Do you want to be able to have your purses organized for your lifestyle? Here’s how to organize each type of purse for each of your special roles!
In this blog and the video above, I am show you how I organize my everyday purse, my crossbody bag for outings where I want to be hands-free, my special occasion bag when I need to get a little fancy (but still do some work since I am usually helping at the events I attend), and my work bag when I need to lug my laptop and accessories out of the house. As promised in the video description, I am providing all links to products seen below (I provide alternatives for items that are no longer available).
I’m Terry Elisabeth, author of “How to Organize Any Space in 7 Simplified Steps” where I show you how to organize your spaces according to your personal organizing style so that your spaces can finally stay organized. If you need help organizing or just love organizing videos, don’t forget to subscribe to my channel!
So, I have always been organized. But Nikki from At Home with Nikki and At Work with Nikki took my purse and work bag organization to a whole other level. I have been complimented during random bag checks at different locations for having such an organized purse. Anyone who has seen her purse organization videos cannot deny that she is the best in not only organizing all different kinds of hand bags and work bags and totes and even school backpacks, but she is the best at making everything so beautifully coordinated … and not just with purses but with everything!
Well, I’ve been using my everyday purse that I received as a gift, since, not last Christmas, but the Christmas before. So, yes, some items may be a little bit worn, but that just shows you how well your purse and spaces in your home can stay organized if you set up the right systems. I do prefer purses that have some compartments built in, rather than a bucket bag for everyday use. But I will show you how I organize my special occasion bag which doesn’t have compartments (and why I don’t really need them in that situation).
EVERYDAY PURSE
So, let’s start with how I organize my everyday purse (this is no longer sold on katespade.com; however, if you search ‘Kate Spade bow purse’, you may find a used version of this exact bag). My everyday purse has three main compartments, a little zippered compartment in the back, and two open pockets near the front, and under the flap in the front, we have my makeup bag.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Of course, the most important item in any purse is your wallet. As you can tell, I have been using this wallet from Target for years (nice alternative here). I had the black version when I was using a black bag and I gave that to my daughter. This is my favorite wallet to organize your purse because it is so slim and has just enough compartments for everything you really need. There is a window slot for your driver’s license and I have my personal credit card, my personal debit card, my business debit card, my Costco card, our health insurance cards, and auto insurance cards. And, I have a slot for cash and a zippered section for coins. I only carry pennies in this wallet, if I have them, which leads me into this next pouch. In the coin purse (nice alternative here), I carry one-dollar bills and all other coins besides pennies because we use cash to fill up our five-gallon water jugs. We can pop this in a pocket when carrying the jugs. And this also keeps cash separated from my everyday wallet so that it isn’t spent. I have an additional cardholder on a key chain which holds membership cards and gift cards. Keeping these items separated, helps to keep your everyday wallet light in case you just want to run an errand with your wallet in hand and don’t need your whole purse (i.e. if you are dropping the kids off at school and going back home immediately afterward).
Key items to organize your purse are foldable shopping bags. My favorite shopping bags are from Daiso as they fold compactly so that I am able to always keep them on hand. California has had the plastic grocery bag ban for almost 2 years now and I found that I almost never need more than two bags because bigger items can sit in the shopping cart if I’m shopping. And besides shopping, they just come in handy in general (i.e. if you want to carry other things out of the car, like the mail or anything else accumulated while running errands). When I help my mom grocery shop, half the time she forgets her bags and I always pull these out. I just love the convenience and compactness of these. I don’t like having to remember to grab shopping bags especially if I have an unplanned shopping trip.
Another key item to organize your purse is this pouch from The Container Store. It is handy for corralling receipts or holding any documents I may need to carry with me for any reason (i.e. if your doctor gives you lab paperwork to bring to a lab or any form you may need to bring somewhere where folding it into thirds wouldn’t be too big of a deal). I will also hold a receipt in here if I need to return something. This really keeps paper well-protected from being crumpled or damaged (especially if you have an open bag and may come across some rain). Another pouch (alternative here) holds my checkbook, sticky notes, some paper clips, and a cute little pen from Daiso. I’m a digital person so I put everything in my phone rather than using sticky notes but recently my mom used the pen and sticky notes when I was driving her somewhere. And, if my daughter is grounded from her phone and she needs to remember to do something, she can grab what she needs from my purse if we are driving or if we are out. And I have used them a few times this year when meeting random people who I don’t want to give my personal info (rather than sending a text like I would to a friend), but I will give them info like my website link. (Yes, I still need to order business cards. For someone who is so organized, you would think I would have done that by now!)
In the built-in zippered pocket, to organize my purse I carry my tech items. Nikki always has her special “tech bags”, as she calls them, which I love. In the zippered pockets of most of my bags, I carry a charger and ear buds. I prefer anything with a cord to have something either retractable or in a case as it just keeps everything so much neater and you don’t have to worry about anything getting tangled.
I have a little pouch (I like the same coin purse linked above to be used for this purpose as well) to organize my hair ties and bobby pins, a manicure set, and a little floss container in my purse. In another little pouch (fun alternative or alternative), I have essential oils. My peppermint roller is truly an essential oil for headaches (I get my oils here). I have sunglasses in my eye glass case because I always have to wear my glasses, so they never go in my eyeglass case. And, yes, I have my EpiPens … so that I don’t die of any allergic reactions. My closest loved ones know that these are always in my purse and that if anything happens, I should be able to use these on myself. But, if worse does come to worse and I can’t do it myself for some reason, they know that they just have to pop the cap off and stab me in my thigh even through jeans. TMI? Moving on, I usually slip my phone and keys in the standard built-in purse pockets. They are the items that need to be the most easily accessed besides your wallet so having them in open sections rather than any zippered or closed compartments is ideal.
