TODAY’S FREEBIE
This week is a big week, because we are not only talking about accessories, but also about how and where to store our things. Up to this point, we have been dealing with clothes, and it’s fairly obvious where they should be stored–in our drawers and closets. Now as we move on to other items, storage becomes a bit more tricky, and more important.
Mari Kondo, in her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up says:
“The essence of effective storage is this: designate a spot for every last thing you own.”
The key component for avoiding “clutter rebound” is to decide once and for all where each item you own belongs. This is not as onerous as it sounds. Most of our similar items are grouped together, so we need to make sure to keep them grouped together, and to gather all items from each category into one place. For example, I have shoes in my closet in my bedroom, and I have shoes in the coat closet downstairs. I need to decide where I want all my shoes to be, and keep them all there.
It is apropos that we discuss storage as we move into sorting and storing our accessories. Accessories include such things as jewelry, scarves, belts, hats, headbands, etc. How often have you taken off a pair of earrings and left them on your nightstand. Or dresser. Or bathroom counter. Or in your purse. Do you see the problem? This is exactly what causes clutter, because we do this with myriad items we own. When we decide once and for all where things belong, our clutter problem disappears. But don’t worry. You don’t have to decide where EVERYTHING goes this week. Just your accessories 🙂
Here is a picture of my sister-in-law’s jewelry. Notice how you can see everything clearly at a glance.
If you have any great ideas for storing accessories, please leave them in the comments! I really love the jewelry hanger I have pictured above because it keeps my necklaces visible and un-tangled! On the back side of the hanger are plastic see-through pockets for my earrings and bracelets. I would love any suggestions for scarves and hair accessories! Here’s a picture of some cute headband holders I made for my girls out of oatmeal cans. You can store the headbands on the outside, and put all their other hair accessories inside!
Here’s a link to another idea using a towel rack to store scarves and necklaces: Towel Bar Accessories Organizer.
If you are just joining us, be sure to start at the beginning! It’s very important to go in order! You can also visit my Transform Your Home, Transform Your Life page for all the previous posts in this series. Don’t feel like you have to catch up if you are just finding this challenge now! Just make sure to start doing the weekly challenges from the beginning, and you will be fine!
TODAY’S FREEBIE
Next post: Purses and Bags
Did your sister-in-law makes those that necklace holders or did she buy it?
Kelley, she made her jewelry holders. It is just pieces of wood with hooks screwed in.
I use an over the door metal shoe rack for my scarves. It allows me to drape them over the metal part the shoe would go on and they hang in nice neat rows. I’ve also arranged them by color and size with the longest at the top and shorter ones near the bottom. It hangs on the inside of my closet door and all scarves are easily visible
Annette, are you a member of our Facebook group? I would love it if you took a picture of your scarves and posted it so we can see exactly how you organize them. Thanks!
I love accessories–jewelry and shawls mainly. It took me a long time to figure out how to store them because of the quantity. You are correct, if you can not see them they become clutter and you don’t wear them nor enjoy them. For the jewelry I finally was able to find a jewelry armoire/mirrow that holds 850 pieces and organizes all the pieces to perfection– that is, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, and etc. For my shawls, the solutions I used changed as my collection grew. After 50 shawls, hanging them was out of question because it took too much precious space in my closet. Now I neatly fold them and stack them up just like if they were sweaters. The storage solutions I have still allow for my accessories collection to continue to grow. I love jewelry and I also make it, so I had to be realistic and pick a solution that gave me the flexibility of growth.
I wished I could share some pictures in case they are helpful to others.
Gaby, I would love for you to share some pictures! I you can either email them to me at melissa(at)icecreaminspiration(dot)com or post them directly on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/871448696243364/