Welcome to the 30-Day Organize-athon!
In today’s 5 minutes we’re going to organize your purse, tote, man-bag, briefcase, satchel, book-bag, or whatever generally accompanies you when you’re out and about. I’m just gonna call it a bag for now. 
Think clarity, freedom and order…
Day 22: Organize Your Bag
Step 1: Empty everything out of your bag.
Step 2: Neatly put back into your bag only those items you need, such as your:
- Wallet
- Keys
- Cell phone
- Small make-up purse (ideally you’ll just have some basics – a neutral lipstick or lip balm, mascara, mirror, small bottle of fragrance)
- Small tissue pack
- Small, light umbrella (I walk a lot so I always keep one in my bag)
- Sunglasses
- Tampons
- Hand cream
- Mints
- Pen and notebook.
Step 3: Be sure to toss out all the handbag clutter, including:
- Floating tissues
- Unneeded receipts
- Ancient mints and gum
- Loose coins
- Random pens
- Paper scraps
- Accumulated hair accessories
- Indecipherable notes
- Icky make-up.
And you’re done!
Got an Extra 5 Minutes?
Declutter one of these:
- Declutter your wallet of old receipts, decrepit photos, loyalty cards for places you rarely visit (your wallet real estate is precious!), business cards, random papers, credit or store cards you don’t need (destroy with care), and any other random crap.
- Declutter your keyring of keys you don’t need. If you’ve forgotten what keys are for, put them on a separate ‘mystery’ keyring for later investigation. If you’re always fumbling for keys, arrange them in order of use – eg, car, garage, mailbox, top lock, bottom lock.
- Declutter your make-up purse of excess cosmetics, as well anything prehistoric, old-fashioned or funky smelling.
How liberating does that feel!
The 30-Day Organize-athon Mantra
Move fast. Don’t overthink. Let it go!
Got a Question?
If you have questions about any of the 30-Day Organize-athon tasks, or the 30-Day Organize-athon program in general, please ask your question on this Q&A post or on this Facebook post.
I’ll put together a special Q&A post and answer the questions for you.
Leave Your Comment Below…
Please leave your comment below to say you’ve completed today’s task.
See you tomorrow!
[Image by aussiegall]
Done. I thought this would take less than 5 minutes, but it took longer and there were some receipts in there I REALLY needed to deal with. Thanks. 😀
This took FAR longer than I thought it would, but boy, my bag was getting too heavy for even me to carry. So it is done! Found some gift cards and other things I wondered where they had gone.
So…task completed.
Did the two bags that I carry around – laptop and smaller bag with wallet, phone and, of course, camera.
I do this daily so this task is done as usual!
I only use one bag; it is big, contains much and is pretty organized, but I realized I needed to weed out a little. And check the balance of one prepaid card I had.
Plus I always have a pair of nylon socks in case my feet get wet, and I will add a couple of Bandaids for the summer (when you change shoes, your feet need a little help getting used to them). Thanks!
DONE! Woo hoo!!!
finished. changing bags helps in this respect, as do kids when they drop bits of snack into your purse!
Not only do I feel better mentally but physically as well since my bag is now a whole lot lighter!
Done!
Done 😉
@Tom: I won’t be taking the posts down so come back any time you like! And thank you for your kind words. M 🙂
wondering if you’ll be leaving this 30day athon up for awhile?
I am a chronic procrastinator but have started & will finish !
sincere thank you for your dedication to being such a help & ultimate promoter towards ones happiness
I dont have a bag either – I clean out my wallet in my Weekly Plan every Friday. I collect as the week goes on then sort at the end.
DONE
http://edaic.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/day-22-30×5-organize-athon/
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Done – Now why did I have 1 camera and 2 camera cases in my purse again?
Done – that’s 22 days of organising and a whole lot done.
I love my purse – it was $9.95 at some fancy department store and I’ve had it for years. I have a small cosmetics bag in one compartment with aspirin, face wipe, handwipe, etc.; another small cosmetics bag in the center compartment with my lipstick, credit card holder, pen, paper, and a spare car key; the third compartment holds my check book.
Receipts get dumped once a week and filed. Spare change goes in a can and when it’s full I cash it in. (When it adds up to $500 I get a CD at the bank for the grandchildren.)
My purse is so small, there’s almost no room for junk to accumulate. Took about one minute to clean out!
My purse is like a “hot spot.” It constantly gets cluttered and it is a never ending battle to keep it clean.
Done! What has really helped me with this was a few months ago I switched from a big tote to a fairly small purse. It ONLY has room for my wallet, credit card case, cell phone & a pen. So it forces me to empty it out regularly.