Keep All Your Jewelry Organized With A Popular Accessory Sitting In Your Garage

As your jewelry collection grows, it inevitably becomes a disorganized mess. Rather than looking forward to choosing the right accessory, it can be a nightmare trying to dig through a box overflowing with necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings while searching for a specific piece and still somehow never finding it in all the chaos. If this sounds like your current jewelry situation, it's time to get organized. You could explore ways to declutter and organize jewelry to free up space, or you could make yourself a personalized, highly functional jewelry box using a surprising item that you may already have: A toolbox. 

Toolboxes are designed to provide durable and spacious storage for many differently sized items, making them shockingly good candidates to become jewelry boxes. Many even have locks or spaces for locks that provide some extra security for pricier items too. Whether you have an old toolbox that you're replacing with a newer one, found a secondhand option on a budget, or invested in a brand new toolbox specifically for this purpose, you can easily customize it to be the perfect storage system for your jewelry.

For the simplest transformation, start by giving your toolbox a good clean, wiping the drawers and the exterior. Then, you can begin customizing it to suit your needs. Take measurements of your drawers and start looking for different types of jewelry organizers that will fit. Add trays, ring holders, small compartments, pillows for bracelets, and more to separate your jewelry and make everything easier to find. If you're on a budget, you can even avoid cluttered drawers and tangled jewelry with a DIY egg carton organizer.

While just adding some organizers and putting away your jewelry functionally changes a toolbox into a jewelry box, there are many ways to enhance it and make it more visually appealing in your home too. This is especially important if you're working with an old toolbox because it probably needs a refresh before being brought indoors. If you need to restore your old toolbox, start by washing the box thoroughly with hot water and degreasing soap, then rinse and dry. Strip away any old paint and remove any rust from the box and its drawers to create a clean surface for priming and painting. Remember to also remove rust from any hardware, drawer slides, and handles if necessary. Then, tape off any additional hardware, and spray paint the box a color of your choice. 

Bright primary colors or metallics will enhance the industrial aesthetic, while more muted shades may make the toolbox look more natural indoors. The large metal sides also make a wonderful canvas for painted designs or decorative magnets. Plus, if your toolbox has a lid at the top that flips open, you have the perfect spot to place a magnetic mirror. Overall, a toolbox can be a highly effective way to organize and store your jewelry, but it can also be heavy and bulky. If you decide it's not for you, don't panic, since there are plenty of other creative ways to repurpose an old toolbox around your home.