Overstuffed jewelry box? Try a 'detox'

Debbie Roes of San Diego owns the largest jewelry box she could find, but it was still so full, she had difficulty seeing her belongings. So she decided to declutter it as part of an overall purging of her possessions, and the result made her happy.

"It used to be so cluttered that I didn't really know what I had, and many pieces I loved weren't being worn," Roes said.

Many people accumulate extra jewelry over the years and could benefit from organizing it better. That might mean discarding, giving away, selling, repairing or repurposing pieces, said Cyndy Aldred of Lufkin, Texas, author of "Idiot's Guides: Organizing Your Life."

Begin by weeding out those you never wear. Roes did that and quickly parted with 20 of her 282 pieces.

She also pulled out jewelry that was broken and either had it fixed or got rid of it. Then she grouped together like pieces, which helped her realize she had many duplicates.

This undated photo provided by Kathy Zaltas shows a new necklace made from diamonds re-purposed from an older worn out chain. (Kathy Zaltas/Zaltas Gallery of Fine Jewelry via AP)

Once the jewelry was sorted, she forced herself to pick her favorites. She donated, gave away or sold the rest.

She did several purges like this so as not to deplete her collection too quickly, she said. Between purges, she would move the pieces she wore into different drawers in the jewelry box. The pieces that hadn't been moved by the next purge were good candidates to get rid of.

If you're unsure about discarding something, Aldred suggested, put it in a box in a harder-to-reach location. If you haven't retrieved it after a year, get rid of it, she said.

She also suggested having a jewelry-exchange party at which friends gather to swap pieces.

"You feel better about purging when you give it to someone you know will use it," she said.

This undated photo provided by Kathy Zaltas shows a necklace made from diamonds and an opal re-purposed from an older cocktail ring. (Kathy Zaltas/Zaltas Gallery of Fine Jewelry via AP)

Kathy Zaltas, who owns Zaltas Gallery of Fine Jewelry in Mamaroneck, New York, said customers often bring in their jewelry boxes or ones they have inherited, wondering what to do with the contents.

Zaltas helps them determine which pieces are valuable, which could be repaired or made into something new and which could be sold.