Now, in the makeup bag section of my purse, I have been wanting to make a makeup roll, similar to a brush roll, for a long time now so I figured I would make one with you in my next blog post which is about how to organize your makeup. And, yes, I hold all my everyday makeup in my makeup bag in my purse because my vision in my right eye is quite different from my left, so I have to do my makeup wherever the lighting is comfortable (I have light sensitivity which can be better or worse depending on the day) and where I can hold a mirror close to my face. In one of Nikki’s videos from a while back, she showed how she organized her makeup trunk and I commented that I carry all my makeup in my purse because, at the time, I used to do all my makeup in the car when I got to work. Other viewers exchanged some funny comments relating in which they would do their makeup at a red light. My daughter’s school used to be about 45 minutes to an hour away during the morning traffic and I worked near her school, so I would just fix my face before I needed to head into the office. Even though I work from home now, I still keep it in my purse because I do my makeup in different places in the house and a vanity doesn’t work for my particular needs.
CROSSBODY BAG
This crossbody bag (nice alternatives here) is great for days I want to be hands-free like maybe at the park or an amusement park. I was actually using most of the items to organize my current purse in this crossbody bag which I used for a while in conjunction with my work bag which I will show you later on. Notice how everything is standing up and easy to see at a glance? Of course, Nikki inspired me!
SPECIAL OCCASION BAG
Before I show you how I used my crossbody bag with my work bag, let me show you how I organize my purse for weddings and other formal events. So, as I said earlier, I typically am helping at the events I attend. I actually coordinated the wedding of two of my daughter’s teachers who married each other! For most weddings and events that I attend, I am usually helping my best friend with the set up and coordination of the event, so I don’t have the typical special occasion bag organization. Instead of a cute little clutch where you would just need a simple wallet, your phone, keys, a mirror, and touch-up makeup, I do have to carry a quite larger bag. So, I have to carry some very random supplies including a glue gun, glue sticks, pearl-tipped pins, floral tape, floral wire cutters, ribbon, and heavy-duty scissors. And everything just gets thrown into my purse. I know this seems like the oddest purse organization, but this is an instance in which methodical organization systems aren’t necessary to set up. Since a special occasion purse isn’t something you use every day, you’re not storing items in this purse on a regular basis as these items will all go back to where they normally live after the event.
WORK/LAPTOP BAG
For my work bag (alternative choices for your size laptop here), yes, it is very large and quite disproportionate to my body but, it fits my laptop. Since I need a bigger screen, I need to carry a bigger laptop, so this bag is perfect for me. I used to use this every day at my last job but now I just use it when I bring my mom to the doctor and wait with her in the doctor’s office. Or, I’ll use it for when I bring my daughter to hang out with friends. I either work in my car if I don’t need the internet or I find the nearest coffee shop and work away until it’s time to pick her up.
I have two “tech bags” (alternative here) for this work bag. The first “tech bag” holds on-the-go filming supplies including a lapel mic, clip light (nice alternative here), and tripod (which can be hand-held or standing on the tripod feet; both options allow for an adjustable height) in case I need to use my phone for impromptu filming and don’t have my camera with me.
The second “tech bag” holds my laptop cord, stationary mouse, cleaner, and a washcloth. I recommend the Maker’s Clean Glass & Electronics Cleaning Cloth for your screen. I just have a regular old washcloth because my purposes for cleaning my laptop include my little pet, Joey Tribbiani, who makes a cameo appearance in my video (he’ll have you saying “Awwwwwwwwww!”)
I kept my 2017 planner (great alternative here) in this bag all the way up until now because I knew I wanted to make a post about how I organize my work bag and accommodate those who may use a physical planner. My digital planning post shows you how I set up a digital planner in my phone because I always reverted back to using my phone rather than this physical planner. I also hold a journal (nice alternatives here) in this bag or my everyday purse. I have a special section in my phone for “Dreams & Quiet Time”. If I am waiting in any kind of waiting room, I will transcribe what I have in my phone into my journal. I can’t really hand down memories in my phone, so I figured the journal would be a sweet alternative to someday give to my daughter. The pouch of sticky notes, paperclips and pens (just like the one in my everyday purse above) is useful whether or not you use a planner as you can use the sticky notes for many purposes, including placing a reminder on your dash so you don’t forget to make a stop while driving (something I would do out of routine) or leaving a note for a coworker or whatever else you might need. A lined list pad is helpful if your eyes get tired of looking at a screen, you can write out whatever lists you need. It’s great for clearing your mind of the things you need to do. Document holders (nice alternatives here) are perfect for any paperwork you may want to take care of on your lunch break or just out of the house in general. You can get away with just using one of these holders, but I have three because I had gobs of paperwork when I was working on setting up my current business, so it was helpful to have my personal paperwork and my daughter’s school paperwork separated. When I used to work at my previous job, because my daughter’s school and my job used to be quite far away, I would carry both my crossbody bag and my work bag as we were usually running errands or might need to be somewhere where I needed my purse after work. I could either carry it on my body since it is hands-free or slip it into my workbag.
Did you find any of these tips helpful? If so, what was your favorite? Comment below!
Are you ready to get your spaces in order and take control of your financial future? Start here for access to Terry Elisabeth’s Freebie Library!
In my next post, I will show you how to organize your makeup in different places in your home. And, I will also take you along with me as I customize my personal makeup organizer roll.
Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell, so you can know the moment my next video is up and never miss another organizing video.
Happy Organizing!
Author of “How to Organize Any Space in 7 Simplified Steps“