Packing Up Tips - Don't Lose It

I am the queen of accessories.  I have tons of necklaces, earrings, scarves, hair accessories and more.  Packing these smaller items up can be a huge headache because I don't want them to get tangled up or (god-forbid) lost along the way.  The trick is to pack carefully and efficently.  As I've been saying, do NOT just throw everything in a bunch of totes and go, not only will it make everything much more difficult but you will certainly lose several of your belongings in the mess whether they are broken (like your favorite picture frame) or lost (like that ring you have had for four years).  Thankfully there are many ways to avoid such tragedies:

::Packing Jewelry::
Probably the smallest of anything you will try to pack, jewelry can be tricky.  It isn't the worst idea to invest in a jewelry tote of some sort; they are especially good for moving your rings and earrings from one place to another.

Alyssa Plush Fabric Jewelry Box in Pink by Mele at Organize.com

Unfortunately, the most difficult item, necklaces, are rarely given a space in these travel totes.  But have no fear, you can still take them to college without collapsing in despair because they have become irreversibly tangled.  The trick is to wrap them up somehow.  I have (not surprisingly) a lot of bandanas I've collected over the years, these work great to wrap up necklaces in.  Just lay one out, wrap a few times, lay another one out, wrap, and so-on until it is full.  Some of my necklaces are much too long for a bandana though, but no worries!  A tee-shirt works wonderfully for these longer items.  It's the same process as I explained with the bandanas.  Make sure to secure your roll once you have it all rolled up.  I use rubber bands, its quick and easy.  It's best to use a few, one on each end and one in the middle.  For your longer necklaces, it is usually a good idea to fold the wrap in half and secure so that the necklace can't manage to slip out the ends.  Don't want to lose your favorite piece after you went to all that work to avoid just that!

::Packing Fragile Items::
I take quite a few different vases, jars, frames and other trinkets that are more than easy to break, so I have to pack these very carefully.  If you want to spring for bubble wrap then by all means do!  That is probably the best way to pack anything really fragile.  But it's not really necessary to splurge on that (although it is fun to play with, who doesn't love popping bubble wrap?)  It works just as well to use newspaper or, my favorite, cloth.  I have what seems like a million tee-shirts.  I will be taking these with me to college anyway, so it works nicely to go ahead and use those to wrap up any fragile items I have.  Make sure to tuck some of the fabric on the inside too!  Also, don't forget which boxes you have fragile things in, its very easy to just pull things out and accidently drop that favorite glass figurine.