Jewelry Organizing DIY

Yesterday morning was panicked.  I could not find one of my favorite earrings, and I was late to boot.  Enter a situation my husband cannot bring himself to understand...

Me: Babe, have you seen my peach and gold colored earring??  I can't find it and I'm late and I don't want to have to change clothes!

Husband: Just wear another pair...

Me: ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!  HAVE YOU SEEN MY EARRING?!?!?!?!?!  I DON'T HAVE TIME TO CHANGE CLOTHES!!!

Husband: (now scared for his very life) I haven't seen it; how can I help?  Wait... why would you need to change clothes?

Me: (completely unable to process his sweet offer for help b/c I'm blinded by my lateness and need for said earring) YOU CAN HELP ME FIND MY EARRING! Oh wait... It's here under my other eleventy-million earrings.

Husband: Great!  But, why couldn't you just wear another pair of earrings??

Me: Oh, honey - you just don't understand...

Ladies, I know you're with me on this one - sometimes your earrings just MAKE your outfit.  I couldn't waste the time to come up with another cohesive work look after I was late; I NEEDED that earring.  This is why I couldn't find it...

Let's play I spy. Can you find the following?

1 headband
6 necklaces
7 pairs of earrings
2 brooches
1 Q-tip
1 bobby pin
3 Ibuprofen

This is a shelf in my closet built ins, and it's right next to my full length mirror (outfit central!), so things are just strewn across it regularly.  I decided last night that the earring fiasco was not one that needed repeating, but it surely would happen again if I didn't do something about my "shelf of crap," as my husband calls it.

Enter the mesh basket that I found cleaning a few days back...

While I'm not in love with the color, it was free, and therefore perfectly on budget for my organization project. =)  Don't you love when you discover previously unused, but still extraordinarily useful things lying around your home?!  I do.

So I began organizing my earrings.  I matched them up and made sure all of them had their backs, and of course I ended up short about 5 backs... how does this happen?!  I think the same creature eats earring backs, hair ties, and socks from the dryer.  Really, where do they go??

After all the organizing was done, I started attaching them to the red basket, and... Viola!

(Sorry for the lame-o picture quality, it was nighttime) Now I have them displayed in such a way that I can locate them quickly, and I'll still be able to use the inside of the basket to store something else!  Suh-weet!  Plus I still have 2 unused sides of the basket... I think it's time to go earring shopping ;)  And the big payoff?  I knew exactly where my earrings were this morning, and anytime you can cut some hectic out of your morning, it's a great, great thing.

You could re-create something similar with a wire mesh basket from the $1 section at Target - I know I've seen them there.  Have you made any small changes lately that have had a big impact on your organization?  If so, I'd love to hear!

Happy Tuesday, friends!