We live out of our pocketbooks on a daily basis so it should be one of the first things we should organize, right? But many people don't and lose countless minutes to hours a week rummaging through the "black hole" in search of keys, phone, credit card, lipstick etc.
In order to help you organize your purse(s) the first thing to do is to SORT. Collect your bags and gather them and their accessories into one spot. This might be your bedroom floor or bed itself. As you do this you may want to write a "Pocketbook Checklist" of items you find essential such as:
Kids Cubby Storage
Driver's License / Roadside Assistance card / Registration / Key codes Keys Phone Money & Emergency Money Credit Cards (Copy 1x a year front and back for security measures) Checkbook Insurance card(s) / List of Medications Discount cards / Gift cards Receipts / Business cards Paper & Pen Glasses / Sunglasses / Cloth Pictures (put on phone) Gum/Mints Medical / Sanitary Cosmetics Tissues
Now that you have everything related to your pocketbooks and their content it's time to be SELECTIVE. How do you feel when you wear it? Does it fit your shoulder comfortably, is it stained, need to be fixed, in style? Be honest about how often you use it and "When In Doubt, Get It Out" is my motto as a professional organizer. If you don't love it and use it then let someone else love it and use it more than you.
Now, count you inventory. Are you comfortable with owning 20 pocketbooks and 10 wallets? Do you really have the room for 50? Remember, we use the same 20% of our stuff, 80% of the time. Keeping less is easier to store and easier to find. Go for the quality of your handbags and not the quantity.
Now that you've selected what stays, get what's not out of your house immediately. That means PURGE. Donate, consign, toss, give to a relative, sell on Ebay or at a garage sale. Can you repurpose anything? Say an old wallet for secret cash stashing in the house or an older tote bag for an emergency set of clothes for the kids in the car?
Now that you've sorted, selected and purged, you're finally ready to ORGANIZE & CONTAINERIZE your purses. Start with measuring or counting your KEEP pile. Use a measuring tape to see if you have 3 feet or 10 feet worth of bags. Do you have 4 or 40 pocketbooks? You need to know this or finding the right space and proper organizing products to help you "house" your items will be difficult.
Think about how you want to store your keepers? It doesn't matter how you store them, it only matters that you organize them the way you think you'll find them. Here are some examples:
From small to large By color By season By usage; daily, travel, dress up From inexpensive to pricey
LOADING ZONE
Now you know how many to store and how you want to organize them. The next step is to determine where you want to keep them. Will it be in your closet, an armoire, under your bed, in an extra bedroom? Once you decide where these purses will live, you may want to utilize the following organizing products to help you:
Over-the-Door solutions specifically made for pocketbooks. Some use hooks, snaps, or straps. Shoe/Sweater storage products that can be just as suitable for purses. They can hang over the pole of the closet with Velcro or hanger hooks. You can use adjustable flat shoe racks, shelving, cubbies, clear shoe/sweater boxes. Under -the-Bed products work well too such as containers on wheels and slide out racks. Have an extra wall? You can use pegboard, hooks and even nails. Shelves. You can run a shelf along the perimeter of your closet on the top of your clothing rod or along the bottom for designated handbag space.
While you are creating "a pocketbook zone" for all your bags also create "a purse-changing station" within that same area. Put together a box of all your extras for changing purses such as extra wallets, tissues, aspirin, business cards etc. Use your checklist for ideas. Now each time you switch bags you won't forget anything because you reviewed your list.
TODAY'S POCKETBOOK
Now that your pocketbooks are organized, you can easily put together today's purse of choice with your essential items. Try to give each item in your bag a special "home", a specific place where you will find the item and return the item when done using it. For example, keep your keys in a certain front pouch section so that every time you need them you don't have to think about where they are in your bag, your hand will automatically go to the section that you assigned them. Or keep your glasses in a separate zippered compartment so they don't get scratched. This is probably the most important rule of pocketbook management: putting items back where you've assigned them.
There are many interior organizing products that you can use inside your bags that will let you "containerize" or compartmentalize your items which makes it easy to assign specific places for your necessities. Then you can transfer the organizing product from bag to bag without dumping out all the contents of your current purse.
Additionally, if you keep like items together it will be very beneficial to finding them when you need to. It can be as simple as keeping your cosmetics in a small pouch of some kind so all your make-up is contained in one place. Another idea would be to put your bandages, aspirin, hand sanitizer and other first aid/medical items into a Ziploc baggie. The bag is clear so you'll know what you're looking at. Simply move the "cosmetic pouch" or the "first aid bag" over to the next pocketbook du jour. This will eliminate trying to find new homes for your items each time you change pocketbooks.
EQUALIZE/ ELIMINATE & ENJOY
Now that you've organized today's purse and all your pocketbooks, we need a system so your loading zone stays maintained. Every time you use an item in your purse put each item back into its same spot after using it as soon as possible. Each time you change handbags empty it completely and put it back into your pocketbook zone. Go through your pocketbook daily, weekly or monthly depending on how often you change purses. If you do not maintain it regularly, it will turn into a backpack!
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