How to Organize your Purse in 5 easy steps

Have you ever gone through your purse looking for a pen, but couldn’t find it under all the receipts and gum wrappers? Can your friends and family hear you coming from the rattling of loose change and that pack of breath mints you forgot you even had?

If you’re nodding and grinning guiltily, you’re in luck, because this is How to organize your purse in 5 easy steps!

STEP1: Think about what you need

This seems really obvious, I know, but it’s true.Think about it. What do you use every day? This will be a little different for everyone. For me, I would put things like chapstick, my phone, money, my keys, etc. on that need list.

Similarly, think about the things you don’t need. You’re going to want to bring your chapstick, for sure, but do you really need to tote around your entire lip product collection? I’m speaking from experience, believe me. I used to have an entire pocket devoted to lip gloss…and it wasn’t pretty. 

Sort through all the things that are currently in your purse and make two piles; one for all the things you know you’ll use regularly, and one for the things you put in your purse because you needed it for a party….and never took it out.

STEP 2:Think about size

Even if you have a large purse, you want to utilize all that space as best you can. Size matters! You can go to the travel section of any store and get mini everything. because do you REALLY need to lug around that full size bottle of hand lotion?

    *A tip I learned a while back for you ladies that like to keep some makeup with you is to take that stub of eyeliner that’s on it’s last leg and stick that in your purse!

STEP 3: What do you reach for the most?

You've got everything sorted out now, and you're ready to load up your purse. But first you have to ask yourself this question: What do I grab the most? For me, it’s my phone, so I’m going to want to put that in a place that is really easy to access, like a front pocket. You’ll want to do this for everything you put in your purse. All the things that you know you’ll need, but not very often(perhaps Ibuprofen) should go in a back pocket, or the bottom of your purse. Make sure that everything is still easily accessible, though, otherwise it’ll all get jumbled up when you DO need that Ibuprofen…then you’ll have to start all over!

STEP 4: Take the time.

You’ve followed all these steps up to this point, and your purse is finally clean and organized!(and probably a few pounds lighter, am I right?) But here’s the thing. You can’t just do this once and be done. Life is going to happen and you’re going to just stuff something in your bag and forget about it, and before you know it, you’ve got a suitcase again!

I would suggest you go through this process about twice a year, or whenever you feel like your purse is getting too messy. Take twenty minutes, turn on the TV, and just dump everything out. Get rid of all those receipts and gum wrappers that have been threatening to take over you bag! Remember that lipstick you threw in there for touch-ups at your office Christmas party? It’s July, I think you can get rid of that now.

STEP 5: Don’t be afraid to leave something at home

This is going to be hard to do, believe me, but it’s one of the easiest ways to keep your purse organized! 

AND BECAUSE I'm SO NICE.....

BONUS TIP: No pockets? No problem!

Many of the really cute purses on the market today really aren’t designed for organization. They’re basically one big sack with a couple phone-sized pickets on the sides. You want to keep everything need and tidy, but you don’t want a purse that looks like cargo pants with a shoulder strap!

If you have a purse like this, have no fear! There’s an easy, inexpensive way to fix the problem. Create your own pockets. Group all your like items(lip gloss, hair ties, bobby pins, etc.) and put them in their own pouch. These pouches can be found pretty much everywhere(I personally like the ones at Forever21...so cute!), and they can be pretty inexpensive. By doing this you’re creating your own pockets, and you get to keep your cute purse!

I know that the concept of organization can be very overwhelming, and I hope these tips made things seem a little more manageable!