10 Unique Jewelry Storage Ideas on a Budget

The last thing you want to do after spending a lot of money on jewelry is having to spend a lot more money on a way to store it. Thankfully, there’s good news! While jewelry storage is incredibly important for preserving your jewelry, you’ve got plenty of options for jewelry storage ideas that won’t break the bank. 

Jewelry storage is great for a lot of reasons. Not only does it keep your jewelry protected, it keeps it organized and in one place so that you can actually wear it!

There’s nothing worse than having a pair of earrings in mind that you really want to wear, but you can’t find them. A good jewelry storage solution will keep everything clean and organized and safe from getting tangled. 

Whether you want to display your jewelry or want to keep it safe and tucked away, there are plenty of creative jewelry storage ideas to choose from. Best of all, none of these solutions cost a lot of money. You might have these items already laying around your house, or if not, you can easily find what you need for cheap at the store (in some cases, even a thrift store is a great stop for finding cheap, neat items you need!) 

Here are our top picks for the 10 best, most unique jewelry storage ideas on a budget. 

Our Jewelry Storage Ideas

1. The pegboard

This is a classic storage technique that you’ve likely heard of before. Pegboards are a quick, easy, and affordable way to add storage for your jewelry (and even other accessories). What is great about this is that you can get as creative with it as you want, or you can keep it super simple. If you aren’t incredibly crafty, you can get a simple pegboard and attach it to your wall and add some hooks. 

If you want to get more creative, you can either paint the pegboard or frame it, or do just about anything else that comes to mind. The most important things are to make sure it is secured to the wall where you hang it and that you’ve got solid hooks that will hold your jewelry.

We recommend dedicating certain areas to different types of jewelry – so keep your necklaces in one area, earrings in another, bracelets somewhere else, and so on. 

This makes it easy to see everything you own so that you can quickly grab what you want and get on with your day!  

Originally from: Woman by Design

2. Turn to your drawers

Yes, your dresser drawers! Or, if not your dresser, maybe your nightstand, desk drawer, or a bathroom drawer. Make one of these drawers your dedicated jewelry drawer! This is a great way to save money as you aren’t having to purchase a new piece of furniture. It also is a major time-saver, as building a drawer yourself is possible but takes a bit of time!

Instead, try to dedicate one drawer as your jewelry drawer. If you have a lot of stuff we get that this might be a bit difficult, but take this as the perfect opportunity to clean out your drawers, reorganize things, and donate items you don’t need anymore! As a result, you’ll end up with more than just your jewelry organized, so it’s a win-win!

Once you have a clean drawer, we recommend buying a few organizational pieces that will help keep everything in place. Small dividers, for example, can help keep your earrings, rings, bracelets, and more all in their dedicated places so that they do not get lost or tangled. 

If you don’t want to purchase dividers you can always make your own or get creative with items you may already own (which we will get into in later ideas, so keep reading!).

Originally from: Annie Selke 

3. Go for the dish (or the cup!)

As we said, you don’t always have to purchase new items to get organized. We first recommend looking through items you already have to see what could work to store your jewelry. Small dishes are great organizers, as are cups! In particular, short teacups are perfect containers for jewelry and are perfect if you have a vintage leaning style.

Vintage teacups and dishes are great organizers. If you don’t have any laying around, you can always find some for cheap at local thrift stores, or even garage sales! You can then use these dishes and cups either out on a counter to display your pieces, or place them in your newly cleaned out drawer we mentioned above to help divide up your jewelry pieces! 

If you have a more modern, clean style you can still make this storage idea work by choosing simple, neutral dishes or cups to store your jewelry. For those of you who like unique designs and color, go crazy and get a bunch of different styles and colors for your cups or dishes! As long as everyone is different, it will work together in a quirky way and can make for a really cool jewelry display. 

Originally from: Paige Smith

4. Utilize your doors

If you are short on drawer space, wall space, or even countertop space, why not create an over the door organizer and put your jewelry there? This could go over your bedroom door, your closet door, or even your bathroom door. You can either create your own organizer to fit over your door or find some very affordable, pre-made pieces that you can hang in just a few seconds. 

This is a great storage idea for anyone who is really short on space and cannot add any additional furniture to their house or apartment. You’ve got at least a few doors, so why not use them to boost your storage space? This is also a great tip for storing other items like accessories and shoes. 

Originally from: YouTube/Spankie Valentine TV

5. Upcycle an old ladder

This is a really cool idea and perfect for anyone who loves vintage decor and upcycling. An old ladder is certainly not a good idea for using for its original purpose, but instead of just throwing it away, why not use it as a shelving/storage piece for your jewelry?

If you have a section of wall space that is open and that you want to fill with something, this is a great, unique way to take up space while also serving the practical purpose of storing and organizing your jewelry. 

