Restoring earring order

January 26, 2009 3:55 PM

Restoring earring order: How do you organize/store your earrings?

I've got about a handful of earrings that are in my regular rotation, and another 15 pairs or so that I use on occassion...most of them are studs, and even my dangly ones aren't crazy dangly.

My question is, how do you store these suckers? I've got a medium-size jewlery box, but right now, the earrings have completely taken over the entire ring section. And I don't like the idea of just chucking all of them into a dish/bowl, and thus inviting lawlessness into my home.

Supposing there's no magical trick to organization, I'd like something that keeps the pairs in their proper place, is nice enough that I wouldn't it sitting on the top of my chest of drawers, and I'd prefer something that protects from them from dust. I've tried a few contraptions in the past, but wasn't wild about the look/craftsmanship.

If the holder is something that goes beyond just functionality (and that I can talk myself into looking at as a purchase of "art"), somewhere around $100 is my limit.

posted by acorn1515 to clothing, beauty, & fashion (31 comments total)

I keep the ones I use often in a smallish type drawer that is just flat on the top of my dresser and the rest are tucked away a little more haphazardly in a bin with a lid.
posted by jessamyn at 4:00 PM on January 26

I have something like this, but one that hangs. I got mine at Claire's, but this one is cooler.
posted by alpha_betty at 4:02 PM on January 26

I've heard good stuff about getting a wide ribbon or piece of felt that hangs and you can put the stud-type earrings through the fabric.

I have mostly dangly earrings, and I hang them along the edge of the stainless steel wire shelf that holds a bunch of extraneous crap in my room.
posted by Stewriffic at 4:30 PM on January 26

Getting a specialized earring holder will help. Try craft stores (maybe) and craft fairs (someone's usually doing them).

Or if you're crafty, getting some plastic canvas, maybe do some yarn sewing through the holes, and using that to poke your earrings through.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:33 PM on January 26

I've never liked ones where you have to open stud earrings to put them on the sheet (or reach behind it, clumsily). I like something like this, but that doesn't handle your dust problem. Something like that with a front door would be ideal. I've seen full on standing jewelry boxes where one side (that closed) was like this.
posted by miscbuff at 4:51 PM on January 26

I use jewelry store display trays with inserts divided into little compartments. Annoyingly, I can't find a good picture on eBay, which is where I got mine originally, but here's a not-so-good OK one. Mine have 32 compartments per tray (the inserts are actually removable) and they stack, so I can put my favorite earrings in the top tray, second favorite one lower, etc. They don't take up much room, and as long as I'm careful to put only one pair of earrings in any compartment, they never get mixed up. I keep the backs separate in a few compartments. It's very quick - I don't have to poke earrings through holes to put them away - and makes them really easy to find.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 4:54 PM on January 26

My mom took an egg carton, removed the top from the bottom, and uses those pieces to store a pair of earrings in each little hole in one of her dresser drawers. I thought it was quite clever. Doesn't solve your "nice enough to sit on top of my dresser" problem... though I suppose you could paint the cartons... but it's a cheap and easy way to do it.
posted by olinerd at 4:54 PM on January 26 [1 favorite has favorites]

I have a few hundred pairs, ranging in size from dainty to Fergie, and they're currently heaped together in a large box. It's so stupid. I guess what I'm saying is "me too."
posted by thebellafonte at 4:55 PM on January 26

You could get something like a mancala board...
posted by Stewriffic at 5:05 PM on January 26

I made myself some earring frames using vintage frames, mesh, and ribbon. They hang on the wall, my earrings are on display so I see what I'm not wearing. I tend to have mostly dangly non-post earrings, which make it easier. I stick the non-post earrings through the mesh holes and they hang there. I don't have a lot of post-based earrings, so I put them in a small dish.
posted by julen at 5:07 PM on January 26 [1 favorite has favorites]

Stole the idea from my roommate:

I hang a thin scarf on my wall, let it drape from a nail, and hang my earrings on the scarf.
posted by greta simone at 5:15 PM on January 26

I covered a bulletin board with fabric, then put stripes of ribbon across it. Danglys go over the ribbon, studs through. There's enough room for me to hang necklaces and bracelets. Because if I don't see things, I don't wear them.
posted by korej at 5:55 PM on January 26

I have a custom solution like still_wears_a_hat. Mine is part of a large jewelry box I had made by a craftsman at my local Renaissance Festival several years ago. It was quite expensive, but the joy of having all my jewelry (earrings and other) in a lovely, well-organized box was worth it to me.
posted by immlass at 5:55 PM on January 26

I keep my jewelry in clear stackable tackle boxes with adjustable dividers. They're like this one, but I got mine at target for about 2 bucks apiece. Not gorgeous to look at, but I can find every piece of jewelry in just a few seconds.
posted by 26.2 at 6:02 PM on January 26 [1 favorite has favorites]

Like Olinerd's mum, I keep mine in an egg carton, but I actually managed to find a 'china' egg plate. It looks just like a cardboard egg carton, but it's made from some kind of glazed white crockery, and doesn't have a lid, and it's 4x3 instead of 2x6. I keep the pairs I wear most often in there, and the rest hanging on a little wooden mushroom with holes drilled around the edge. I admittedly bought the egg thing in Paris, but it was just in the homewares section of a regular supermarket, so you might be able to find one where you are. I've seen old ones at antique fairs too.

