My mother’s jewelry box sat on the top shelf of my closet for almost three years (longer than I’d like to admit).
I brought it home the month we emptied her house. It was one of the first things I set aside, back when I was looking for her papers and anything that might matter. Then I put it on that shelf and didn’t open it again.
Last week, I finally carried it to the kitchen table.
I lifted the lid and sat very still for a minute. There was the gold-colored brooch she pinned to her coat for church. There was a tangle of beaded necklaces, and a small pile of clip-on earrings (one had lost its partner years ago).
I put on my reading glasses and turned a few pieces over.
Almost all of it was costume jewelry. The real pearls she gave me when I turned forty were never in this box. They have been in my own jewelry box for more than twenty years.
So none of this was worth much money. But I could picture her wearing almost every piece. That’s what made it so hard to sort.
If you have a box of inherited costume jewelry like this, I understand. It can feel easier to leave it on the shelf and close the closet door.
But the jewelry was not doing anyone any good up there. Not me, and not the people who might love it.
So I’m going to share how I sorted my mother’s costume jewelry, one small pile at a time. I’ll show you what I wear now, what I gave to my family, and what went to a new home.