This one is a mess! How to clean out your Packin' Neat

If you’re like me, you don't go anywhere without it. If you're a purse girl or know a purse girl, you'll agree - the purse is with us all the time. We love our purses! We use it to store our most needed items but over time it tends to collect things. Unfortunately, those things can quickly add up to become a messy black hole.

Purse girl's get excited about a brand new purse. There's just something about having a new purse. Perhaps it has to do with filling it for the first time - it's so neat and clean. We take the time to put only the things we need, and it starts out clean and organized. Then over time, we add a few receipts, extra lipstick or travel items, coupons and before you know it, more and more collects in the purse. Think about your current purse. If the very thought of finding an item in your purse right now causes you to sigh or slump your shoulders, it's time to give it a good cleaning.

Having a neat and tidy purse or bag can be liberating. Often just the simple organization of our purse can help, especially if we’re feeling chaos or overwhelm. To help overcome the messy, unorganized purse I've collected some purse organization tips from the experts:

Steps to an organized purse:

Step 1: Dump everything out of your purse. Don't start tossing or organizing just yet. Simply remove everything from your purse. Clean it out from dust, crumbs or the other unidentifiable gunk that seems to happen at the bottom. If you have a Packin' Neat purse organizer you can wash it - read the step-by-step instructions here on our website. (before picture above)

Step 2: Sort the dumped contents to make piles of similar items like makeup, office supplies, receipts, coupons, reward cards, medicines, notepads and pens and a toss pile.

Step 3: Review each pile one at a time to pare down to only the items you need. I often end up with 5 pens, tons of receipts, expired coupons and I find I'm out of Advil.

Step 4: Use separate compartments and separate containers. If you carry makeup, contain all the makeup in one smaller bag or container. Do the same for the headphones and chargers if you carry these. Determine a location for all your receipts and keep them away from where the money is stored. This will keep your wallet from becoming too stuffed to close.

Step 5: Tuck away one bill. If you can, make it a $100 bill. Put the bill somewhere in your purse but not in the wallet where your money is stored. If you're into feng shui this is said to attract prosperity or at least provide back up funds in case of emergency.

Step 6: Now that your piles are reviewed, put only the most needed items back in your purse and purse organizer. Place the items you use daily in more accessible areas. (After picture above)

That should put a smile on your face - it feels great to have a clean and organized purse. Now you can tackle just about anything!