Jewelry Storage and Organization

When I look at my house I see how much we've out grown it. My messiest areas are the bedroom "Catch all Drawer", Closet, and Master Bathroom.  I decided I was gonna take on one area.

My jewelry was an overwhelming mess in gallon size ziplock bags. Its so tangled I could never find the pieces that I wanted. I own several jewelry boxes but no of them match my current bedroom colors so they were put in boxes in storage or sitting half full in the closet.

I pulled out the jewelry which needed to be inspected, sorted, some of it donated or saved for a future child "Dress up Box". 

Look at this mess! Yuck over whelming. Bangles, earrings, and Pageant Bling OH MY!

I decided that I also wanted to organize my medications, nail polish, hair ties, head bands, and fertility devices and tests.

I regularly check my over the counter and pharmacy medications to see that they have reached their expiration dates. So I took the time to check that it wouldn't go bad before Christmas (when I'll have more time on my hands).

Donations made were lots of jewelry two jewelry boxes that don't make the decor of my home. It feels great to have things more organized and I love that all they have to do when we move is Tape the drawers shut and put them in a box.

Finished Product:

 

Above is the my nail polish, medications, and bandages. 

Hair ties, head bands, bangles, and fertility stuff. 

Jewelry (necklaces, rings, ear rings) in the closet for easy accessibility when putting together outfits.

At some point I want an antique jewelry box, but with so many moves coming up in next few years I don't think its a good investment. This will keep me organized for now. My really nice jewelry is keep in the original boxes from the jewelers.

Edited 07/29/10
Y'all know that if I find something better than what I'm doing or that I think is neat I won't hide it from you! Well I was on pinterest and I found this. I loved it. We don't have very much medicine in our home, but If you need a good storage/organization strategy I think this would be very excellent.



http://raquelenglish.com/ship-shape-organized-medicine-cabinet/

Fabulous! 

If you need other PCS resources

I found two great sources. That I think all MilSpouse need to know about.


Military.com's PCS -DITY-Move

Sarges List "The Ultimate PCS Guide"

Gotta love this stuff, but I'll be borrowing some ideas from these and make there more suitable to my situation.

Clothing Organization

So this is a super tough topic to write about my love of clothing! I love shopping, I love finding deals. I shop Goodwill, sales racks, and boutiques.  But with all that clothing it takes up a lot of space and clothing weights a "ton". I had two closets (one in my parents home and one in my college house) when I sorted through all of my clothing I donated of 5 trash bags of clothing and threw away 2 trash bags. But getting rid of some excess that you don't even wear will make room for more new items and will ease your move. 

How I sort through my clothing is by size and by season. My very first decision starts with the question. "Did I wear this in the past season?" If I did not then I have to decided is it a classic, would it work better in a different climate, is it a Ball Gown or formal wear? If I don't have a good reason why I didn't wear it or I've never worn it; I will donate it. If it has stains or is torn I up-cycle it in a craft, use it to make cleaning rags, or I throw it away. Amy H. said "Take out anything you haven't worn in the last year. If it is a special event/ occasion outfit/garment and may be worn again - that can stay. Everything else, sell or give away." which firms up my belief if you didn't wear it this year are you ever gonna really wear it?

I organize my clothing by size first. So I own 3 sizes currently (y'all know how it goes skinny clothing, normal, and "oh crap I need Weight Watchers fast!").  My skinny clothing which doesn't fit currently is neatly folded and put in 18 gallon storage tubs. I normally sort by "Summer" and "Winter", because I grew up in a place that had all 4 seasons. My winter gear (coats, heavy jackets, ski accessories, and snow boots) is normally in one box (its all so puffy). I normally try to keep the season together, then sort by size I put tissue paper between the size layers. I store my formal gowns in Cotton storage bags at the back of the closet.

Shoes, shoes, shoes! When I moved to our current location I was moving minimal amount of things Shoe boxes did not come with. But then shoes got scratched just sitting in piles in the closet and it was driving me crazy. Current location is Tucson, AZ the dust is amazing here it gets everywhere! So after 18 months of dusting off shoes every time I wore them; I decided enough was enough. I bought 6 shoe boxes at the dollar store ever time I went. Eventually I had enough to put every pair in a box. Love my now organized closet. I saved a lot of space.

Other clothing topics.

I don't do yard sales. I love shopping at them I don't host them. I get rid of things every month. I  never just let it build up in my town house (its so small).  But my Aunt Nessy L. said that Ebay has been a great option for her and the extras they have around the house. Which made me think of lot sales on craigslist.. Both are great option of how to get rid of some extras around the house and possibly make a little cash.  Please do craigslist.org with caution there are some crazies out there. This would be especially good if you have children.

My husband prior to this move had never gone through his clothing since he moved out of his house when he joined the U.S. Navy.  He seem unaware to the fact that 7 years ago he was a size M and he is now a size XL. When I helped him go through his things it was like pulling tooth and nail (next time I'll just wait til he's gone and go through it by myself). Seriously go through or have your husband go through his clothing.

Found a great website! Thought I would share! 

http://orgjunkie.com/2012/04/org-junkies-tips-for-parting-with-your-clothes-free-printable.html

Bases and Places

Oh new places are filled with new faces!  Oh that was corny.  Moving on here are some of my favorite easy to use websites filled with info on new locations.

http://www.mybaseguide.com/

https://www.facebook.com/militarydutystations

https://www.facebook.com/MilitaryTownAdvisor

http://militarywom.com/

http://militarybases.com/

http://baseguide.com


The one thing all of these websites have in common is .... They are hit and miss! One my have your base the other may have no information. These are not my complete list, they just are the best ones I've found.

Why this blog?

I've decided to write this blog because I'm a moving fanatic! I have a love/hate relationship with moving.

I love sorting through all of my stuff in my home and making sure I've downsize and got rid of the clutter. I hate the waiting around of moving. Oh we're gonna move in a year, not much we can do now except to wait.  I am a list maker, I want organization, and I want to have a plan A,B, and C.

I've been the administrator on the www.navyformoms.com group PCS-ing/Moving through experience that I've gained a lot of resources. Maybe these resources will help you in your future move.

Our first DITY move.

*Note the laundry basket with cleaning supplies.
** Note the laundry basket of with clean household items like (towels, sheets, other things).