Think outside the jewelry box to store accessories

Having well-organized jewels and accessories can be as simple as thinking outside the jewelry box.

You just have to look at things a little differently as you shop second-hand, yard sale and salvage suppliers. Found containers and crates can inspire some creative storage elements without breaking the bank.

Here are a few finds that were transformed into attractive and purposeful ways to store jewelry, makeup and accessories. They all have two things in common: They have compartments, and they can be converted easily into storage pieces.

Best of all — they’re earth-friendly and pocketbook-friendly, too.

Tricked-out tool drawer

An old tool drawer found at a salvage yard was available for purchase with its original components: vintage plumb lines and a slew of medicine bottles, which someone took time to fill with hardware like drill bits, nails and industrial staples. The clerk sold me the whole drawer and its contents for a few dollars.

I emptied the hardware out of the metal tool chest drawer and wiped it clean.

After it was dry, the drawer got a coating of solid white paint, and it needed a second coat for full coverage. If you are working on a metal drawer or component, look for an enamel paint or a paint that can be used on metal surfaces. I like to brush on paint for a thick coating, but you can also use a spray paint.

The paint job gave the tool drawer a clean surface to hold makeup products and jewelry items that are best kept within reach at a dressing table. This helpful tool drawer also could be mounted on a wall using metal screws and a power drill.

Doll trunks for adults

A friend took me in his retro chic 1950 Mercury coupe for a garage sale trip. We were riding in style as we came upon a great sale. I gravitated to an old doll chest that the owner had had in her family for years.

For a new and grown-up use, I could imagine it as a jewelry and accessory caddy for a vanity area.

The small bars that once held a baby doll’s wardrobe could now hold necklaces. I could use the doll trunk’s drawers to hold belts, bracelets and scarves. The drawers were in slightly worn but good condition, and I liked the green and tan gingham design on them.

Twenty bucks later, the old doll trunk was in the trunk of my friend’s sweet ride. It looked like it was meant to ride there, but I had even better plans for it.

I propped it open, and it’s now a conversation piece on my sink vanity.

Personal tip: When you head out to look for unique items, if you can hitch a ride with a friend in an old classic car while hunting down old relics, it certainly adds to the conversation.

Silver chests

Silver chests often end up in thrift stores and garage sales because people don’t often store flatware away anymore. People use their fine flatware and want them more at arm’s reach, not stowed high away on a shelf in a musty box.

When I see these, I pick them up because I love the classic designs of the sturdy, regal, hinged wooden boxes.

Some of these vintage boxes have a curved front like an antique dresser or bed. Inside, you can count on seeing velvet, silk or some beautiful liner fabric that was intended to keep the silver from tarnishing or getting damaged. There are many places for knives to slide into.

Sometimes you will need to counter the musty smell by using fresh lavender inside the box, or try spraying straight vodka on the felt. Vodka can often neutralize fabric smells. Always test a small area, but vodka in a spray bottle can freshen things up. When the alcohol evaporates, it seems to take away the musty smell with it.

If the finish on the exterior of the silver box is beaten up a little, sand and paint the outside of the box with the intention of personalizing it.

Hobby stores have a large selection of monogramming letters. You’ll find them in plain, nude wood materials, or with distressed patinas. I found some large letters at Michaels that even incorporated galvanized steel with chunky wooden letters. You can monogram the wooden boxes with one large letter or spell out a full name. The letters come ready to paint, or like the ones I found, they were already painted and had tin details on them.

If wooden letters are meant to hang on a wall (like mine were), remove the picture hanging hardware on the back with a screw driver. Now, the letter is ready to lay flat and be glued onto your old silver box.

Adhere the large wooden letter with E-6000 glue, which you’ll find at the hobby shop. Follow the directions for drying time.

Monograms are fun, but you can also glue on a message. Craft stores have steel words like “Hope” and “Believe.” These can be pretty when placed permanently on an old silver box.

Or, simply paint the silver box creatively by hand or with the use of stencils. (Decoart makes a lovely line of French inspired stencils that might be nice for silver boxes. The company offers paint with a chalky finish that keeps with the vintage-inspired style, too. JoAnn Fabric and Craft Stores carry Decoart and other lines of elaborate stencils.)

If you paint or stencil your wooden box, be sure to give it a hard candy shell, since you’ll be handling it in your dressing areas with makeup- and lotion-laced fingers. I like to use Minwax’s Polycrylic Protective finish. Home improvement stores like Home Depot carry this product, but so does Wal-Mart, so it’s very accessible. I like this product because it’s low odor and dries fast. It will lock in your art design and make the surface something you can wipe clean later.

Old soda bottle crates

You see these stacked up at garage sales, thrift stores and even salvage yards. Pinterest will show you countless ways to use them. They can display small toy collections or hold napkins or picnic flatware for an outdoor gathering or feast, but I have found that they organize socks just as well.

You can screw the crates into a wall stud and use them like art on the wall of a bedroom. Kids just might enjoy putting away their socks in the old wooden grid formation if given the chance. Use them for hosiery, too.

Simply roll up the socks and start placing them in the soda bottle compartments. As an added bonus, somewhere in your room there’s a whole drawer that now will be freed up.

This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 11:04 AM.