Decluttering Your Jewelry

Avery Cundill  0:00  
Welcome back. This episode may be tangly for you. Decluttering your jewelry. The Declutter Queen with Avery Cundill. Whether you've got a tangled pile of costume pieces, a box of sentimental items, or a carefully curated collection-that's a lot of Cs-that still feels chaotic. This episode is for you. I want to talk about how to declutter your jewelry so you're left with the pieces that make you feel confident, polished, and truly you. So why is decluttering our jewelry important? So you might be thinking it's just jewelry; it doesn't take up that much space. But clutter isn't just about square footage; it's about decision fatigue every morning, guilt over unworn or broken items, frustration when things are tangled or missing, and you wanted to wear them. These are the things that take up space. Another thing that can happen is visual noise. A cluttered jewelry area can make your entire bedroom or bathroom feel messy, so decluttering our jewelry does help to create clarity, both in your space and also your personal style. So I'm going to run through a step-by-step way to declutter your jewelry. Hopefully, it will be simple and stress-free. If you're already running for the door, oh my God, I've got 12 tangled necklaces. Stay with me. So I'm going to walk you through a simple no-stress method. Step one: gather everything-necklaces, rings, earrings, watches, brooches. Get it all in one place. This includes what's in drawers in your kitchen, trays in your family room, all of your purses, random jacket pockets. Gather it all. Step two, we're gonna untangle and group. So I want you to take a few minutes, maybe more, unless you're good at this, which I am not, to detangle all your chains and necklaces, match up your earrings, group by type, rings with rings, necklaces with necklaces, bracelets, etc. You're going to have this all spread out in an area, so have some space. Step three: handle every item. This is kind of the touch test. So one by one, you ask yourself, "Do I wear this? If the answer is no, get rid of it. Do I love how this looks on me? If the answer is no, get rid of it. Is it in good condition? You know what I'm going to say next. No, gone. And does it fit your current lifestyle and style in general. Maybe it's time to go. Step four. We're gonna sort these items into categories. Okay, so you're not ready to just throw them out like I just mentioned. No problem. You got another chance here. Categories are keep. So the pieces you love, you wear that you answered yes to all those questions or most of them, and that work with you. Those are the keep piles. Now you may have a pile of repair or resize. So sometimes we have rings that are too big. You might want to get them fixed. You might have something that's broken that you do like. That's going to go in this pile. So loved but damaged or needing adjustment. Let's make another pile of that. Pile three is sentimental. So maybe you're not wearing it on the rotation, but these might be things that are really meaningful to you. They might have been given to you by a family member. Keep a small item of these. So make a little pile, but be be a little diligent in that I'm not keeping everything. Keep a small number, and these might go into a keepsake box, not into your daily rotation area. And the let go, as we mentioned before, things that are broken, outdated. Maybe they're I call them meh items. Just get rid of them. Hot tip alert: If you've been holding on to something just because it was a gift, remember, the gift did its job when it made you feel loved. If you don't like it anymore, you're not. Wearing it doesn't have to live in your jewelry drawer forever. Okay, so what do we do with this jewelry you don't want? It seemed like I was telling you to just toss it in the garbage. No, you don't have to do that because that often makes us feel really unhappy. So one of the things you can do. There's so many places that accept donations, you know, charitable places and other.

Avery Cundill  5:26  
So you can donate things, costume jewelry in good shape, thrift stores love that, women's shelters, and even things that are valuable. You can donate that stuff. If it's something that maybe is a little more on the valuable side. Maybe you want to sell some of these pieces, so high-end pieces, gold, designer items-they can all be sold through different platforms, whether online or there's a local store. Really good thing to do. Another thing to do is to repurpose things, and I like this one because I sort of feel you can sometimes make something out of something that you didn't think you could. So a broken chain, a quick trip to a jewelry store, and they might be able to make that into a bracelet or anklet. Single earrings that have lost their mates. Maybe you want to turn those into pendants or charms. Get creative. Look online, see what you can do. Sometimes you'd be surprised. And lastly, recycle. So some places will accept gold; they'll pay you for it. Sometimes they accept metal. You know, you never know what you can do, and it's good for the environment too. Okay, now organize what you keep. This is the fun part. Now that you've got your curated collection, let's store it beautifully. This is so satisfying to do. So, one way you can do this, if you've got a drawer or drawers that you want to use for your jewelry, you can use drawer dividers or stackable trays or even wall hooks, and that makes things visible and easy to access. You may want to store your daily wear pieces separately for grab-and-go mornings. I always say if you're the more organized you are with whatever you want to wear the next day, the faster you're going to get out of the house. You may want to keep fine jewelry in its own little area, maybe away from humidity or sunlight, maybe in a fabric line box or pouch. I would strongly suggest avoiding a catch-all bull, unless it's just for your go-to rings or earrings, because that's what causes necklaces and even some bracelets to tangle. And when you store your stuff, make sure that you can see each piece of jewelry. I have a plexiglass box that I bought on the Zon, unsponsored, but I bought it on the Zon, and I can see everything. It's got little drawers. You'd be surprised at what they have out there for not a lot of money. When you can see what you have, you'll wear it more, and you'll love it more too. You may be like, "Oh, I forgot about this. So the declutter can help you find things. So wrapping up for this jewelry because I know you're chomping at the bit to go and organize your jewelry right now. Maybe you're even thinking, "Where's this and where's that? But remember that jewelry might be small, but it can create a lot of clutter, and the clutter is real. When you declutter your jewelry, your mornings get easier, your space feels calmer, and your style maybe even becomes a little bit more intentional. So whether you declutter one drawer today or the whole collection, know this: you're not just organizing these items; you're making space for yourself. This is going to bring you ease and peace of mind, and I promise you, you're going to get rid of a lot, and you're going to have what you love. And now, the queen responds to your silly little questions. How do I get family members or roommates on board? Well, there's a great saying: the only person you can control is yourself. So this could be a tough one. You can't force others to declutter, but you can influence them gently. So here's some tips: focus on your spaces first. Lead by example. Often, just doing it yourself sparks interest. Communicate the benefits. I feel calmer versus you're messy. Offer choices. So, which toys do you want to keep on the shelf? And sometimes this boosts into, oh, I don't really want this anymore. It just kind of happens. Respect your other. Their family members' belongings and avoid decluttering their stuff without permission. Nothing is a gateway to failure than chucking out your loved one's stuff. I promise you. And then finally, create communal zones with simple systems that everyone can follow.

Avery Cundill  10:18  
People in general and our loved ones are more cooperative when they feel included, not pushed. How do I declutter small spaces with no storage? Small spaces-they can be tough. So small spaces require both minimization and smart organization. So here's some strategies that could help. Keep only what you use regularly. No just in case items. Choose multi-purpose items. So for example, furniture with storage, ottomans that open up. You can put blankets in. Bathroom is great for that things that go over the toilet, things that you can use for two purposes in order to create more space, less clutter. Go vertical with shelving and wall hooks, so move up rather than out. Keep surfaces minimal to create the feeling of space. So the less we have on horizontal counters and spaces, the more spacious everything feels. Use containers, baskets, or drawer dividers to avoid chaos. You have limited drawer space in your smaller home. Divide up, make it work. In a small home, every item must earn its place. We don't have the luxury to keep 10 sets of scissors, one good one stored well.

Mary Anne Ivison  11:52  
Thanks for listening to the Declutter Queen with Avery Cundill. For more decluttering tips and tricks, go to thedeclutterqueen.ca. Produced and distributed by the Sound Off Media Company.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai