If you are someone who is often struggling to keep your purse organized, these minimalist habits will be a lifesaver! Read on to learn how to keep your purse organized WITHOUT spending too much time cleaning it every day.
Purses can be so difficult.
You can fit so much into them, but whether you will ever be able to find the stuff you originally packed is not a guarantee.
I personally hate having to find something quickly in my bag when I don’t know exactly where it is in there.
It’s great to be prepared for anything. However, if you can’t find the stuff you need when the time comes, what was the point of packing it?
To save you from this daily song and dance, I’ve got some tips that will help you keep your purse organized.
With these strategies, you will know exactly where your things are at all times.
Read on to get some ideas!
How to Keep Your Purse Organized
Habit #1: Put EVERYTHING in a case or small bag.
Ok, I know this sounds like a bit of a silly solution. I mean, put a bunch of bags in a bag? It doesn’t exactly sound like a proper fix to the problem.
But trust me, it works wonders!
When you put all of your things into their own bags and cases, you do two things.
First, you keep all of your items safe and secure.
There are no more random items floating around in the bottom of your purse or loose pieces falling out.
Second, you make the process of finding things way easier.
For example, if you needed a pencil, you would end up moving your hands around aimlessly in your bag until you finally came across something that might be a pencil.
With a bag, you would just have to find the pencil case.
You could then confidently take the whole case out, knowing that you have a pen, a pencil, and an eraser inside.
See how this can make things so much easier?
Now, not all things require their own bag. To make things easy for you, it is best to have bags for different categories of things. You’ll find more details about this in the next few habits.
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Habit #2: Leave big items without a bag
If you have an umbrella or a big book to take with you, they won’t need their own bags.
The reason you don’t need it is because, well, it’s pretty obvious what it feels like.
When you reach in your bag for a book or an umbrella, it’s not usually a very difficult task.
There’s no need to use your bags on the big stuff.
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Habit #3: Sunglasses should have their own case
Sunglasses are so fragile.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lost a pair of sunglasses because I didn’t put them in a case. They get all scratched up or bent out of shape, and now they’re not usable.
So save yourself the hassle and just get a case.
It doesn’t have to be an official case, either. Any hard casing will do! Just make sure that they are protected.
Habit #4: Have a bag for health and cosmetics
Depending on who you are, you might need a separate bag for both of these things, but it could also work to share a bag between these two categories.
For example, if you need to have a lot of medication on hand every day, I would recommend getting a separate bag for each.
However, if all the medication you have is a couple of Advils, I would just put it in the same bag as the cosmetics.
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Habit #5: If you have pills in your purse, put those in a small container or pillbox.
Cosmetics, such as mascara, small mirrors, tissues, and perfume, are all such small items.
Without a bag, cosmetics and pills would be incredibly difficult to find in a big purse.
It is much easier to have a small bag to place inside your purse that contains all of the cosmetics and medication you will need.
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Habit #6: Snacks should be put in a bag (even if they already have a wrapper)
It’s easy to toss a granola bar or an apple into your bag for later consumption, but a simple plastic bag will help you keep things clean after you’ve eaten your food.
If you eat your apple or granola bar but can’t find a garbage can to put it in, the bag comes in handy as an impromptu garbage can.
It keeps you safe from any potentially difficult social faux-pas.
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Habit #7: Keep a wallet or coin purse for your money
It’s always helpful to have some cash on hand, but it won’t do you any good if you can’t find it in the vast abyss of your purse.
Instead of just dropping coins and bills into the pocket of your purse, have a wallet or coin purse to put it in. If you don’t have either of those things, any plastic bag will work.
Just make sure it is all together, and you will have no trouble finding it when you’re in a pinch.
Habit #8: Have a separate bag for your cards
Cards are a tough one.
There are so many, and you don’t need them all the time, but they do come in handy quite often.
They tend to be the thing we have the most trouble finding.
Though this step won’t stop you from having to sift through all of your cards to find the right one, I would still recommend having just one bag for all of your cards.
This way, when you look through all of them, you know that you don’t have it with you if you can’t find it.
It is still better than having to check your entire purse ten times over just to make sure you don’t have it (trust me, I’ve been there!)
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Habit #9: For rarely used cards, store them in a safe spot at home
When you know you will need a particular card that day, only take that card with you. It helps make you a little more intentional about what you are carrying.
Ideally, keep your phone, keys, and wallet in a separate pocket of your purse-or in its own bag
Phones and keys don’t necessarily need their own bag, but it helps to have them in a separate pocket of your purse.
