Looking for an easy way to organize earrings?  Here is a great way to organize hundreds of pairs of earrings, and it stores neatly on a shelf or in a drawer.

A tackle box!

I love wearing earrings.  I was in junior high and high school in the early 80’s.  That was the time of neon colors and plastic jewelry.  And I was a children’s librarian for many years, where I got to wear lots of fun outfits and jewelry for various holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, and Christmas. Yes, I do still have a lot of it, but I have acquired more, ahem, “mature” earrings over the years, and therefore have quite a large collection.  Obviously, I needed an easy, yet practical way to organize all those earrings.

I have never really cared for wearing long dangly earrings, mainly because I’ve always had short hair.  I just don’t like the look, for me, of long earrings and short hair.  So, the majority of my earrings are small colored balls in various colors.  

However, I also have a lot of pearl ones (both real and faux), as well as gold, silver, and black.  These are what I wear most often with my business clothes. I am lucky that most of my earrings are fairly small, and therefore easy to store.  So, for many years, I have used a plastic tackle box to store my earrings.

A tackle box is a very practical way to organize earrings.

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First, I recommend using a plastic tackle box, not metal.  Using metal may scratch your more delicate earrings, especially ones that have paint or enamel.  You can pick up a plastic tackle box like this one at Amazon, places like Wal-Mart or Target, or even the hardware store.  Some have movable dividers inside to allow multiple configurations of the spaces, but mine does not.  I don’t mind.

I don’t have to worry about any earrings slipping between or underneath a divider.  And I like the fact that it has a securely-fitting snap lid, so even if I drop the case, the earrings stay safely inside. (Well, as long as the case is shut, that is.)

See?

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Here is my earring box opened.

As you can see, I have my earrings divided up by color.

Because each compartment is relatively small, it makes it easy to find the matching earrings.  And I like the fact that I can see at a glance, all of the earrings of the same color.  That way, I can find the perfect pair to go with my outfit in the morning with minimum fuss and time.  It really works well for me.

I do have 2 larger compartments in the middle and, as you can see below, that is where I store my “collections” of earrings still on their holder cards.

Here are closeups.

One side:

And the other:

This earring organizer stores easily in a drawer or cabinet.

These pictures were taken with the organizer on my bathroom counter because the lighting is better, but I actually store it on a shelf in my master bathroom linen closet.

Here is where it is usually stored.

By the way, here is a post I wrote on how to get your linen closet organized: How to (finally) organize your linen closet.

How to organize earrings that are long and dangly.

I mentioned earlier that dangly earrings are not my style, but if you have some and are wondering how to organize them, here are 2 cute ideas to help you.

Organize earrings on a picture frame.

String thin wire across nails on the back of a pretty picture frame to have a pretty but functional holder for long earrings.

source

You can also simply attach a piece of chicken wire to the back of a rustic window frame for a different look.

I love both of these holders.  Almost makes want to go out and get some dangly earrings! 🙂

I hope these ideas get you motivated to organize your earrings, too. Especially those rockin’ 80’s neon ones 😉  How do you currently store your earrings?

Happy organizing!

~ Pam