Keeping yourself organized when you’re on the go is just as important as organizing your home. Today I’ve pulled together some ideas and resources for avoiding bottomless-pit handbags and purses.

Cleaning Out

The process of organizing your purse is very similar to organizing rooms in your house. The first thing to do is to clear out the space, or in this case, the purse.

Next, sort the contents of your purse into categories. Depending on what you typically carry, some categories may be: cosmetic/personal, mints/gum, pen/paper, money, coupons, and electronic. A critical category is “belongs elsewhere.”  This category is for everything you’ve been carrying around that doesn’t really belong in your purse. The object is to have a simplified and streamlined handbag, so be ruthless, here!

The third step is to go category by category and purge the items that you don’t really need to store in your purse. Do you have duplicate items? (How many pens, lipsticks and packs of tissues do we really need when we’re out and about?) Purge all but the one you use most often, and place the extras in the “belongs elsewhere” pile. Again, the goal is to only carry around what is absolutely necessary.

Now that you have determined what items you want and need to have in your purse, it’s time to assign these items a “home.” By assigning your things to homes, you will always know where to quickly find the item when you need it and, even more important, where to consistently store the item when you’re done with it.

These days, many purses come with an assortment of pockets and compartments that can help with storing your things. But there are several ways to take it a step further and give yourself the gift of complete handbag organization. Here are a few of my favorite ideas, ranging for budget conscious to a bit on the extravagant side:

 Clear Organizing Bags

One way to assign easily accessible homes for your purse items is to group each category in a clear, plastic, zippered bag. I found the one below at Office Depot ($9.98 for a 3-pack), but you can find similar bags at discount stores and dollar markets, too. 

(If you want to go ultra-cheap, you can just use disposable zipper sandwich bags.  If your purse gets as much use as mine, though, these flimsy bags probably won’t last very long before needing to be replaced.)

The Purseket

Like most women, NJ Carson, was tired of always digging in her purse to find what she needed. So she did something about it and invented the Purseket® (short for Purse Pocket).

The idea behind the Purseket is a very simple one—a removable set of pockets that can be transferred from handbag to handbag.  If you like to switch purses often, simply lift the Pursekeet out, pop it into the new purse, and off you go!  Such a time-saver! I love this product so much I featured it in a post last year, A Few of My Favorite Little Things: Organizing Gadgets I Can’t Live Without.

The Purseket fits along the inside of your purse, leaving the middle empty for your wallet. The pockets vary in size to accommodate all sorts of items and serve as permanent “homes.” The Pursekeet itself comes in different sizes to work with whatever size handbag you prefer (large, $23.50; medium, $21.50; small, 19.50; and  junior drop-in, $17.50.)

There are also a wide assortment of fabrics to choose from, making this a very flexible and customizable organizing tool.

The Butler Bag

Organized Butler Bag

The mother of all organized purses has got to be the Butler Bag, which claims to be the world’s first compartmentalized handbag. I own two of these and I adore them (although in full disclosure, I have to confess that Butler Bag sent me my first one free for this review.)

The beauty of the Butler Bag is that hidden inside this very stylish accessory is a compartmentalized insert that gives you defined sections, or “homes,” to store your things. Your de-cluttered wallet can then easily fit along the long side of the insert.

 Whether you’re a fashionista, a busy mom, a business exec, a student, or a combination of these, the Butler Bag has a functional yet very stylish option for you. The only down side is that they are a bit pricey (the 2009 Classic design sells for $125, the new satchel is $225 and the “BOUTURE LINE” ranges from $800 to $1,400). But if designer handbags, and the price tag they command, are your thing, why not invest in a designer bag that has your organizational happiness in mind?

So, do you have any tips to share for keeping your purse in tip-top organizational bliss? Leave me a comment below with your ideas.

Simply yours,

Debbie

P.S. For some additional ideas on organizing your purse, check out these posts from two of my fellow Professional Organizers:

 Org Junkie’s Purse Round-up

 Jeri Dansky’s Organizing and Decluttering News

Related posts:

1. Product Review: Pursekeeper
2. A Few of My Favorite Little Things: Organizing Gadgets I Can’t Live Without
3. Ask the Experts
4. Virtually Organized Product Reviews-Sherpani
5. Creative Ways to Zip Up Your Stuff