OrganizingThis post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our Disclosure Policy.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosures page.
My purse all too often becomes a catch all for the junk I encounter while out of the house.
It’s just too easy to toss something in my purse and deal with it later. Unfortunately, later can sometimes take a while to roll around. Receipts, old notes, and lots of lip products usually make up most of my purse clutter, but that changed yesterday because I decluttered my purse.
From the outside, it doesn’t look too bad. (Kindly ignore the kitchen counter clutter in the upper right hand corner.) 🙂
The inside, however, was a disaster. I removed my wallet, which left some obvious essentials: a fake dripping candle from our chandelier, a flashcard, a diaper, wipes, an empty container of Altoids, receipts, and old candy. Yum!
I decluttered my purse in the easiest way possible, turning it upside down and shaking everything out! If only some of the rooms in my house were so easy to empty. I shared a pic of that mess on Instagram, which you can see here. Scary, right?
Once the purse was empty, I sorted through the pile. Most of it was receipts and old shopping lists so I was able to throw all of those away. Some of it needed to be put somewhere else (like on our chandelier), but a few items had to stay in the bag: lip stick, lip gloss, chapstick, eye drops, new altoids, a cloth for cleaning my glasses and smart phone, back up contacts, and my phone.
Believe it or not, I’ve actually had this roll up purse organizer for years. It was in a purse I don’t use much anymore so I grabbed it so I could get organized. If I were buying one today, I’d probably choose something like this
or this
that are bigger and hold their shape more, but for now this roll up one will do.
I was able to put everything in a pocket and even had one pocket left empty!
Now everything’s organized and everything has a place!
My purse is so much lighter, and it’s so easy to find everything when I need it. I sorted my wallet in the same way, removing multiples and trash and keeping only what I really needed. Now I can actually snap it closed!
These are my tips for easy purse organization:
Carry only essential items
Don’t lug around tons of stuff you don’t really need. It will only cause frustration down the road when you have to dig through it all to search for something. Carrying around only what you need will make life easier, and your shoulder will thank you.
Eliminate multiples
As much as possible, eliminate the duplicates in your purse. Instead of 8 pens, only carry 1 or 2. You can see I struggle with this where lip products are concerned, but I am improving.
Give each item a home
Our purses, like our homes, can become huge messes when everything’s just throw together. Giving each item its own special spot will make it easy to put away and, most importantly, easy to find again when it’s needed.
What’s your secret for keeping an organized purse, and what’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever found in your purse clutter? I think the chandelier candletook the prize for me this time around. I’m glad I was able to find it!
What a neat little trick! I need one of these. Hopefully I’ll be switching purses soon, I’m so tired of looking at browns and grays. I can’t wait for spring!
Love these purse organizers. Better than fumbling contents looking for something. Think I’ll get one of those for my larger, less structured purses. I’m carrying a small cross-body style purse now. Very limited space. I downsized my wallet too. I quit carrying all my credit cards which I rarely use anyway. Made a photo of everything in my wallet in case of theft. Stripped keys from my key ring that I don’t need to carry. And best of all – made a habit of cleaning out my purse after each return trip. Receipts go in a file. Trash is dumped. I keep my purse in a specific space in my bedroom. I always know where to find it and it’s ready to go when I am. It’s been a long time coming but a habit worth creating.
Cleaning it out after every trip is a great habit to have! I need to start doing that.
Great tips! My purse was just cleared out but I only because my son spilled an entire root beer into it at an very unfortunate restaurant accident.
Pam
Oh no! That is unfortunate!
Great tips, and love the organizing piece! I am funny about an organized handbag too, and find myself cleaning it out every couple of days. This should help. 🙂
Cleaning it out every couple of days is a habit I need to get into.
I love the long, outside edge roll. I actually think that would work way better for me. Now, the great search to find one.
🙂
Great post! The title really caught my eye, as I could hardly carry my purse yesterday due to the overload of “stuff.” I especially like your point about eliminating multiples. That’s my downfall. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing!
One of my practical New Years’ resolutions was to keep my purse(s) neat and organized. This is a great trick. Now, if I could just remember to keep everything sorted! Thanks 🙂
What a great pocket storage! I have to take a moment and clean mine out every now and then. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
It helps if I keep my purse higher than the reach of my 3-year-old, who really likes to reorganize the contents of my wallet. 🙂
Stopping by from Wonderful Wednesday, thanks for the review and tips!
What a sweet helper! My 1 year old like to do that too. He seems to prefer everything either throw on the floor or scattered through the house. I haven’t quite caught onto his methodology yet, but I’m sure it’s brilliant. 😉
What a very clever purse organizer! I love all the little pockets for everything!
It’s so helpful for keeping everything organized!
I love that organizer! My purse is a catch all for both mine and my little ones items. I have been looking at some organizers but haven’t made the jump to get one yet.
It’s so helpful to be able to keep everything in its own place.
At one point I was seriously considering getting one of the pocket organizers, or making one by myself. In the end I decided that the best method to limit the amount of junk in the purse is to have a small purse– the smallest practical size. Bottomless bags just beg for unnecessary stuff. I also keep some essentials in the glove compartment in my car. This way I don’t need to cary, say hand cream in my purse.
Veru good idea! It’s much harder to clutter a space if you’re limited on room. I need some room for baby essentials (diapers, wipes, sippy cups, etc), but as soon as we’re out of this stage I’ll be downsizing.
Thank you for contributing to Motivation Monday!
Where can you find these purse organizer sleeves? I see people use them, but can’t seem to find them.
Hi, Heather,
I wish I could remember! I’ve had it for years. I was able to find some organizers on amazon (linked in the post) but they’re not the kind that goes around the perimeter of the purse. Sorry, I can’t be of more help.
Okay – I did it! I’m still having some issues in letting go of my iphone portable charger. Don’t know if I can do that as I consider it completely necessary! And I found 7 pens. SMH.
If it’s necessary, keep it. Just make sure it has a home. As for pens, I’m worried I may have you beat. I need to declutter my purse again, and I know I have a lot of pens in there!
I can definitely say my purse has a lot more junk in it than that! I love cleaning it out because it feels so light once I get the junk out and just put the essentials back in. That roll up organizer looks pretty useful. I’m wondering if you know of any purses that have organization built into them that would be similar to that?
Nothing comes to mind off the top of my head, but that is a great idea. My purse always feels dramatically lighter too. My diaper bags were always the worst! I credit some of my back pain to hauling those around for years.