Letting Go: Jewelry

Most of the jewelry I currently own was given to me by my mother-- you could say they are her "leftovers". But really, most are gifts that she bought me that she knew I would love, or pieces that were part of a phase in her life that she no longer wore. When I was younger, I thought the whole point of jewelry outside of being a fashion statement was to have a lot of it (thanks Pretty Pretty Princess for instilling that in me). Between the gifts, the leftovers, and my general tendency to hoard, I ended up with a huge jewelry box full of pieces I didn't love, were ill-fitting, or were just poor quality (mostly due to me buying trendy cheap pieces).

Photo courtesy of Unsplash Media.

Its such a strange complaint/predicament to have and quite ironic to have so much considering I rarely change my daily routine jewelry. Most people I know only have a few quality pieces that they bought themselves.

When I moved to New York I downsized my jewelry collection a lot mostly because I didn't have space for it. It was easy to justify getting rid of cheap items from Claires or the sales section of TJMaxx, but it was hard to get rid of the expensive or sentimental items. To clarify, "getting rid of" varies from selling, to pawning, donating, or giving away.

I recently went through my collection again and I asked myself if I was really planning to wear them or not, and if I wasn't, why I was holding onto them. Looking back, I realize how personal jewelry is to ones identity as it as an extension of fashion, and exactly why I didn't wear items that someone else chose for themselves. I guess I just felt guilty and held onto them.

Good Bye Earrings! These were a gift from my little years ago. Never worn...

I reorganized the remainder by occasion (instead of by type) so the everyday items I could grab easily, while I can view my lesser used items (i.e. formal) together when the time comes (or if I want to feel fancy one day).

I am letting go of select pieces that were a phase in my life and no longer matter to me. I am letting go of old trends, gifts from broken relationships, and anything given to me that was never my taste. I took pictures of items that held a special sentimental value to me, but were basically useless otherwise. In true Konmari fashion, I thanked them for what they offered me, but I am fine letting them go.

Good Bye Bracelet! This is the first "adult" bracelet I bought myself, and I wore it for five years straight. One day I took it off, and haven't worn it since.

I still have a couple trendy pieces that aren't high quality, but I keep those separate from my "real" jewelry. I am keeping all the vintage jewelry with plans to make a jewelry art display. I have them in a project bag instead of taking space in the jewelry box. I decided keep my high quality childhood jewelry (no to the polly pocket dangle clip-on earrings). Its in a little travel jewelry box. It includes my first set of earrings, a necklace my Oma and I made together when I was nine, and a charm bracelet my mother made for me based on my childhood activities. Maybe I can pass it on to my daughter or neice one day.