New Uses for Old Accessories

It feels great to organize a jewelry box, sock drawer or shoe rack. But before you toss, donate or otherwise discard your accessory flotsam, consider reusing it. Many women have encountered a tangled ball of necklaces at the bottom of their jewelry box. Before you start tugging and making knots worse, grab some baby oil and stick pins. Protect your working surface with newspaper or an old magazine and lay the knots out as flat as you can. Apply a few drops of baby oil to them, and work them out with the pins. Next, tackle that motley crew of earrings you have. Some may not have backs, and that's OK. Many jewelry stores sell extra backs, but if you need an economical solution, then try breaking the eraser off of a pencil. Push gently through the post of the earring, and voila. If you have a few large mismatched earrings sans mates or even brooches that are broken or unused, then save them! You can do a few things with them.