My Nail Polish Storage...Then and Now

Since I started my blog and YouTube channel almost a year ago, my polish collection has been growing quickly. Even before my collection has grown, I have always liked to have my polishes organized. I have had many different storing options along the way. Most recently I wanted to store them in a way I can easily see the colors and options I have to do nail art, comparisons or reviews.

When I first started buying polish I had just enough to fit in a make-up bag (similar to the picture below) and it worked well for me. My bag easily fit in a drawer or under my bathroom sink.

I eventually out grew the makeup bag and searched for a bigger option. I discovered this Sterilite container from Target and it was the perfect solution for me at the time. 

I think this system works so well and is probably the most practical for the average polish lover, not the crazy collector I have turned into :). 

It's just the right height for all shapes and sizes of nail polish bottles. You could also find some dividers for these containers as well to keep it organized by brand or color. I love the how the lid clamps on tight as well. (I do not recommend carrying this tote around by the handle when it's full of polish though, it isn't able to hold all the weight and you might find a big mess on your hands.)

Eventually I needed another one ( (sigh)I know... I have issues... and it only gets worse). So I bought another one :). The handy thing about these containers is that they connect to each other! And, hooked together they took up less space and I could easily tuck them in my bathroom closet or under my bed. I highly recommend them!! I still use them to store my drug store polishes and my gel/shellac polishes. They are also perfect for me to take on our extended family vacations if we want to have a fun girls nail night (which happens frequently). I just throw in polish, brushes, remover, files, vinyls and sponges and I am on my way.

And then I had to eventually move on from those, which was a little sad because I loved them. But, I needed to have my polishes more visible and more within reach.

I then stored my polish on some shelves on in my closet for quite some time but the shelves were deep and dark and it was frustrating at times to see what I had so I started to look for another option again yet again.

I considered buying acrylic racks, but didn't want them hanging on my wall and didn't want to pay the money (need to save it for more polish ;)Ha!) My boys have a tall bookcase from IKEA that we bought several years ago and I considered just using it, but there was too much space between each shelf and the shelves were deep. My husband had a fantastic idea. He suggested that we add more shelves to it and add a turntable to the base so it could spin. That way I could have access to more polish. Brilliant! Here is the bookcase in it's original form...(I tried to find the link from IKEA and couldn't find it, so I am not sure if they carry it anymore). Here is one similar at Walmart.

After doing some research online I found that a turntable bearing is pretty inexpensive. The one I purchased on Amazon here can hold up to 1000lbs! It really would be so simple to add this to the base of any bookcase if you want one that spins. :)

But, my husband is pretty handy and likes a good challenge and after some brainstorming he thought it would be nice to have the top spin and bottom two shelves remain stationary to give it more stability since it's so tall. So after cutting the whole thing in two and a few hours of work, here is the finished project...

It's perfect! I LOVE that I can spin it to see the other side and I LOVE that I have more shelves with just enough space to see polishes in the middle. 

And here it is spinning!!

Now let's take a closer look...

The front:

My Essie and OPI Collection take one shelf each and I also have China Glaze and ZOYA on this side. Oh look I still have more room for more Essie's ;)!

The baskets below contain lotion, polish remover, sharpies, nail stickers and vinyls, files, cotton rounds and many other nail supplies I have.

And the back after spining the top...

I have my ORLY, Defy & Inspire and Butter London collections on this side.

This basket has new polishes I have picked up over the last 8 months that I need to still need to give attention to :/. Who wants a haul video for Essie, ZOYA, OPI, Loreal, Sinful Colors or ORLY?!

I use these handy dandy glass containers on the top shelf for new collections I new to swatch or review. See that right there? That's the new OPI Fall Collection!

And in this smaller one are the new Essie Couture polishes! I  think I have 6 so far and am loving them! I use a ball jar for my brushes and tools. And here are books I am currently reading or going to read soon. Love!

Thanks for visiting! Let me know how you store your polish! Also let me know if you want a tutorial for the shelf! I took step by step pictures, but don't want to take the time to do it if no one is interested :).

-Go Polished