One of my friends has taken to collecting small boxes for her earrings. She keeps a few pairs in each box, a box for each colour. The collection of boxes itself is very pretty, and that would avoid the dust.
posted by Emilyisnow at 6:03 PM on January 26

Fishing lure box. They are plastic and have dividers, (not a tackle box!) I guess one could try the local craft store that sells beads. They have to separate them somehow . . .
posted by 6:1 at 6:35 PM on January 26

An antique typesetter's tray would be perfect, with a separate tray looking something like this, and a small chest like this. The second link is a photostream of what various trays and chests. Garage sales or secondhand stores would be the only place to find one, but a quick refinish gives great results. They come in all shapes and sizes and they are fantastic (My grandfather was the last owner of a now-defunct small town newspaper, so guess where all the antique typesetting equipment went?)
posted by variella at 6:47 PM on January 26

This guy.
posted by prefpara at 7:08 PM on January 26

I had the same problem and found this jewelry case/box to be the perfect solution. I can see all of my earrings at once and then close the mirrored door and I'm on my way.

It also comes in a full length mirror version.
posted by NoraCharles at 7:09 PM on January 26

I made this for Mrs. Advicepig's earrings. She mostly wears earrings on hooks and has only a few on posts. It's a deep picture frame from IKEA with a pretty backing and waxed linen string across the front. I should really take a picture of it with earrings in it. It looks really nice when it's full.
posted by advicepig at 7:11 PM on January 26 [1 favorite has favorites]

I've blogged about options for organizing earrings: here is part 1 and part 2.
posted by jeri at 7:16 PM on January 26

I use the 80-pocket hanging jewelry organizer that jeri links to from the part 1 link. I am here to testify that it is fabulous. The only problem is it gets kind of heavy if you have a lot of jewelry. But hello! It only takes up about an inch of space in your closet, and you can swing it out and let it hang over the rest of your clothes while you pick out what you want, and then swing it back in. Easy as pie.

The pockets might be a little deep for just one pair of earrings though. When I first got it, I ambitiously (anally?) sorted my earrings by color, and put 3-4 pairs in a pocket. Now it's a bit of a random mess. The earrings I've worn the most tended to migrate to the top pockets over time (out of laziness on my part, I guess). Still, a great solution that lets you see everything at once.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 7:38 PM on January 26

I have a little case I keep my posts and earrings that will tarnish in. For those that won't tarnish and are dangly I have a corkboard on my bedroom wall. I put a lot of pushpins in it and hang each pair on a pin. I also hang a lot of other non-tarnishing jewelry since I'm another one of those who finds it easier to choose stuff if it's in plain view.
posted by leslies at 8:05 PM on January 26

I use ice cube trays in a dresser drawer for my earrings. They stack easily enough and take up little space. This won't look so good on your dresser, so maybe they can be used for the once in a while pairs and keep your favorite one's in your jewelry box.
posted by JujuB at 8:10 PM on January 26

I use stacking sectioned jewelry trays in my top dresser drawer. I'm thinking of getting this metal twig jewelry tree for the stuff I wear most often.
posted by Joleta at 8:12 PM on January 26

I use an splined art canvas (like this) that I painted and put holes in to display my earrings.
I have mostly hook earrings and hoops and love it, but it is a bit annoying for studs.
posted by eclecticlibrary at 9:14 PM on January 26

For both earrings and neclaces, I took a corkboard which I decorated with ribbons criss-crossed over each other and glued down.

Then I took some small brass nails and nailed them in 3 inch increments.

Voila, useful, pretty wall art. Stud earring stay in the jewelry box as they take up less room once the dangly ones are gone.
posted by like_neon at 1:52 AM on January 27

+1 on crafting a solution with ribbons or a mesh fabric since you have studs. I wear mostly dangles and I hang the long ones around the rim of a small wine glass and the shorter ones on a shot glass. Fancy!
posted by girlhacker at 2:25 AM on January 27

I'm anal about paired things staying paired and dangly things not becoming god forsaken snarled up multiple tangly things... So I bag 'em. You know those tiny snap-lock bags? They are truly nifty little things.
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 4:02 AM on January 27

You might also take a look at Urban Outfitters. They stock a decent selection of earring trees, etc. for $10-42. I have this tree in white, which is doing a fine job of handling all my earrings, dangly and otherwise.
posted by katieinshoes at 5:29 AM on January 27

Tons of great answers on here! The ones I've marked are the first ones I'll be giving a go. Thanks everyone.
posted by acorn1515 at 2:25 PM on February 2 [1 favorite has favorites]