I oftentimes carry a lot of things in my handbag - keys, cell phone, driver's license, credit cards, debit cards, rewards cards, cash, coupons, lists, hair ties, lip balm, lotion, tissues, pens, sunglasses, the list goes on....can you relate?
Because most of these items are relatively small, they can easily get lost in a large bag and it's so annoying to have to rummage through to try to find what you're looking for. What I like to do is group and separate everything into smaller bags, cases and pouches.
For the essentials like money, driver's license, keys, tinted lip balm, and my cell phone, I use a wristlet that easily fits in my bag and I can pull out when I'm making a quick trip and don't really need much else (the one I have is an old style but you can find a similar one here). I use a magic wallet, which is compact enough to fit inside the wristlet, to keep my credit cards, debit cards, and my license, organized. I keep cash and coins in the little interior pockets of the wristlet. I try not to put anything else in there so that there's enough room to also fit my keys if needed.
For all the non-essential cards that I use less frequently but still like to have on hand, like loyalty cards, rewards cards, gift cards, etc., I use a card cubby and sort them all into the little alphabetized dividers.
My business cards go into a nice business card case so they don't get dirty or bent.
Coupons go into a small expanding file case. There was a time not too long ago when my husband and I were really penny pinching and to make the most of the money we had, I got into the habit of putting coupons for items we frequently bought or stores we normally shopped at, into an coupon file that I took with me whenever I went shopping. This worked really well and I've continued with this habit. I no longer find myself at the store saying, "aww I had a coupon for that!" and feeling regretful that I could have saved some money. I labeled this expanding file with general categories like beauty, craft, grocery, office, etc., which makes it easy to find the relevant coupons when I'm at the checkout counter. I use the space in the front for my shopping list and a pen.
In an accessory pouch that has interior pockets, I keep beauty and personal care items that are nice to have handy like hand cream, hand sanitizer, hair ties & clips, lip color, a mirror, oil blotting sheets, floss, a mini lint roller, tissues, bandages and a multi-use ointment.
My miscellaneous items, like a measuring tape, notebook for jotting down notes and ideas on the go, an extra pen, and a backup battery for my phone, all go into a zippered pouch:
So there you have it, that's how I organize my bag. The general idea is to group like items together and put them into smaller bags, pouches or cases that will keep the contents organized. I know everyone has different needs and carries around different things, but I hope this inspired some ideas on how to organize your own bag, if it's not organized already.
*The folks at Office Depot sponsored this post. All ideas/opinions/thoughts are my own.