Quite often, I embark on organizing projects, both big and small, because I simply enjoy the process of thinking it through, planning, shopping for supplies, sorting, containing, labeling, and putting it back together in a fun, functional and pretty way. And while I have certainly been guilty of taking on organizing projects just for the kick of it; most often, these projects are born out of a serious need to get some aspect of our home or life in order. Today’s Organize This project was one that I didn’t exactly have time for considering all the crazy things going on in our life right now…but my purse was so out of control and driving me crazy on a daily basis that I had to make time for it! Today, I’m giving you a glimpse inside my purse and sharing some ideas for getting yours’ organized too!

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

It will be no shock to see that I implemented my tried-and-true-and-used-everywhere strategy of corralling like items together in containers. Instead of using bins or baskets like I do around our home, in my purse I implemented a series of pouches to contain and corral the items I need and use the most.

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

Sure, everything looks nice and neat and orderly up there, but that’s not exactly where I started. Everything that is now nicely contained into the little kits you see above started off floating around the bottom and in the pouches of my trusty cobalt blue Vera bradley purse. The day I finally had enough I dumped it out and this is what I found…

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

Years ago when I bought this purse, I had really good intentions by buying these two laminated pouches to corral toiletries and coins. For the most part, they functioned perfectly…it was everything else that didn’t have a place!

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

Even though these two pouches were more or less doing their job, I knew a good purge was in order. I started by emptying everything out and evaluated what I used, what was expired, and what was still necessary…

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

I purged down to just the necessities (and got rid of a lot of trash), and now my on-the-go toiletries fit much better and are much easier to access!

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

We pay for a lot in cash, which means we are constantly using and getting back change. Instead of trying to fish coins out of the tiny pocket on my wallet, I use a small coin purse. I’ve done this since we lived in Okinawa (where much of their currency is in change form) and the habit stuck!

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

With coins and toiletries mostly under control, where was the issue? There were two main culprits cluttering up my purse and driving me crazy: receipts and snacks. Because of the blog, I need to keep a hold of most of my receipts. I am horrible at remembering to take them out of my bag and transferring them to my blog business binder, so it doesn’t take long for every pocket in my purse to look like this:

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

Corralling like items into dedicated “containers” is a solution that works for me time and time again, so I implemented it here too. I started by snagging two of these adorable pouches that I had been eyeing for weeks at Michaels…

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

And then cut out labels that say “THIHM” (for blog receipts) and “YUM” (for snacks) from gold vinyl using my Cricut Explore.

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

Into the THIHM pouch went a few pens and highlighters, as well as the few receipts I wasn’t quite ready to file because of returns.

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

I then packed the YUM pouch with a variety of non-perishable snacks for both Henry and I. Both he and I get pretty “hangry,” while out running errands, so keeping this pouch stocked should help prevent grabbing snacks in store checkout lines.

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

Thanks to the addition of these two pouches, everything that usually lands in my purse now has a dedicated place…

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

…and since everything fits juuuust right, there is no spare room to toss in extra things (except for a water bottle!) I’ve been using this system for a few weeks now, and it’s been a game changer for keeping track of the things I need to access the most and keeping purse clutter totally at bay! Yay!!!

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

Organize This

My Organize This series is all about (relatively) simple and quick organizing projects that make a big difference in your day-to-day life. These aren’t intended to be large organizational overhauls, but rather quick sessions you can accomplish in an afternoon or weekend! This Purse Organization project took just an hour but has made a huge difference in my daily routine! Catch up on other projects in this series by clicking on the pictures below:

So how do you keep your purse organized? Do you use pouches, pockets, or something else? Do you change out purses frequently? I’d love to hear the solutions that I have worked really well for you!

Is your purse a black hole you can't find anything in? Check out my solutions for creating order in this most used item of the day!

I hope you all have a wonderful July 4th weekend! I’ll be back here Tuesday with one final project for the Master Bedroom! See you then!

Megan Signature

See You Soon!
Megan