Walk softly and carry a big purse.
I love big purses. I've been carrying one the size of a billboard since becoming a mother, and even now that all of my children have been past the diaper/ bottle/bib/ change-of-clothes stage for years, I still haven't given it up.The bigger the better.
However, as Stephanie Plum will no doubt agree, a big purse can be hazardous to one's lifestyle. I may not be fumbling for a gun in the bottom of my purse, but that elusive quarter, lipstick, pen, safety pin, stick of gum, dollar bill, checkbook, cell phone, book weight, ring of keys...you get the picture...can really corrupt the smoothness of my day.
So I recently cleaned out my purse. I'm not going to bore you with the items I found in there, but suffice to say, they were plentiful...and most of it useless, outdated, crumpled, or unrecognizable.
(Especially those receipts they print on the shiny paper nowadays; the ones where the ink wears off or fades after a month or two...I wonder how the IRS views these kinds of receipts--they become fairly worthless after awhile, so is that a good thing or a bad thing for someone trying to find as many writeoffs as possible?)
But I digress.
Anyway, I had recently read somewhere that Hilary Clinton uses these little mesh pouches to organize the contents of her purse, instead of a wallet. One for credit cards, one for cash, one for ID, etc. They're color-coded, thus making each item easy to find, and I thought, in the spirit of trying to become less of a fumble-around-at-the-cash-register kind of gal and more of a quick- draw-speedy-checkout-customer that the people in line behind me appreciate that I'd give it a try.
So today, I got the four I had ordered, duly organized my stuff, and realized I need about three more little mesh bags...but that'll come later. I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes.
When's the last time you cleaned out your purse? What did you find? And if you have any organization tips for the big-baggers like me, will ya share?
Colleen Gleason stepped onstage at 8/05/2006 12:53:00 PM
6 Comments:
I have OCD when it comes to organization. I'm a freak. I know...
I also have a purse for any color of outfit I wear. I usually change purses every other day or so. I love the small ones, but sometimes you NEED a big one. Usually though, I don't carry more than my 2"x3" wallet, a few checks stuck in the wallet, lip gloss, gum, keys, and cell phone.
I'm a purse freak as well as an organizational freak. hehe
When I became a mother, I quickly learned the miracle that is the Ziplock baggie. They're not as cute as those mesh pouches, but they're cheap and plentiful.
But I am still guilty of having a dump in my purse. In addition to toy trains and various fast food restaurant kid's meal toys, I usually have two or three notepads, a variety of pens, tubes of lipstick I don't wear anymore, receipts, etc.
The worst thing to find is my cell phone. And when you have a huge purse with at least three pockets, it's a sure thing you're going to miss that call.
Lord help me if I ever get The Call.
Oh, gosh. I'm a big-purse girl, too. I used to carry backpacks instead, full of papers and uncapped lipsticks and general junk.
My only organizational tip, though, is that I make sure whatever purse I carry has credit card slots on the inside, and at least one pen holder because I hvae a really nice pen I bought when my first daughter was born.
Everything else is all over the place, but the cards and the pen stay in their little slots.
And the last time I cleaned it out was a few months ago while waiting for an appointment at the bank. I found lots of American money still in the bottom, very useful when living in England, and about seven keyrings. I keep buying keyrings but never actually attaching them. They are useful for distracting my toddler, though.
I WAS a big purse girl, too.
Still have some, but try like heck not to use them. After several big bag years, I finally got sick of the back/neck/arm pain. I blame the end of my over-sized love affair with carrying three heavy kids around.
For organization, I swear by Vera Bradley bags. The inner pockets are a perfect fit for my things.
LOL Alison. I thought four mesh bags were going to be enough...wrong! I'll have to get more.
But my purse is a lot lighter, with pretty much the same stuff in it. A leather wallet is much heavier than a bunch of mesh bags. I'm liking it already!
I love that idea...I'll have to buy myself a few. I'm not a mother yet but already have the huge bag... :-) *EBY
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