Organize your purse with pouches [here’s exactly how to do it]
If you’re anything like me (and most handbag carriers I know), it’s SO EASY for our purses to get out of control! This will be all about how to organize your purse with pouches, so digging through it just to find your wallet will no longer be a not-so-fun adventure.
I’m sure you’re here because you decided it was time for a change! If you’re not sure, here’s a quick 4 question quiz!
Have you ever decided you’d just get a bigger purse to accommodate all your stuff, hoping that would make finding things easier?
Have you ever had to pull multiple (or almost everything) items out of your purse to find the ONE thing you were looking for?
Have you ever Googled “purse organization” (you probably have, otherwise you wouldn’t be here!)?
Do you look for purses that already have tons of pockets and spaces to put things, because you know you’ll NEED all of it?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you probably should start organizing your purse with pouches!
If you answered yes to more than one of those questions, then you NEED to organize your handbag with pouches!
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Purse Organizer Ideas
Okay, so we’ve established you need to be here and you need to get your purse under control.
I’m going to talk about my favorite purse organizer first, and exactly how to organize your purse.
So first, I love the size of this organizer. It does come in a few different sizes, so you’ll need to measure your purse.
The sizes are Medium, Slender Medium, Large, Slender Large, and X-Large. I got the large size to fit in my tote bag I use the most.
What I really like about this purse organizer is that it comes in two pieces that velcro together.
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That means you can use fewer pockets if you don’t need all of them, so you have options. Flexibility in organizing is always ideal!
It also means you could take the smaller organizer and put your essentials in it and transfer it to a smaller purse when needed!
Win-Win!
The outside of the bigger pouch has two pockets on one side, and one longer pocket on the other. It also has 5 interior pockets (aside from the main, larger space inside).
The smaller pouch has four pockets on the outside. Two pockets on each side.
The two separate pieces velcro together by putting the smaller pouch inside the large pouch. You can use just one or both of them, which makes it really versatile!
Here’s the top view of both pieces together:
In total, there are 13 pockets to keep you and your purse organized!
There’s also this longer string with a clip on the end of it that you can use. I haven’t found a super practical use for this just yet, but it may work really well for you!
I was thinking of using it for my keys, but it wasn’t working for me to keep clipping and unclipping my keys from it.
Keep reading for a step-by-step on exactly HOW to organize your purse with pouches.
How to Organize Your Purse
Let’s get into it!
Make sure you get your purse organizer by clicking here before you get started!
Step 1:
Take everything out of your purse. EVERYTHING. Wipe down the inside of the purse, making sure to get the bottom and corners!
Do a quick scan of all the items that were in your purse and see if any of them need to be wiped off too. You might be wondering why this step is necessary, and I’ll give you a real life example.
I wasn’t using a makeup bag and had about 7 lipsticks in my purse (honestly, I’ve been looking for one of them FOREVER). It turns out, one of the caps got a little crack in it and was no longer staying securely on the lipstick tube.
You guessed. Lipstick everywhere. On everything.
So, assess if something like this has happened to you and see if you need to wipe anything down!
Step 2:
Go through each item you’ve taken out and throw away anything that you don’t need, like that broken lipstick I had.
Other things you can throw away…
- Old receipts you don’t need to keep.
- Pens that don’t work anymore, pen caps without homes, etc.
- Snacks that might not be good anymore (I pretty much always have a protein bar or snack bar in my bag).
- Expired makeup.
- Little pieces of paper with notes you jotted down but you don’t need anymore.
You get the idea!
Step 3:
Set aside things that you’d like to keep, but maybe aren’t so necessary to have in your purse. You can either find a new home for them now or later, but either way, just make sure you do it!
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Step 4:
Now that you have the items that you’re going to keep in your purse, group them together in ways that make sense for you.
Obviously you probably want to keep all pens and writing utensils together.
Side note: these are my favorite pens/markers that I use to write in my planner. They are fine point, come in a variety of colors, and don’t bleed through the paper! Check them out!
This step is totally up to you, but I like to group things together like:
- Mints, protein/snack bars
- Hand sanitizer, lotion, tissues
- Hair clips and ties
Other liquids, like perfume, I like to keep by itself in a pocket.
Step 5:
Put the pouch in your empty, cleaned out purse, and start putting items back in!
You could also put the items in the pouches BEFORE putting it in the purse, which I did start to do.
HOWEVER, I think its better to do it with the pouch inside the purse because then you’ll have a better idea of how you’ll be reaching in to grab something, and it can help you find the best place for items
That’s it! It’s THAT easy to organize a purse with pouches!
One final note is that you should give it a few days and keep reassessing because you might find that a different pocket would work better for your keys, or it’d be easier to grab your phone if it was in the pocket on the other side, etc.
Want more cleaning & organizing ideas? Checkout my Ultimate Guide to Deep Cleaning Your Home Workbook! It has 49 pages of printable schedules in different colors and formats, along with sample schedules AND checklists! Use code INTRO20 to get it for 20% off…only for a limited time! GET IT HERE!
When you go through a few days at a time using your new organization system, you’ll find it easier to make adjustments and you should have a perfectly organized purse in no time!
Another great thing about organizing your purse is that once you have it all set up, you can super easily just pick up the pouch and transfer it to a different purse it will fit into!
More Handbag Organizer Ideas
A couple of other things I use in my purse are an upright pencil case, and a makeup bag.
As you can see above, I keep a few pens in one of the pockets of the purse organizer pouch for quick access. I use the pencil case to keep all my highlighters, markers, additional pens, etc in one place.
It’s also nice to have a vertical pencil case so you don’t have to take the whole thing out of the purse to grab what you’re looking for. I really like this so much better! Check out this pencil case to see if it will work for you!
I like to use different colors for different activities in my planner, so I always like to have options with me!
As a reminder, these are my favorite pens/markers to use in my planner! They don’t bleed through the paper, and they come in a wonderful variety of colors! Check them out!
The makeup bag I got matches the tan felt of the pouch. This has served me so much better than keeping loose makeup items around in different pouches.
Another idea to organize your purse is instead of one big purse organizer you can use multiple, separate pouches.
If you’re particularly crafty, you can always find a cute way to label the bags so you know what’s in each one!
You could use a separate bag for pens, one for makeup, one for any medical supplies, and so on.
If you’re looking for more ways to declutter and organize, check out the 7 day declutter challenge! You’ll receive an email every day, for 7 days, that gives you ONE area to declutter along with tips on how to declutter. Check it out by signing up below!
Check out these benefits for getting (and staying) organized