Are you a hobby, crystal lover slowly collecting crystals as you go along or are you a full-on, passionate crystal lover with a huge collection? Either way I hope these storage ideas help you to keep your crystals safe and organized for years to come. There are so many crystals with similar shapes and colors, sometimes it can be challenging identifying all of them accurately, especially as your collection grows. I hope you find value in the following tips below.
Storage containers
I find it best to store crystals in something that is all natural. If you research boxes for storing crystals, you will find various options. I prefer storing my crystals in a quality wooden box rather than a plastic box. It can be a large open box, closable box, a box with wooden dividers, etc. I usually choose a large closable wooden box and then I line it with a black velvet material. The black velvet is soft and shows off your crystals beautifully.
Where to get wooden boxes - My usual go-to, so far, to get wooden boxes are Etsy and Amazon. Sometimes you can find them at Walmart. Etsy has a wide assortment, and some vendors have the option of personalizing them. See pictures below.
Organizing Your Crystals
I have found the following categories helpful to me when organizing my crystals:
Organize crystals by Color - Initially I started storing my crystals by color. I put my black crystals and my clear quartz crystals in their own separate boxes as I seemed to accumulate a lot of these in the beginning. When I first started collecting, I didn't always have enough crystals of the same color to fill their own box so then I just combined two colors for example, purples and pinks, blues and greens, orange and reds, etc. just so that I had some sort of order that could make them easy to find. If you have a lot of boxes, you can customize the covers via Etsy or you can just clearly label each box. Label the tops and fronts of all boxes so it is easy to identify the colors if your boxes are stacked. You can use a white sticky label and handwrite the color of crystals in that box, or you can color code your labels with the corresponding colors as well.
Organize crystals by Chakra Colors - Some of my boxes are set up by chakra. These are my smaller boxes that I use when doing Reiki/Crystal healing sessions. My boxes are labeled in order from the bottom up, root (mix of red, brownish, and black crystals), sacral (orange crystals), solar plexus (yellow, tan crystals), heart (green and pink crystals), throat (blue crystals), third eye (deep indigo or purple crystals) and crown (white and violet crystals). Each box will have crystals for the corresponding chakra. This way when working I can easily and quickly grab the crystals that I need.
Organize crystals by Hardness & Softness - Another way to store crystals is by the hardness or softness of a crystal. The Moh's Hardness Scale is a way to identify the hardness of minerals. The scale goes from 1 to 10 with the softer minerals being on the lower end of the scale and the harder minerals being on the higher end of the scale. The harder minerals are the most resistant to scratching and the softer minerals are the least resistant to scratching. Sometimes it makes sense to store all harder crystals (according to the Moh's Hardness Scale) separate from the softer crystals to prevent them from bumping into each other and potentially scratching your softer type crystals.
Organize crystals by Size - Storing by size might be another option if you have an abundance of sizes. Storing them in boxes by small, medium and large may be the way to organize them if that makes sense to you and how you utilize your crystals.
Organize crystals by Tumbled vs. Rough (Raw) - Another option is to store your tumbled crystals separate from your rough (raw) crystals. This way you don't have to think about the crystals clanking around in the box and risk the rough stones (that often have some sharp edges) scratching your tumbled stones.
Labeling - Once your crystals are set in their particular order and box, I highly recommend placing a card stock square listing the name of the crystal
and its metaphysical properties. As I collect my crystals, I will usually make a card (unless I am super familiar with a stone and use it often) for each crystal with this information so that it is always at my fingertips. There are so many crystals to keep track of and so many of them have overlapping properties. And trust me, a lot of them look very similar where sometimes you will open the box and then be scratching your head saying, "Hmmmmm which crystal is this again?" If you make a card each time you collect a crystal, you won't ever have to guess. Yes, there are crystal identifying apps but, in my experience, they are not always accurate. Another helpful tip is sometimes I will take a small piece of masking tape and then tape the crystal to the card so that it doesn't roll around in the box. Masking tape is gentle, and it has worked nicely for me. Another option, instead of the card stock square, you can also write the name of the crystal on the non-sticky side of masking tape and then place the tape under the crystal. This way all you have to do is turn the stone over to jog your memory. You can always look up a crystal's metaphysical properties online if that is easier for you.
Altar: If you have an open space/altar where you like to display your crystals, I love to line the top of my shelf with black velvet material. (You can get the black velvet liners on Amazon). It is visually aesthetic, it keeps the crystals from rolling around on the wooden table and from rolling and bumping into each other. I prefer to display my bigger crystals rather than store them as I use them a lot when doing distance healing. Below is a snapshot of my open space...I know, I know, it is a little cluttered as I am waiting for more wooden boxes to arrive.
If you presently only have a handful of crystals, you can also store them in an organza bag, cotton bag, black velvet bag or other natural type bag. In the bag you may want to keep your tumbled stones separate from your rough/raw stones. If this is not an option, you can always wrap your rough/raw stones in tissue paper so that they don't scratch up your tumbled stones.
What to do with crystals that have been stored for a long period of time:
One question that I have received is: After my crystals are packed away for a long time what do I do to "wake them up"? This is a great question!
After a period of storage (or even if not in storage), it is good practice to clear, charge and program your crystals regularly. I have done some reading on this, and it seems most crystal lovers are in agreement that crystals should be cleared regularly as they can pick up stagnant energy. It was also interesting to see that a few felt charging wasn't exactly necessary as the crystals innately know what to do. I am in the habit of clearing, charging and infusing my crystals with Reiki but I do love reading about different perspectives. My advice would be to do whatever resonates with you. I will get into several different ways to do crystal clearing, charging and programming in my next blog post. Stay tuned :-)
If you have any specific crystal questions, feel free to submit your questions to me here, and I will try to answer them when I can.
I am currently offering distance energy healing sessions, learn more, here.
Thank you so much for popping by! Have a beautiful day!
Crystal & Reiki Blessings
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