activity or an upcoming event in which you want to improve your style. Take photos of your own clothes and jewelry and pin it to the boards. Then when you need an idea for a party, event, vacation, or change of seasons, reference your Pinterest boards for jewelry ideas.

Elevate Your Style. When your jewelry is organized with like pieces together, you can layer necklaces and bracelets with ease. You will find combinations that you might never have thought of that can look great together. The key is making sure there is COMMONALITY between the pieces you are trying to group together. The Pinterest boards are an excellent way to organize your jewelry style inspiration. Take some time to really look at your wardrobe and look at your jewelry together. Try jewelry in colors you may never have thought of putting together. For example, turquoise blue jewelry looks great on chocolate brown, pink and yellow. Jade green looks fabulous on navy blue, terracotta, and sky blue. Schedule time to review your jewelry with your clothing. Take an hour and get in there and just play a bit. It really is fun to discover new ways to wear your jewelry and get excited about what you already own both in your jewelry box and closet. Overcome the mistake of organizing by category.

Plan Ahead & Schedule Time To Select The Best Jewelry. Make time to properly accessorize with your jewelry. If you are not sure what jewelry you will be wearing, give yourself at least 10 minutes to put your jewelry on. If you are going to a very important party or event I recommend even more time. As soon as you have selected your outfit, shoes, and handbag, take some time to determine what jewelry you will wear in advance of the date of the event or party. Avoid the mistake of tossing on something mediocre at the last minute or being hurried into selecting jewelry that doesn’t quite hit the note you wanted by not having enough time to select the best jewelry for your outfit.