I have a lot of earrings and wanted to have an easy way to store the ones I use the most so I can have quick access to them when I get ready in the morning. So I came up with this idea for a really simple and inexpensive DIY earring organizer that can hang from a towel rod or rail. It’s perfect for small bathrooms that don’t have a lot of counter space!

What you’ll need:

Materials: small frame – $1 (from the dollar store – 9″ x 11″), plastic mesh canvas – $2 (from the fabric store – 10.5″ x 13.5″), ball chain (on hand), long prong brads (online) – $2, paint (optional)

Tools: Scissors, drill, paint brush (optional)

Step 1: Remove the glass and any metal clips from the frame and drill holes around the frame, evenly spaced out (I painted my frame with gold metallic paint before drilling).

Step 2: With scissors, cut the mesh plastic canvas to the desired size. I cut mine so that it was about 1/2″ wider than the frame all around.

 Step 3: Join the frame and the mesh canvas using the long prong brads. You can get them online in many different colors to go with your frame.

Step 4: Fish the ball chain through the top corners of the plastic mesh canvas for hanging. You can also use rope or string.

Step 5: Hang and add earrings: the 1/2″ of mesh at the bottom is the perfect spot for hoop, clip-on or really long earrings.

I hung my earring organizer on the towel rod in my small bathroom and use hooks for my towels instead – works for me! You can use this jewelry organizer with any towel rod, or towel rail and place it anywhere, like on a closet door, or a wall.

One of the easiest ways to instantly double your hanging space in a closet is to add a double hang closet rod. You can buy one from the store but making a DIY version gives you the option to easily customize the height/length to fit your closet, plus it’s inexpensive, quick and fun to make your own!

You can get everything you need at the hardware store: 1 hardwood dowel (1 1/4” diameter),  4-8 eye screws (2 for the rod, and the rest for the purses), chain (2 lengths of ~ 3.5 ft long), 4 chain links, s-hooks (for the purses)

Step 1: Cut the dowel to the length that you need (you can have it cut at the hardware store or use a miter box and saw)

Step 2: Drill pilot holes and put in eye screws at each end of the dowel (these will be used to hang the dowel). If you don’t have a drill, you can use a nail and a hammer to make a pilot hole. Repeat for the eye screws that will be used for the purses, on the opposite side of the dowel.

Step 3: Attach the 2 chain lengths to the top closet rod using the chain links

Step 4: Attach the chain to the eye screws on the dowel using the chain links – adjust the length as desired.

Step 5: To store your purses, use s-hooks and to store long boots, use pant or skirt hangers (to protect soft leather, pad the clips with foam or cardboard).

The addition of this double hang rod has made a huge difference in how organized my closet is – now I can quickly get to everything I need everyday and I especially love how my boots no longer flop to the side in a big pile on the floor!

If you’re like me and only have a limited amount of shelving space to store things, with no room to add more,  a great solution is to make custom DIY shelf inserts. They are easy and inexpensive to make and will allow you the freedom to configure your shelf space to meet your specific needs.

You only a few basic materials and tools to built them: 4″ x 1″ or 6″ x 1″ pine board, wood glue, screws, corner clamps, drill and a countersink drill bit, wood filler and stain or paint (optional). The steps for making this are the same as for making the shelf from this previous post, except that you don’t need the bottom piece.

It’s an easy and quick way to customize your shelving to work with the kinds of things you have to store, and at the same time makes it easier to get to everything.

When I moved into my small studio apartment, I asked the landlord to take out the closet door so I could place my bed next to it and not have to worry about the door clearance – not wanting to look at my stuff in the closet, a tension rod and a curtain was the perfect solution to close off the closet while still providing easy access.

(Meet my cat Lia – she decided she absolutely had to be in the picture – she loves posing!)

That’s a pretty conventional use of a tension rod, to put up a curtain. Well,  after spending some quality time on Pinterest, I have now discovered a whole new world of possibilities: turns out that tension rods are workhorses for better organization, from shoe storage to kitchen cupboards to organizing your cleaning supplies under your bathroom cabinet.

If you want to see more ways to put tension rods to good use, check out my Pinterest board dedicated to them .