How To Organize Jewelry

After years of experimenting with different ways to organize accessories, the best way for me is to still use corkboards because you can see all the pieces.

I’ve also devised of a way to put up corkboards without making holes in your wall, which is perfect for us expats, diplos and renters in general. Click here for complete instructions:

HOW TO HANG THINGS ON THE WALL WITHOUT MAKING HOLES

This is my tried and tested method. This is how I hung my corkboard in Berlin and here in Manila. In Jakarta, I didn’t even bother. I just leaned the corkboard on the wall.

Let me show you how I did it with a client here. I purchase 2 corkboards with a wooden frame, which we then painted white with low VOC paint. I don’t recommend metal frames as they are too heavy for this technique. Make sure that the corkboard is light.

BEFORE

My client used the typical hanging accessory organizer, which in my opinion doesn’t really feel as tidy and it also easily accumulates dust. This is also in her closet beside the bathroom, which is not ideal for accessories because the high humidity can oxidize and discolor metals.

This is my client’s desk and dresser in her master’s bedroom. I knew that the blank wall was the perfect place to put her accessories so she could put on her makeup and accessories in one sitting. She wouldn’t have to go to her closet to get accessories anymore.

AFTER

Always start with a clean wall. Gently wipe it with tissue that has alcohol. Make sure no dust or remnants of the tissue remain. Then place wide high-quality painters tape. I used Scotch Blue 2 inches wide but you can also use Frog Tape. Using normal masking tape may damage your wall. 2inch wide is better because it will adhere strongly with the wall and keep your corkboard up.

Make sure that it stays within the space you plan to put your corkboard. You can use a pencil to mark it or else you will see the blue tape and it will look cluttered.

You can then use double sided tape or 3M command strips. I used the largest 3M command strips possible. You can get them in any hardware stores too like True Value or Ace. Complete instructions here.

I then recommend using white pushpins to organize your accessories like this. We didn’t have pushpins so we temporarily used white thumbtacks. These aren’t as convenient as pushpins because the thumbtacks can fall off when you remove your accessories.

For earrings you can carefully push them into the cork board. I say carefully coz some might bend or break. Make sure you push it in straight to avoid this. For earrings that have hoops, pushpins are better than the thumbtacks so they will lay flat unlike below.

Try to arrange by kind and by color. Whatever looks visually pleasing for you. According to Marie Kondo, it should be: Left to Right, long to short, dark to light, but you can be flexible depending on the accessories you have and size of your board.

USING ACRYLIC ORGANIZERS

If you do not have the wall space to put up corkboards then the next best thing for me – if you have the surface area or shelving space for it – are acrylic organizers from Muji. Before buying these oranizers, we made just that our client Amanda decluttered and only kept those items that brought her joy.

After decluttering we placed them in temporary containers like these unused boxes so we knew how much we needed to buy organizers for. Then I made sure to get just enough to have a home for each item.