Get creative with the hooks that you add or baskets to hold larger items. If you have things like bead necklaces or even other accessories like scarves or gloves, these are great items to put into containers. Measure the width of the ladder you have to make sure you get a nice fit. 

Found on: Pinterest 

6. Vintage door knobs

We absolutely love vintage doorknobs. They are all so unique looking, but we admit, we don’t always know what to do with them. Instead of using them on your cabinets, use them as jewelry hooks! What is great about this is that you can use all different sorts of knobs, which comes in handy if you can’t find a matching set. 

You can either mount these knobs to a piece of wood or shelving unit or attach them directly to a wall. Then, hang items like necklaces or bracelets from them – it’s that easy! This is also a great idea for an entryway to hang things like coats or purses – just make sure you attach the knobs securely so that they can hold the weight of those heavier items! With your jewelry, it is less important unless you have heavy chains or pendants. 

Originally from: Visibly Moved

7. Head to the backyard

For twigs! Twigs are a great way to display your jewelry, and best of all, you can decide how rustic you want them to look. You can either keep them looking very twiggy and natural, or you can decide to spray paint them to make them look a bit more modern and “cleaned up.”

Once you’ve got your final set of twigs you can mount them to a piece of wood or other similar item and then hang your jewelry pieces off all of the branches! This is great for lighter, smaller pieces of jewelry that you want to have on display and have easy access to. 

To really make sure the sticks are secure, consider drilling small holes that the twigs will fit into and also using something like wood glue to make them super secure. Also, be sure to check that they can hold the weight of your jewelry! If it seems like they might snap, either swap in some lighter pieces, or get some sturdier twigs. 

If your backyard doesn’t seem to have a good selection, you could always find some manufactured options at a craft store. 

Originally from: Rebecca’s DIY

8. Clothespins aren’t just for polaroids

Clothespins are a bit underrated in our opinion – they are such an easy way to hold and display various items! Best of all, you can easily keep them as is, or you can choose to paint them if you want them to look a little bit more polished.

Simply put the clothespins on a string or piece of wire and hang things like necklaces or bracelets from them. This is a really quick, easy, and affordable way to display certain pieces of jewelry that you really want to look at all the time. This works especially well for really delicate pieces of jewelry- it makes for some awesome, minimalist decor! 

Originally from: Collective Gen

9. Check the freezer

Know where we’re going with this? Ice trays make for great small jewelry organizers – perfect for storing rings and earrings! Best of all, they are super cheap and easy to get from any grocery store. This is also a great option for placing in your clean drawer that we mentioned earlier. 

If you aren’t particularly crafty, this is a great storage option for you. You don’t have to create anything – just stick your jewelry in the trays and find a place to store the trays- probably no longer in the freezer ;).

This is also great like we mentioned for small pieces of jewelry vs. larger pieces like necklaces. These trays will keep all of your rings, earrings, or pins neatly organized and easy to find. It couldn’t be easier! 

Originally from: For the Love

10. Display them using an existing long chain

Finally, this is a fun idea that has you using jewelry itself to store and display your jewelry! If you have a long chain (or if you don’t have one, you can purchase one for pretty cheap since you don’t have to worry about the metal being high quality since you won’t be wearing it) you can use this to display items like earrings that have hooks on them- they hook right onto the chain! 

We recommend using a chain with bigger links so that it is easier to hook the earrings onto the chain. If you don’t want to deal with having two separate elements for displaying your jewelry (like a hook on a pegboard or ladder) this is a great option for you. No hooks needed- just the jewelry itself as it hangs on the chain!

If you have a lot of larger earrings with hooks, this is a perfect option for you. Make sure you secure the chain so that it won’t fall down, and you are good to go! Simple, quick, and looks great when it’s done! 

Originally from: Sugar Bee Crafts

Bonus tip: Be careful with displays

Some of the storage ideas we covered have you displaying your jewelry, and it’s definitely a great idea for staying organized and adding some decor to your space. However, we highly recommend that you only display costume jewelry, not fine jewelry. There are two main reasons for this: for your protection, and for the jewelry’s protection!

As for your protection, it’s all about preventing your jewelry from being stolen. Whether this is by someone breaking in, or even someone you let into your house, if it’s out on display, it’s just so easy for someone to take it. Don’t run that risk!

With regards to your jewelry’s protection, your fine jewelry should be stored properly in a dark, cool area so that it isn’t exposed to the air. This can help prevent oxidation or other things from happening to your jewelry. Keep the good stuff stored away, and for your costume jewelry, get creative with how you store and display it!  

Wrapping Up

Getting organized with your jewelry doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Hopefully, these 10 jewelry storage ideas have given you plenty of inspiration for sorting, organizing, and displaying your own jewelry!

From creative displays to genius ways to make use of existing space in your house, you can easily find ways to store jewelry and display everything else. 

What is your preferred method for storing your jewelry? Do you like having things on display, or would you rather keep things sleek and clean and tucked away in a drawer? Let us know!