Jewellery is often the most difficult item to tackle with while decluttering your home. There are emotions involved because jewellery almost always comes in as gifts from people close to you on occasions that were too special. Women inherit jewellery from their mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers and can never bring themselves to part with them because they want their daughters to inherit them as well.
I don’t remember the last time I opened my jewellery box and wore something. Although I have never been a jewellery loving person, the thought of sorting through my jewellery wardrobe never crossed my mind until a couple years ago. I still can’t think of a reason why I didn’t care to declutter my jewellery, but I guess it’s because most of it was expensive and had a story attached to it. I somehow managed to get rid of over 30% of my jewellery collection but I’m still doubtful about the pieces that remain and plan to purge it down by another 20% before Christmas this year.
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If you have a jewellery collection that mostly consists of pieces that you haven’t worn in ages or have lost track of, maybe it’s time to reconsider what to keep and what to let go of. Sifting through your jewellery collection will make it easier for you to maintain and take care of the pieces that you love and wear regularly. Besides that, decluttering jewellery will help clear out a lot of space in your jewellery wardrobe for the pieces that you might receive or buy in future.
If you’ve made up your mind to declutter your jewellery collection but aren’t sure about how you can do it, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you through it:
1. Gather Everything In One Place And Categorize It
Take a tour of your house and find every piece of jewellery you might own. Search the drawers and the jewellery box and gather everything in one place. I usually just grab my lap desk and use it as a workstation to sort through the small items.
You’ll find rings, lockets, pendants, brooches, watches, charms, necklaces, chains, earrings, bracelets, bangles and other kinds of heirlooms. Be gentle while you put these items on your workstation because jewellery is delicate and you don’t want to damage any piece.
You can even grab two boxes to categorize the jewellery, one for the artificial/costume pieces and the other for expensive jewellery made of gems, diamonds and precious metals.
2. Evaluate Your Costume Jewellery
Now that you have all your jewellery lying in front of you, it’s time to pick each piece and examine it carefully. You can even try the jewellery in front of the mirror if need be. Let’s begin sorting through the costume jewellery first:
Questions To Ask While Evaluating The Costume Jewellery:
- Does it go with any of my favourite outfits?
- Does it go with my current personal style?
- Is this piece trendy or outdated?
- Do I like wearing it? Do I plan to wear it ever again in future?
- Is it broken, misshaped or scratched or bent?
- Is it missing any vital pieces?
- Does it need a lot of maintenance like polishing, wiping or repairing?
- Is there an earring with a missing pair?
- When was the last time I wore this piece?
- Does this piece make me feel comfortable, or does it pinch or sting me?
- Does it hold a sentimental value for me?
3. Declutter Your Costume Jewellery
Trash the pieces of costume jewellery that need too much of repair, are damaged or have a missing pair/pieces. For pieces that you don’t like or wear anymore, create a Donation pile that can be dropped off at a donation centre or given away to a charity. Get rid of the pieces that you haven’t worn in the last one year or so because it’s a sign that you don’t like them. Also, it’s not worth holding on to jewellery that is too uncomfortable to wear.
4. Declutter Your Precious Jewellery
Precious jewellery items that have lost a pair or have missing vital pieces can be taken to a jewellery store to be sold for some cash. You can also take along the jewellery that you don’t like or wear anymore for reselling.
While sorting through the pile of precious jewellery, you might come across rings, earrings or necklaces you have inherited from your mother or grandmother that are too outdated to be worn again. Let it go if you are willing to do so. But keep it by all means if you want to pass it down to your children. If there are rings that need resizing or chains that need to be detangled, take some time out to visit the store to get the job done.
5. Salvage The Jewellery You Want To Keep
Now that you’ve gotten rid of the unwanted jewellery, it’s time to value what remains. Jewellery, both costume and precious, need ample amount of upkeep and maintenance regularly. If there are pieces in your Keep pile that need repair or fixing, do the needful right now. For pieces that need polishing or cleaning, take time to get them professionally cleaned as soon as possible.
6. Get Creative With Storage
Give how expensive jewellery pieces usually are, make sure that you invest in good-quality storage for your jewellery. This leather jewellery organizer can be a great storage solution for those precious jewellery items. For carrying the jewellery while travelling, you can opt for something that is small, portable and spacious enough to carry 8 to 10 pieces. For your costume jewellery, you can go for a simple hanging jewellery organizer or a stud holder or an acrylic jewellery box.
Purging your jewellery collection can be difficult because the emotions are high. But once you do it, I promise that you’ll feel glad about what you have accomplished. Getting rid of unwanted stuff, no matter how expensive it was, can sometimes be so freeing that you’ll be proud of yourself for taking the time out to declutter it.
When was the last time you decluttered your jewellery collection? What challenges did you face while purging your jewellery? Share your thoughts in the comments below or write me at hello@theaestheticabode.com.