15 Minute Organizing – Handbags
There are so many small organizing projects that you can do quickly. To give you some ideas for quick projects this is a series of posts that will get you more organized and then make it easy to maintain order.
Handbag
Do you love handbags? I do. I don’t have many, but the ones I own, I love and use. (That’s the rule for me.) Often the challenge with keeping a handbag organized is having homes for all the regular items you carry with you. Let’s make a list: wallet, cell phone, eyeglasses, hand lotion, sunglasses, hairbrush, car keys, pen and paper, make-up, gum and mints, business cards, and the list goes on and on.
Keeping carrying all this (and sometimes more) can mean a lot of chaos in a small space. It also makes it a chore to switch handbags if you like variety. But there are ways to contain all the items in to small spaces that will keep your bag clear of clutter.
Here are some great options from Pinterest.
Do you love handbags? I do. I don't have many, but the ones I own, I love and use. Click To Tweet
Storage Ideas
The first option is to have a bag that comes with lots of storage pockets. I like this idea for traveling or if you never change handbags. It seems like for many people, this would fit the bill.
I like to contain similar items into small zipped pouches, so I carry 3 or four little bags inside my handbag. It makes it easy to grab the items I want when I am changing to a small purse for a quick trip out or packing for a long haul. It also makes it easy to find what I am looking for quickly, like when I am in line at a store.
One more option is a purse insert DaffysDream. It keeps everything together and viewable. Just pick it up from inside one purse and drop it inside another. Couldn’t be easier. They come in many sizes and colors.
Be creative. What works for you will be something that you can maintain organization with ease.
A little creativity goes a long way in a small space.
Sort, Purge, Group, Contain, Maintain.
What’s in your handbag?
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Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
I tend to travel lightly but to make it easier to switch bags when I need to, I like to keep the basics (handcream, tissues, etc.) in each one. Then if I want to switch it’s just my wallet and maybe a couple of other items that I need to transfer over.
That’s a good option. I’ve gotten used to carrying very little and keeping the essentials like a comb, and sunglasses in my car.
I try to carry as little as possible, but I do have my wallet, glasses case, phone, and a small bag with chapstick and a few personal care items. I tend to stick with one bag per season, rather than change my back all the time. When I travel, I pack an even smaller bag so I can carry my ID, credit card, etc.
Excellent systems. Having less bags means less stress, which is always nice!
I love handbags and have quite a collection. I don’t change them frequently. I tend to change them with the season, for a special outing, or when I’m traveling. I sometimes carry way too much in my handbag and then try to cut down but usually go back to carrying too much. I also like bags with pockets and dedicated places to put things. One thing I do regularly is empty my bag or receipts, trash, and anything miscellaneous.
Regularly emptying them is something that I’m sure helps keep the bags in the fun and stylish category instead of in the stressful clutter category. I also love anything with pockets.
I love purse inserts! They are so wonderful. However, I found that getting a sturdy sidewall one is better than the floppy one. The floppy ones fall over easily inside the bag.
Agreed, the inserts need to be a part of the solution to make it easier, not flop around and make it harder.
Some people love purses. My mother has been searching for the perfect purse since the Eisenhower administration, and I’ve been tagging along on her searches for more than half a century. She demands a large, semi-structured purse with lots of pockets, to which she adds small zipped pouches. She keeps a purse for fall/winter and spring/summer. It’s big, it’s heavy, and I usually laugh at how much a person could possibly need.
Mine is much smaller, currently a Baggalini water-resistant nylon cross-body bag that I originally got for traveling.. One or two outer pockets for glasses and my phone, a zippered interior pocket for storing my keys, compact, tissues, and lipstick, and a main interior roomy enough for my wallet, glucose meter, and a small pouch for ear buds, a scrunchie, a pen, and a pad of stickie notes. Once a week, I remove any random receipts or detritus that pops up. And I keep one bag until it’s ready to be recycled because it’s hard for me to find what I love.
I’ve missed the old Pursketts, so the Daffys Dream is a nice replacement for when I’m recommending accessories to clients. Thanks for telling us!
It seems like you and your mom could write the book on how to handle handbags with half a century of your research! It’s always interesting to see how each of us has preferences for the style, what we carry, and when we switch them out.
The bag-in-a-bag option is so useful! You can even color code the pouches so you know what’s in them at a glance.
Color-coding is a great idea to make it easier.