I was out a few weekends ago and one of my mates asked me to get her wallet from her handbag. I opened it up, plunged my hand inside and immediately felt like I needed to take a bath in a vat of hospital grade disinfectant. It was full of gum wrappers, sticky lollies, opened lip glosses and at least five decades of receipts. It was gross. Needless to say my mate thought my disgust was hilarious and yes, I am very type A and yes it is very amusing. People are free to live life as they like and if my mate has better things to do than clean out her handbag, that’s totally fine. Seriously… it’s fine *twitch*. However if you don’t want to be dragging around a literal pile of crap with you wherever you go, here’s how to keep your handbag from looking like a garbage bin.
Get some zippered bags
I bought mine from Muji and I prefer mesh bags so I can see through them. I have a large one for my computer charger and cords and smaller ones for make-up and headphones. It just stops that awful tangle of cords and crap in the bottom of your bag and it’s a great way to make sure you never leave the house without something you really need like a charger or your deodorant. If one of your bags is empty or missing, you know you’ve forgotten something.
Give it a weekly clean out
It doesn’t take long to quickly throw out all your bunched up receipts and get rid of any old food and broken cosmetics. I like to do a handbag clean out if I’m waiting for a friend who’s running late, especially if I’m waiting in the street. I can just gather up all my rubbish and pop it straight in a street bin. Easy.
Switch handbags every now and then
Doing this is a great way to force a handbag clean out. If you consistently end up with 6 months work of old pay parking tickets in your bag, make the effort to change bags at least once a week. That way you’ll be forced to give it a good clean out.
Do an audit
Just because you’ve always carried something in your handbag doesn’t mean you always have to. That tube of BB cream you never use? The forgotten hairbrush that’s full of fluff and handbag dirt? That year old box of sultanas? Make sure you’re only carrying around what you need.
Buy a good quality bag you love
If you buy a cheap and nasty handbag, it’s unlikely you’re going respect it. Make sure you love your handbag and make sure it serves your needs. You need a bag that is just big enough to fit your essentials but small enough so you aren’t tempted to lug too much stuff around.
Does your bag need a clean out? Or do you keep everything neat and in perfect order?
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25 Comments
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My handbag is pretty neat and tidy. I pretty much re-pack it every morning because it’s a slouchy bag and needs things to be in there in a certain order to sit right. I just don’t understand how people leave bits of paper and wrappers etc in their bags.
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Oh I know it’s so gross. I can’t cope.
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Type A here. I NEED the contents of my handbag to be organised with small, zippered compartments arranged in neat little rows.
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High five fellow type A! I actually haven’t carried a handbag at all this winter. I just carry my phone, my tiny wallet and a lip gloss in my pocket. Minimalist win.
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I am getting better at having a clean handbag. A. Because, as you suggest I change it up regularly and B. I am able to buy much better quality handbags these days and I want to respect them and have them last for ages. And you are spot on – pouches are the go! Sounds gross, but my bag is usually awash with tissues – they’re unused, but accumulate because I always grab one or two from the box on my way out the door (convinced I am going to have some sort of emergency that only tissues can fix!) xx
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I’m just not a tissue gal. I’m a total sniffer which I’m sure annoys everyone but unless I’m sick I don’t carry tissues. I carry the least amount of stuff all the time. I usually just have my phone, a collapsible water bottle, lip gloss and my tiny wallet.
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True Lady Confession: I went to a very cool and underground bar one night for a hens gathering, the bouncer asked to check my bag to make sure I wasn’t sneaking in booze (drinks are spensive in Perth) and he recoiled in disgust and shouted “Damn girl, you need to clean your house!!!!”. The shame.
I like the idea of the mesh bags. I just need to do a daily clean out of stuff, I’m terrible for shoving any old thing in my handbag :/
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Oh no! Bouncer disgust! That’s a handbag emergency if ever I heard of one. There should be a Kitchen Sink Handbag Support group.
