Are you scared to empty the contents of your purse in front of people, because you never know what will tumble out? We just keep stashing things in our purses, thinking that we may need them at some time (which may never come!). Come to think of it, most of the ‘essential’ things create such a messy purse, that you never feel like cleaning. Start with these great tips for a clutter free purse and once you get habituated of a tidy purse, you’ll never let clutter accumulate again.
10 tips for a light and clutter free purse
Change your mindset
The first and most important thing before you start to keep your purse organized, is that you have to WANT to keep it clean. It doesn’t matter that you have a big purse and all the things that you carry around are your life-savers. If you dig deeply, you will see that half of them are completely unrequired. You, therefore, have to make up your mind to get rid of the clutter, and then start organizing. However, it all starts by changing your mindset first – by making your mind up that you want a tidy purse where you can find things easily.
Learn to let go
As you are used to carrying a lot of things which you think are necessary, it might be unnerving at first to let go of some of the things. You might even feel weird initially, with a light purse, as you are habituated to lugging around a heavy bag. But you will get used to it, and feel happier about having a purse which will never embarrass you, if you have to open it in front of strangers in an emergency.
Besides, you will experience the relief at not having to rummage in the bottomless pit of your purse, trying to find your keys or phone. A clutter free purse is great for your posture too, as you will not have to slouch or bend slightly trying to lift the load.
Empty the purse
Take out all the contents of your purse. Then create a few groups of items which are similar. Put the makeup with the makeup, receipts and slips together, cash and change together and so on. You may find several pens, some which write and some don’t, as well as visiting cards of people, your own cards, jewelry, etc. At the end of it, you should have a completely empty purse and wallet.
Unzip the other compartments or pockets and shake the bag. You’d be surprised at the dust, lint and crumbs which fall out. Use a lint roller to clean the lining of your purse. If you want, you can vacuum also, but lint rollers are a gentler option.
Make a list
After thoroughly cleaning your purse, you should sit and make a list of things. This is the time to purge extra items to get a clutter free purse. For example, do you really need to carry ear buds with you all the time – you can clean your ears before leaving home! And carry only your visiting cards, store other people’s cards in a visiting card folder at home.
You should reconsider the things to keep in small purse – instead of many makeup items, one lipstick/lipbalm, mascara, hairbrush, wallet and phone should be the essentials.
Buy a makeup bag
Almost every woman carries around makeup, some carry their entire makeup kit along and some more. Unless you are going on a trip where you carry everything along for daily use, keep just a lipstick, balm, mascara and compact to freshen up. You can even carry double duty stuff such as lip balm with color, hand sanitizer which double up as lotion and the smallest sunscreen of the one you use. Keep the bigger size at home and apply when you leave.
Makeup items are some of the things which get into all nooks and crannies of the bag. To keep your purse organized, buy makeup bag which has separate compartments for everything. Or just buy a small toiletry bag and put your lipstick, bobby pins and hair ties in it.
You could also keep tampons, pads and tissues in your toiletry bag so that you’re never caught without these items.
Clean the purse
Your purse should be clean inside and out. Clean it with alcohol free wipes to remove stains and dust. Be sure to test on a small spot (at the back) to test it first. Canvas handbags can be cleaned with gum erasers.
Choose a small hairbrush
Flyaway hair gives an untidy look. You might be carrying a huge hairbrush with you. Well, it’s time to buy a small hairbrush or even a small comb. This little change will make your bag much less cumbersome.
Keep sunglasses in a case
Sunglasses can get lost in the bag and scratched if you keep the without the case. Always keep them in a case to protect them.
Fix a place for your phone and wallet
Fix a place for your wallet which has your driver’s license, other ids, credit card/s and cash. Putting them in the main compartment always will make it easier to grab when you want it. As for your phone, if your bag has a back zipper compartment, put it in there for easy reach, or stash it in the smaller compartment of your bag. If you have a small bag, you have to put both wallet and phone in the main section of the bag. In this way, you will be able to have a clutter free purse and find your important things easily.
If you carry your earphones with you, be sure to wind them up and clip with binder clip, so that the wires do not get entangled with anything.
Buy a few small pouches
Once you have made a list of things, you know what things to keep in small purse as well as in your bigger tote, then buying a few pouches of different colors makes sense. Instead of a makeup bag or toiletry bag, these pouches can keep your purse organized and lead to a clutter free purse. All you have to do is transfer the pouches from one bag to another when you change bags.
To keep your purse organized all the time, put the receipts and bits of paper in a separate ziplock, and always keep emptying the stuff that you do not require.