Did you receive jewelry for a gift this holiday? Lucky you! But now, what are you going to do with it? I’ve been known to keep jewelry on the top of my dresser for months. Then when my dresser gets full, I move the jewelry into a drawer or jewelry box and heaven knows when I might retrieve it again. Shame on me.

I was thrilled to receive a pair of Kendra Scott earrings for Christmas from my daughter and son-in-law. Here they are. Note the size of the earrings compared to the size of the box and bag they came in.

If I kept  all the boxes my jewelry came in, they would completely overtake my closet. But even worse, if the jewelry is out of sight, I might totally forget about it. Has this ever happened to you?

Is your jewelry hidden away in boxes? If you can’t see it, you probably won’t wear it.

Women adore jewelry (fashion and fine). That’s why we have so much of it. Jewelry can certainly accumulate over time. We don’t tend to discard jewelry as readily as we discard clothing.

Here are some tips to help keep your jewelry organized and very visible.

Store jewelry in small zip loc bags. My friend, Shirley, who worked in a fine jewelry store for years, says
she keeps her jewelry in see-through plastic bags like the professionals. Bags come in small, medium, and large sizes. I found 150 self-sealing bags at Hobby Lobby for $3.49.

Obvious advantages to using these bags are:

• You can easily see what’s in them.
• They keep jewelry from tangling and getting scratched.
• Earrings (and earring backs) stay together.
• Sterling silver jewelry is exposed to less oxidation, which means less tarnishing.

Use silica packets or anti-tarnish paper inside bags when storing sterling silver to absorb moisture and help prevent tarnishing.

You can purchase anti-tarnish paper from places like Amazon. But you can also use those tiny silica packets you find in packing.

Keep fine-link chains from knotting by pulling a bit of the chain out of the bag before sealing.

Allow part of the chain to spill out of the bag before zipping, to keep fine chains from knotting.

Here are a few more jewelry storage ideas.

Small tension rods (located in the curtain section) work great for hanging  jewelry, especially when it has a magnetic closure.

Pegboards you can find at home improvement stores can be used to hang jewelry.

Decorative mesh metal pieces can be used for earrings.  (But remember,  if sterling silver is exposed to air and moisture, it may tarnish faster.)

Hanging jewelry organizers with clear pockets also work well and are super space-savers.

There is a storage solutions for everyone–depending on your space and your lifestyle. For more ideas go to Pinterest.com.

And if you are ever fortunate enough to get a box like this one:

You might just want to keep it for a decoration.