Streamline Your Morning Routine by Establishing a 'Departure Zone' at Home
There's various stages to keeping your handbags and pouches tidy. You need to organize where you keep your bags, arrange items inside your bags, and even utilize already organized bags to tidy up other things in your home. But don't forget to organize the items that frequently find their way into your bag. This will save you time when leaving your house and keep your overall organization on track.
Designate a "bag area"
I got this concept from social media (of course). I spotted a reel from home organizer and stylist Anna Page. In it, she suggested designating a "handbag station" to store all the items she typically puts in her bag before leaving home. She uses a charming, vintage-styled piece of storage furniture for this, but a drawer or small tray near your front door would also work.
The reel made me realize how frustrating it is for me when I switch bags – which, unfortunately, is daily. I have to transfer all my items from the bag I was using to the new one. This usually includes my wallet, passport, keys, small makeup bag, phone charger, pen, laptop, laptop charger, Apple Watch charger, spare contacts, eye drops, extra glasses, lip balm, clear lip gloss, headphones, chewing gum, hand sanitizer, hand lotion, mini perfume, sunscreen... and that's not including day-specific items like my lipstick, foldable flats, sunglasses, documents, and the occasional mysterious object. Since most of these items – like my contacts and hand sanitizer – remain the same day to day, I'm constantly shifting them from bag to bag.
Usually, I leave these items in their current bag when I get home, then move them right before I leave again. This haphazard method has led to me being blinded due to lack of spare contacts, denied entry due to missing identification, or just irritated because I've forgotten my hand lotion. Page's method of putting all these daily necessities in one organized space every day resolves this problem. Upon returning home, you remove everything from the bag and place it in the bag area you created, moving out anything that was a one-time item, like a specific lipstick or document, and storing it elsewhere. This keeps everything together, and it also immediately frees up the bag you were using, allowing you to return it to its proper place without accidentally packing away your things with it.
"Bag area" suggestions
As with any decluttering and organizing strategy, ensure the interior of the drawer or tray you choose is always tidy. Do this by arranging items in small, clearly defined sections and grouping similar items together within those sections. Consider using small containers to keep things ordered within your bag area, with containers that can easily be transferred to your bag if necessary.
Of course, you may have different everyday items than I do, but when it comes to a bag area, consider what you might need on any given day. For example, having an umbrella in there, even though you don't use it every day. If you have various bags for different uses, like a diaper bag, a school bag, a purse, create separate zones for each of them.
Always unpack your bag as soon as you get home, making it a habit and ensuring you always know the location of your essentials. Put the bag away immediately after unpacking. Doing it this way will also eliminate any confusion about the location of a specific item, like your house keys, because they won't be in a random bag but in their designated spot.
It would be beneficial to keep your purse organization in mind when designing your "bag area". This means ensuring that the containers within your drawer or small tray can easily accommodate your everyday items, such as your wallet, keys, phone charger, and lip balm.
By assigning a specific spot for your purse in your "bag area", you'll make it easier to unpack and repack your bag each time you leave or return home, reducing the likelihood of forgetting important items.
