15-minute Organization Challenge #3  Purse Organization 

I don’t know about you but I have my purse and phone with me every time I leave the house.  Some gals feel like they need to take everything with them out into the world.  Let’s talk about what should be in your organized purse and how you can actually find the Tylenol when you need it.  And if you want to watch me going through Brooke Walker’s purse on Studio 5 check out the clip HERE

Take everything out of your purse.

Purse organiztion shouldn’t be hard to do in fact you should do it weekly. When taking things out of your purse go through all of the pockets, both interior, and exterior. Once you have everything out, you can use this chance to clean your purse as well. A quick and easy way to do this is to turn it upside down and shake it over a trashcan to empty out any debris AKA fish cracker crumbs, gum wrappers, etc.  Also, I like to take a Mr. eraser and clean any scuffs off of the outside and disinfect the bottom of my bags with a Clorox wipe.

Sort everything into piles.

How you do this will depend on what you had inside your purse and how you organize things; everyone is a little different. It’s a good idea to put similar items together. Here are some samples piles to get you started:

• Electronics, earbuds, chargers,
• Feminine care products
• Gift cards, coupons, and loyalty cards
• Makeup
• Medication
• Wallet, money, and credit cards

Go through your piles and pull out the items that you seldom use. Take a careful look at your items. Do you really use that tablet or eReader each and every time you leave the house? Some seldom-used items are important in case of emergencies (such as feminine care products or medication) but other items (such as electronic or entertainment items) are not absolutely necessary. (entertainment items are things like magazines books, crochet, hobbies)

• This does not mean that you can never bring your electronic or entertainment items with you. Pack them in your purse only when you know that you will need them; otherwise, leave them at home, or store them in a bag and when you go just grab your purse and your entertainment bag, think of it as a diaper bag for adults.
• Be selective about your makeup. Limit yourself to just one lipstick and one eyeshadow palette.  the less you pack, the better.

Consider getting a smaller purse.

Since you are organizing your purse, you can take this time to switch it out for a new one. This will force you to be more selective about what you put into your purse. It will also prevent you from stuffing unnecessary items into it, which can lead to clutter. This is just a suggestion, I have a huge bag for when I do events or go to studio 5 and smaller purses when I’m just running errands. Your life will determine what you need to take with you.

Consider getting a purse with interior and/or exterior pockets.

Pouches are a great way to keep an organized purse, but they also take up space. If your purse already has pockets in it, then you can use those instead. Pockets are also great at keeping things like cell phones in one place (as opposed to rattling about loosely in your purse).  I hate my large tote bags because they lack pockets but because use pouches it easy to just throw them into any bag.  If you have only one bag get one with pockets!!!  exterior pockets are great for keys and make finding them easy,  just saying.

Make use of pouches. This is my favorite tip and one I preach to all my clients when I talk purse organization!  A simple pouch will keep similar items together, and prevent you from having to rummage through your purse each and every time you need something.  It doesn’t even have to be a fancy pouch; a plastic, a zippered bag will also do in a pinch. Be sure to have a separate pouch for each set of items; you don’t want to keep your coins with your makeup! Here are some items that I put into pouches:

• lipstick, lotions, gum,
• Medication
• Feminine care products
• Pens, pencils, post-its, and other stationary items

Store gift cards, loyalty cards, and credit cards in your wallet or a cardholder.  

Many wallets even have special slots for these types of cards. If you want to get super-organized, sort them by stores, food, entertainment, etc.

• See if your loyalty cards are available in app form. This can save you lots of space because everything will be stored on your phone.
• Store the cards you use the most in your wallet, and the cards you use less often in a separate pouch.

Keep your receipts in one place.

You can keep them in your wallet or in a mini, accordion-style file holder if you have a small business and need to keep things separate. You should also have a system in place for them, including how often you go through them and throw them away. The last thing you’d want is to hoard receipts that expired five years ago.

• This step can also be used for coupons.

Consider storing medications pill box to save space.

If you need to take a lot of medications for allergies, pain, headaches, and so forth, consider keeping a few pills in a weekly pill box. Label each compartment with what’s inside, such as pain medication, allergy medication, and so forth. You will have to refill the pillbox often, but at least you won’t have to carry several bottles of medication in your purse, which can take up a lot of space.

• Consider keeping this in a zippered pouch along with other care items, such as dental floss and tweezer, I mean that outdoor light in the carpool lane is the perfect time to tweeze just saying.
• Another option is to omit packing your makeup. Pack items for touch-up only, such as lipstick, lip gloss, and powder. I personally never take makeup with me, I’m a one and done kinda gal.

Keep miscellaneous items in their own pouch.

Chances are, you may have a bunch of items that you need in your purse. Instead of letting these items rattle about loosely in your purse, consider putting all of them inside one, zippered pouch. There is that pouch preaching again.  This includes things like earbuds, batteries, notebooks, tweezers, etc.

Wow, that was a lot but you need to be super picky in your life if you want that serene sense of living.  Your purse is with you every day and can hold lots of unneeded stuff so clean it out once a week for a fresh new start to the week.  I’d love to help you get organized email me to get on my list.