Spring has officially arrived! In the spirit of spring cleaning, here are some easy tips to get your jewelry collection shining.

How to Clean Silver Jewelry:

Silver jewelry requires special care when cleaning. Using the wrong cleaning method or exposing the metal to harmful chemicals could inadvertently cause tarnishing or other damage. However, cleaning your silver jewelry is not only easy but inexpensive too! In fact, it can be accomplished with a just few items that you probably have lying around your house. Let's get started.

What you will need: (1) small glass bowl or container (2) aluminum foil (3) baking soda (4) salt

Follow the steps below and violà!

• Place the jewelry to be cleaned on the aluminum foil in the glass container
• Pour warm water over the top.
• Mix in 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of salt with the water.
• After allowing your items to soak for a few minutes, you should be able to see the tarnish start to come off.
• Remove and rinse off in warm water.
• Dry with a soft (preferably microfiber) cloth.

How to Clean Your Other Jewelry:

In addition to silver, your jewelry collection probably contains pieces with other metals or gemstones. Therefore, it is important to make sure all stones and clasps that your jewelry may contain are secure before you begin the cleaning process.

When cleaning jewelry with soft gemstones, like opals, emeralds, ambers, pearls, etc., one should also avoid hot liquids, and transferring these type of jewelry items from very hot to cold fluids, which can cause these delicate stones to crack, fracture internally, break, etc.

• If you have gold jewelry or items with precious stones, these can be cleaned with a liquid hand soap or detergent. (Stay clear of harsh cleansers containing bleach or ammonia and abrasive substances like toothpaste which can damage your fragile jewelry.)
• Let your jewelry sit in a warm solution of detergent and water, then rinse.
• Dry your clean jewelry with a soft microfiber cloth.

Now that your jewelry collection is spotless, you can store your pieces until they are ready to be worn.