De-Cluttering Your Purse

Aug 14, 2018
3 min read

Oh, the black hole of your purse. I'm here today to tell you about how to keep your purse de-cluttered and how to organize other necessary bags you must carry around depending on your stage of life or profession.

First of all, you all know that your purse is not a trash can! Here's what can happen, you take out a piece of gum and toss the paper wrapper back in to the purse because of course, you don't want to litter and there are no trash cans around. After doing this several times you have a trash can, not a purse.

Where are the keys? You were in a rush, juggling the demands of your kids and dropped them in there. Now your are running behind for an all too important appointment and you're digging around searching for the keys. You know they should be in there, but in your frantic search you can't find them even in the far deep corner pockets!

Let's be realistic, you can't keep your purse clean at all times, but a minute of organizing and cleaning out can save you at least five minutes of time and save you an enormous amount of unnecessary frustration.

1. Start with your wallet.

If you're starting a collection of unwanted coins, make sure you are using them when you check out at retail stores. Those coins certainly do weigh down your purse. Clean out those unused credit cards and expired gift cards. I used to sign up for all the credit card offers at Nordstrom or Home Goods/Marshalls/TJMaxx, etc. to take advantage of the discount offers. But, I soon realized that each one of those credit cards was ONE more card to manage (due dates, and precious "real estate" in my wallet). I have one credit card for personal and one credit card for my business.

2. Utilize zippers and pockets.

This may seem obvious, but we can tend to just toss things in our purse. I only put certain things in certain pockets. Each item has it's own "home" within the "home" of my purse. My keys are ALWAYS in the same outside pocket. My lipstick is always in its own pocket.

3. Use a SMALL cosmetic bag.

I have never been one to carry around a lot of make up. Once I "put on my face" in the morning, I'm done for the day. I'm also a minimalist when it come to purchasing make up and lipsticks. The reason is because I found a few colors that work for me and, MOST IMPORTANTLY there is just LESS TO MANAGE! If you are one to carry make up in your purse, use a cosmetic bag. It will be easy to identify when you are digging around your purse.

4. Computer Bags and Briefcases.

Same rules apply for your computer bags and briefcases. Utilize your pockets and make each pocket a specific home for specific items.

5. Diaper Bags.

If you are at the stage in your life where you have small children and carry around an extra diaper bag, I have a solution for you all that will streamline your system. When my three children were young there was so much to juggle when it came time for me to run errands. The last thing that I wanted to juggle was one more bag to carry. I had an epiphany one day. I realized that every time one of my kids needed a big clean up I would always go back to my car to clean things up. I really only need the essentials when I left the car. So I downsized what I carried when I went into the stores. I left the fully loaded diaper bag in the car. You might want to ask yourself, when you carry around that extra "luggage" of your diaper bag, how often are you really needing all of the stuff inside of it? Use the space of the under carriage of your stroller for your shopping bags, not your loaded diaper bag! If you're running errands for a small amount of time, your kids really don't need so many essentials. The portable diaper changing clutch has changed quite a bit since my kids were little. Here is a great one I found on Amazon. Click on image for link to shop Amazon.