Corralling the Clutter – Part Two: Dresser-top Clutter (Vol. 1)

The decluttering continues! As a girl who loves pretty things, those pretty things can add up quickly and cause quite a bit of clutter, as you can probably imagine (and maybe even relate to?) While I definitely should be a bit more diligent about staying on top of editing things out before bringing more things in (oops, I’m still working on that!), there are plenty of items that I want to keep long-term. Hence, the need to find attractive and affordable storage solutions. Here are some creative strategies I am currently utilizing to organize the items that tend to migrate onto the dresser-top:

Jewelry Storage

I have a few different methods of storing my jewelry, depending on how often I use each piece. Some items I wear frequently and want to have easy access to. Some pieces are extra fun, pretty, or special to me so I like to have them on display. And some are worn less often and can be squirreled away out of sight.

I found these elegant brass swans at a little antique boutique and knew they would be perfect for displaying pretty things atop my dresser. I like to periodically rotate the items stored in them so I always have something different and interesting to look at.

As always, I highly encourage thrift and antique hunts in your own neck of the woods but if you can’t get out and about, Etsy is always going to be a great resource as well.

Find similar here:

Brass Swan Trinket Holders (at Etsy)

For my most-worn simple little everyday post earrings, I store them in this pretty little personalized glass jewelry box that one of my best friends gifted to me when I was a bridesmaid in her wedding. It’s an extra special reminder of our friendship every time I use it 💖 Bonus: it protects my jewelry from being messed with by playful cats!

I love to use this sweet little whale ring dish to hold some of my favorite and most-often-worn rings and small earrings. This was a fun find at a local upscale grocery market but you can find similar dishes on Etsy and at Anthropologie, among other places.

Find similar here:

Whale ring dish (at Etsy)

Ring dishes (at Anthropologie)

Ring dishes (at Amazon)

I have plenty of other costume jewelry, sunglasses, and random make-up overflow and can’t store it all on my dresser (nor would I want to) but the average wimpy jewelry box wasn’t going to cut it for me. I searched long and hard but finally found this giant gem at a TJ Maxx:

She’s not the daintiest little thing but she can fit almost all of my jewelry-related stuff and that is no small task! And she lives on a shelf inside my closet so she doesn’t need to be the belle of the ball in the looks department. Sturdy and good-sized are more important attributes for this particular storage container. I could not find an exact match for this 6-drawer beaut online but I did find the 3-drawer version which is stackable. And the second one listed below is genius because it’s portable.

Find similar here:

Yapishi 3-drawer leather desk organizer (at Yapishi’s Amazon store)

Akozlin lockable 6-layer leather jewelry storage case (at Akozlin’s Amazon store)

I’m not going to go through my jewelry storage container drawer by drawer but I did want to point out one of my favorite jewelry organizing ‘a-ha’ moments. I was trying to figure out how to organize my tangle of small post earrings when it dawned on me: those ring displays that shops use! Why couldn’t I buy one of those display cases myself and use it for my small earrings? Turns out, yep I could! And I did. Inexpensive and comes in a ton of different colors. Game-changer.

Find it here:

Valyria velvet slot ring & earring organizer (at Valyria’s Amazon store)

Nightstand Organizer

My husband has about 1/100 the amount of stuff that I do, haha! But he does have enough random little items in his nightstand that it would be pretty unruly without organizational help. We found this leather drawer organizer at Bed, Bath & Beyond but these are pretty easy to find at most household goods retailers.

Find similar here:

UnionBasic leather drawer organizer (at UnionBasic’s Amazon store)

Nail Polish Odds & Ends Storage

I used to have nail polish paraphernalia in at least 7 different places and needless to say, that was not handy…’hand’y… ugh, sorry, that pun wrote itself while I wasn’t paying attention! ANYWAY, another organizational a-ha moment struck me when I found this woven seagrass container (meant to be a gift basket for 3 bottles of wine) at a thrift store for the bargain price of 99¢.

I can’t love this caddy enough. Fits easily under the sink in my bathroom vanity and it’s so easy to tote it out when I want to do my nails.

Unfortunately, it’s probably not going to be that easy to magically find the exact same bargain miracle organizer that I did! But it’s worth looking for a similar item next time you’re out thrifting. Below is a link to a more professional nail polish organizer that I use for the bulk of my collection and it’s pretty awesome, too.

Find organizer here:

Luxja portable nail polish/manicure carrying case (at Luxja’s Amazon store)

That’s NOT All, Folks…

Once I started putting this article together, I realized I easily had enough material for at least two full posts so please check back in a few days for Vol. 2 of corralling dresser-top clutter! I’ll show my solutions for perfume samples & travel-size vials, lotion, lipstick, and those little lotion and face mask sample packets, etc.

Please share with us in the comments if you’ve discovered a clever, unique, or pretty way to corral your jewelry and/or other dresser-top goods! 💍

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