One of the words I’m focusing on in 2015 is foundation. I’ve been really trying to evaluate what’s helpful in my life and what’s not. This book has really inspired me and it started me down the road of weeding out things I don’t want/need. I used to have a purse compulsion. Oh gosh, I don’t even want to think of how many purses I’ve bought in my lifetime! I’m definitely a sucker for a well organized bag but the problem is that I have different needs at different times. It’s taken me a long time to figure that out! I would have a system going in one bag and when I went to move things over, I came up with so many different organizing systems that I could never keep anything organized. I also had repeat items in each bag because it was such a pain in the butt to not have what I needed when I needed it. The key to it all is having a place for everything and sticking to it. Creating more ways to organize and changing my system constantly is what prevents me from ultimately being organized so I decided to create my FOUNDATION. Here we go!
My foundation starts with a Purse Organizer.
I spent good night on the computer researching purse organizers. What I like about a purse organizer is that you have your organizing system that can pop in and out of other bags. The only caveat is that the bag you put the organizer in can’t be a slouchy hobo bag. It has to have structure. The idea is to have a plain bag (without all the bells and whistles and ALL the pockets) because you’re bringing the pockets TO YOUR BAG.
I went with an orange purse organizer because most of my bags are black on the inside and I wanted something that would make my items stand out.
From what I’ve read about this purse organizer is that people love it but it’s kind flimsy. I wouldn’t say it’s flimsy but one of the handles did come off after about 5 uses, so I sewed it in place and reinforced it. Other than that I really love it and for $10, I really didn’t mind having to sew the handle back on. It’s a game changer.
Here’s it is all filled with goodness. 13 pockets total!
All of this stuff fits into there.
If you wanna see more of my on the go essentials— check out this post
On one side I have these items—
On the other side there’s this!
This is what it looks like from above without anything in the two zippered compartments.
You can see how easy it is to see some of my essentials from above. That means quick access.
If I bought it in black, I am sure that items would get lost.
In one zippered compartment I have all of my food/snacks/tea things.
And in the other I stash my makeup/lip gloss/perfume/tweezers, etc.
In the middle compartment, I store my wallet/checks/post-its, reusable bags (I LOVE BAGGU BAGS!) and some lip balm.
I forgot to mention that I slip my phone into one of the side compartments or sometimes throw it into the middle compartment if I’m rushing around.
Now that I have come up with an organization system it’s time to put it to good use!
So here’s the plan I have. I have THREE bags in rotation. A work bag, an everyday bag & an on-the go bag.
First bag is my work bag.
I just picked this up from Gap. It’s really big and roomy!
This is the biggest bag and requires a lot of space because I need to carry all of my folders, lunch and water bottle for work. It’s also big enough to carry my DSLR if I need to bring it.
In my work bag, I carry folders with me. I’ve tried an expanding file folder system before but it just doesn’t work for me. I end up carrying around things I don’t need and it’s big and bulky. To counteract this, I came up with a few categories and used Colored Folders to organize my stuff. They’re labeled with washi tape & sharpie.
Here’s the view from the side. I actually flip them the other way in the bag so that I can easily throw something into a folder to sort later. I’ll show you.
In my work bag these are my essentials:
Water bottle, folders, journal, Purse Organizer and lunch containers.
You can see how easy it is to get into the folders here…I slip receipts in so easily!
There’s enough room in here for my camera if I want to bring it too. For my camera, I bought this really cool/sturdy neoprene Camera Bag . It protects my camera really well and doesn’t add bulk.
All wrapped up.
All tucked in!
Next bag is my everyday bag bag.
I got it at Old Navy recently and love it.
(It’s currently on sale!)
This is something I would take to the grocery store, running errands, going out to lunch/dinner etc.
The idea with this bag is to use the purse organizer and take only a few of my folders.
There’s enough space for other things to be added (mostly Cooper’s legos!).
My last bag is my On-the-Go Bag.
It’s a smaller bag that can also function as a fancy dinner bag if I need it to.
The good thing about this bag is that it can fit into my work bag so if I’m going out to lunch at work, or running and errand I don’t have to carry my entire work bag. The work bag acts as a base and it’s like I can launch off of that bag with a new one. This bag does not have the purse organizer in it. Instead, I have narrowed down the items I put in this bag. These are staples of this bag and I know that if I’m going to take it somewhere, I have to make sure these things come with me.
And there you have it. I’m going to be using this system for awhile.
I’ll report back in a few months and let you know how it goes!
Source list:
- Purse Organizer
- Work Bag
- Everyday Bag
- On-the-Go Bag
- Camera Bag
- BAGGU reusable bags
- Lifefactory 22-Ounce Beverage Bottle
