What's Really In My Bag?-TIPS TO KEEP YOUR PURSE ORGANIZED

First of all, what’s NOT in my bag?...let’s start there. This article is by no means being written from the perspective of someone who has hers well put together at all times, the tips you find here are what truly works until I'm too busy to keep up with the routine altogether. Ironically, I'm quite the opposite of messy, I'm constantly decluttering my space and the inside of my car is almost always immaculate, if you saw inside my bag before you met me, you would find it difficult to believe it belongs to this nifty perfectionist.

I'm not necessarily a big handbag person because I find switching it up to be too tedious sometimes, I like to just grab the purse and go so I end up using the same bag for just about everything (even though I have others) for years until I need a new, everyday bag. I switched to a different one for the new year because I had the last one for about three years. When I emptied the old one, deep in the abyss of randomness that was my handbag existed stuff I had not seen in months.

It was bad, from old receipts, a bunch of coins, piece of an old boarding pass, lip gloss for everyday of the week, pay slips for the last year, hand sanitizer, three masks, a hair comb, another hair comb because I thought the first one was lost, copies of important documents, a half eaten muffin, my handbag basically looked like an episode of Hoarders.

When I switched, I was determined to do better with keeping it mess free so I packed the new handbag with items I felt were absolutely necessary which are:

• My wallet

• Two pads

• Flushable wipes

• Menstrual pain medication

• Glasses

• Ear buds

• One compact powder

• One neutral lip gloss

• A comb

• A mask

• My phone

• Car keys

This is the system I implemented to keep my bag organized:

• Light declutter every few days- I made sure to get rid of receipts and coins at the end of the week.

• Home filing system- I implemented a filing system for significant documents as well as receipts at home.

• Prioritizing- The most important things I felt like I needed to carry around at all times apart from my wallet are my period supplies. You never know when you or someone else may need them.

• Limited makeup- I stuck to just one lip gloss since we're wearing masks anyway, there was no point in having five of the same type of product weighing down my bag. Since I do not reapply makeup throughout the day, having a compact powder to eliminate shine was sufficient.

• Separate bag- Any additional medication or supplements I had to either take daily or to have on hand when needed, I placed in a small pouch and stored those in my lunch bag that I take to work everyday.

• Car storage- I started storing extra pain and allergy medication in the First Aid Kit in my car so I have them readily available when I'm out without the lunch bag. I also stopped walking around with a bottle of hand sanitizer dangling on my purse since everywhere you go there's a washing station and I also have the option to sanitize with the bottle of sanitizer I keep in the car.

Additional tips you can follow to keep your bag organized:

• Get rid of old membership cards that can weigh you down unnecessarily.

• Purchase a bag with many compartments for storage.

• If you're unable or uninterested in buying a new bag, invest in cosmetic pouches to categorize and store everything you need to carry.

• If walking around with hand sanitizer is a must, consider switching to hand sanitizing wipes which are more compact and can fit flat at the bottom or side of your bag.

• Set a reminder on your phone to alert you to declutter useless items that accumulated over time.

I can certainly say the system works as long as you're consistent, these methods have helped me to prevent my purse from reaching the terrible state of the last one, it's still a personal challenge for me to stay steady with it though, if you're like me you know the struggle. If you don't have this problem and you're a champion at keeping your bag organized at all times then definitely drop a comment below to share your tips with us, we would love to know how you do it.

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#WhatsInMyBag #HandbagOrganizationTips #HowToOrganizeYourBag #MessyBagTips