I Have a Problem

I admit it.  I have a lot of earrings.  I won't say too many, but I do have many earrings.  The last time I counted, I had just over 100.  Since then I've received a few pairs and gotten rid of a few pairs (yes, I do occasionally get rid of them, Caleb), so I'm guessing the count still comes in around 100.

You might be thinking, "Good gravy, who needs that many earrings?  Do you ever actually wear them all?"

Not all at once, no. :)  And of course, I don't need that many earrings.  I don't need any.  But I like them, and Caleb doesn't mind because they don't take up as much space as, say, collectible tea cups or salt-and-pepper shakers.

But when it comes to storing them, that's my problem.  I used to keep them in this box:

This photo is from when I lived at my parents' house.  Dang, I was super organized.

This box worked at the apartment, too, but at the new house, it's not working.  I started out by keeping it on one of the built-in bookshelves in the bedroom: 

But to have it straight on, it wouldn't open all the way, so the stuff in the bottom was hard to reach, plus it's in a rather precarious half-open, half-shut position (which is why it looks like everything is dumped in there.  It fell off the shelf, and I scooped everything up and dumped it back in.).  So I tried turning it sideways:

But it's not very accessible because of the shelf above, and I feel like I'm wasting most of the great container.    

Not to mention, apparently, when my sister and I traded for this purple box, she thought she was being cheated.  She never mentioned it to me before now, and at the time, she seemed so excited that I assumed she truly was.  She got two smaller boxes, and she told me she liked them better.  However, apparently she's been harboring a grudge ever since!  Therefore, if I can find a better solution for me, she can have this box back!

I've looked on Pinterest to get some ideas, and here is some of my inspiration:

Except I'd put the sticks on a board to make fewer holes in the wall.

I'm thinking a combination of hooks for earrings and necklaces, and then a shelf with bowls for bracelets.

The problem is most of the jewelry organizers I've seen are for people who have many necklaces and about 8 pairs of earrings.  I have 100 pairs of earrings and very few necklaces, plus a couple dozen bracelets.  

So, I have a quest to find the perfect solution for organizing my jewelry.  It needs to be cheap and DIY, because my budget is incredibly low.  As to where I'll put it, I have two walls I'm thinking about.  One, next to the bookshelves, and one above the dresser.  Or, if it's not wall storage, it could sit on a bookshelf.

Very messy right now, but I'm hoping I can help Caleb learn to be a teensy bit more tidy here at least.

Any incredible ideas from my lovely readers?  I'd love to hear your input.

The second part of my challenge involves sorting out my earrings.  I've decided to do that by the following rules:

1. I can't wear a pair of earrings twice until I've worn them all.  I don't have to wear earrings every day, though.

2. If I refuse to wear a pair of earrings, I must get rid of them.

3. The only pairs that can be repeated are the studs I usually wear in my 2nd piercing.  

It might sound strange and pointless to you, but I think it sounds fun.  And so I'm going to take a picture as proof of every new pair I wear.  Assuming I wear them every day, it should only take me a few months.  I think it'll be fun to share with you the pictures and the stories of how I got a lot of them.  I'll be updating this feature every Tuesday.  My challenge started yesterday, so you'll get pictures of Monday-Monday every Tuesday.

Love and Earrings,

Leah Joy