If you don’t have a separate pocket in your purse, then you should consider getting a bag to put those three items in.
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Habit #10: List your necessary items out loud so you don’t forget them
If you tend to forget particular things on a daily basis, make it a habit to say OUT LOUD the 3-4 things you usually forget.
Personally, my most important items are my phone, my keys, and my wallet. Before I walk out the door, I always look in my purse and announce, “I have my phone. I have my keys. I have my wallet.”
I know it sounds a little silly, but it really does help keep the forgetfulness from becoming a real problem.
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Habit #11: Any utilities should be in a bag or clipped to the handle
If you ever have need for things like whistles, flashlights, or swiss army knives, it would be ideal to actually attach them to your handles with a carabiner clip.
It makes those items more easily accessible, and it is likely those items will be needed quickly when they are useful.
Try to keep them readily available if you think you will be needing them.
Habit #12: Remove all the items from your purse when you are done with it
When you come home every day, it is a good habit to actually empty your purse right away.
This does not just give your purse a chance to air out. It also ensures that you aren’t accumulating unwanted items in your purse.
It is a quick habit that can really help to keep your purse organized.
Now, this does not mean that you have to come home and take every item out of every bag each day.
To empty your purse simply means to remove the bags and bigger items from it.
It helps to have one designated area where you consistently put all of your purse items. This way, when you next pack your purse, it is quick and easy.
This step can also help you to make sure that you don’t have any random receipts or candies or notes lying around in your purse. It takes very little time and effort, and the organizational results are well worth it!
So next time you come home, first take out all of the bags in your purse and put them in the same place.
Then check that your purse doesn’t have any random items.
If it does, you need to do something about them. If it doesn’t, then you can put your purse away until the next time it is needed.
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Habit #13: Clean out ALL of your purses once a month
At the end of every month, you should do a check of all of your purses.
This means that you need to do more than just check that the purses are empty.
You need to look at the condition of these purses.
Check that they look clean on the outside and the inside. Then make sure that they are not falling apart anywhere.
Make sure you also check the little bags that go inside the purse. Ensure that the items you have in your bag are things that you will still need.
Determine if anything needs to be replaced, removed, or replenished.
Once you do that, you will be sure that you have a collection of bags and purses that are fresh and ready to be used for another month.
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Though these habits don’t take a lot of effort to develop, they are incredibly useful when you are trying to keep your purse organized. If you add these things into your routine, you will see that it isn’t too hard at all to keep your purse organized. It will make your daily tasks so much simpler and stress-free.
i am so happy i found your blog! These tips are GREAT! I can’t wait to read more!!!
I’m glad you enjoyed the tips!
I need to go take your sunglass advice because I usually throw my in my purse. not good!
Yes, I’ve broken one too many sunglasses in my own purse because I didn’t get a case for them :p
I really need to follow these steps, I go mad when I try to find something in my purse.
I totally get that! It is so frustrating when you know you have something in your purse but you just can’t find it!
I need this so much lol it takes me forever to find everything in my purse. I think I need a smaller one. Love the tip on removing all items from the purse when done with it.
Downgrading to a smaller purse definitely can help! But yes, even though it takes a little extra effort to remove items from your purse at the end of every day, it really does save a lot of time searching for things later.
Great ideas Genesis! You are an organizational guru. I definitely agree with cleaning out all of your purses once a month. They can seriously be a black hole when you’re looking for something you need. My husband hates it when I ask him to get something out of my purse because it’s such a disaster. He will usually just bring me my purse and make me find it, LOL!
Hahaha I love that! My own purse used to be a mess before I started using these habits. It was crazy the things I would lose in it!
This post acted as a reminder for me to buy a new purse! The one i had the zipper ripped because I had it so full. I will for sure use some of these tips in the future!
Buying a new purse is so exciting! It’s like finding a new apartment :p Hopefully, some of these tips will help your new purse stay crisp and organized longer!
I love # 10! I have to adopt that one! List it all out loud. I have a couple little bags to contain certain things in my purse, but I also invested in a purse organizer with zipper pockets and open pockets and one large compartment in the middle to hold the big stuff. I can take it out of my bag/purse and transplant it in another one when the mood strikes. IF I keep it clean and organized 😉 , I can usually reach in and find what I need w/o even looking.
That’s really cool! I love organizational tools like that; I feel like they really do help to make daily organization easier.