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I bought a new handbag just a few minutes before clicking on your post – for the exact same reason. The other day I was running out the door and went to grab my bag…and it was not pretty. It was full of old muselibars, bandaids that had exploded from their box, old assessments, receipts, sticky melted mini chocolate bars given by colleagues which I promptly threw in my bag for “later” so not to offend them..it was RANK. So I went and got myself one of those jelly bags where everyone can see what you have in your bag. I am hoping that this will teach me about bag hygiene since everyone will be able to see that I am carrying a bag full of trash and it won’t look pretty.
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Oh cool! That’s an amazing way to keep yourself in check. I have a jelly clutch that I LOVE and I only ever put cute things in it.
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I am clean nowadays but a guy friend always begged to put his hand in myhandbag to see what he would pull out. His favourite was a fork. Have you read Marie Kondos nightly handbag routine? It’s adorable and reminds me of your respectful attitude towards your bags. I don’t actually do it but I aspire to care that much.
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Ha! That’s awesome! I have Marie Kondos book and its so cute! I don’t have the time for that but I love the concept. I have a special hook that I hang my bag on though.
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I agree we all carry around way to much crap. I bought a work bag that fits my wallet, phone, ipad & make-up and that is it. Each has their own little space/compartment. It works a treat and stops me throwing anything else in there.
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My teeny tiny new macbook actually fits in my tiny satchel. I love it. Best thing I ever bought!
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I switch between a handbag and my backpack (gym bag) so I always clean out my bag every night and pull out my wallet, ‘make up bag’ (which has very little make up mostly panadol, bandaids, hand cream, sanitizer and lip balm), sunglasses case, ipod, planner and phone. Then they all go into the next bag the following morning. Marie Kondo takes it a step further and puts all her things AWAY! but I just leave them on my ‘in tray’ in the kitchen
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Me too! My back pack is very minimalist though… it’s a thin streamlined cote et ciel back and it just fits everything in it. I love it! I have an in tray too on my ‘station’ which is like a hall table.
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Oh I do the weekly clean out and alternate between a small shoulder bag and a large tote (small shoulder bag sometimes goes in large tote). Respect the bag, I say!
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Oh I do that when I travel – I put my handbag in my backpack!
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I’m definitely a fan of the weekly clean out. Grocery/food receipts, to-do reminders, gum wrappers and a stash of hair ties come out of my handbag nearly every week. Even though I keep my bag clean, my husband still won’t ever get my lip balm/ phone/ wallet out when I ask him… maybe it’s a guy thing with girls handbags?
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Yes! Mr Smaggle is just like this! He hates going into my handbag. He said it makes him feel dodgy.
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I usually do a clean out when I’m waiting for the train etc. Receipts are the worst. I guess some people keep them and reconcile all their spending at the end of the month or something but I never look at them again.
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Me too! It’s such a great idea to use that five minute wait to have a handbag clean out.
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I need a better handbag. Mine is a giant red leather tote that I’ve been dragging around forever. I can never find a darn thing in there and it doesn’t even stay on my shoulder properly. I have many, many other, reasonable handbags in my cupboard that I’ve been meaning to start using for years and yet… hello red bag. Why do we do this to ourselves?
Pingbacks
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[…] easy way to start being minimalist is to reconsider what you carry around on a daily basis. Smaggle wrote a hilarious reminder to not carry rubbish in our handbags, and for uni students Minimal Student wrote a few tips (some […]
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[…] Here are my summer handbag essentials – not including phone and wallet. Hot tip: If you’re putting together a summer essentials kit give your handbag a clean out first. […]
[…] easy way to start being minimalist is to reconsider what you carry around on a daily basis. Smaggle wrote a hilarious reminder to not carry rubbish in our handbags, and for uni students Minimal Student wrote a few tips (some […]
[…] Here are my summer handbag essentials – not including phone and wallet. Hot tip: If you’re putting together a summer essentials kit give your handbag a clean out first. […]
