Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

Summer's just around the corner and I found this great new bag to get me in the mood!  This lovely came from Target and I have gotten tons of compliments on it.  (Don't you just love it when total strangers validate your purchasing decisions?)  They're 30% off right now online with the code MEM30 and come in some other cute colors, like this coral one:

The turquoise color is perfection and the size is awesome for all my stuff, but it doesn't have any interior compartments--just wide open spaces.  After a few days, my sweet new bag was a hot mess.

Receipts, papers transferring back and forth between home and office and just general chaos ruled the day.  I've tried fighting the "stuff" by insisting on having a small purse, but that results in me having to carry it loose, anyway,  PLUS my handbag, so, I regrouped and decided to corral the things I needed and dump the things I didn't.

Here's what I came up with.

Nothing revolutionary, but I've got 3 new little bags I found for $1.97 each in the travel size section at Target.  Now I've got one for my pens, markers, highlighters and a note pad.  The second one is for bandaids, hand sanitizer, etc. and the third one is for lotions and sunscreens.  I have my large wallet for all the cards that we seem to carry these days, plus I have my wristlet with my driver's license and cards I use all the time.   With a bag this big, I even have room for the book I'm reading and my daughter's, too.

much better

The bird file folder you see above may be the lifesaver, though.  I tried to think of ideas to keep the papers I carry back and forth between home and work and nothing was really big enough.  So, I took this sweet little bird file folder that I've had for a while and wrapped it in clear packing tape, leaving the top open.  This will make it more durable and I can easily drop papers or receipts into it and they won't fall out.  It's worked great so far, so, I think we have a winner.

Order, At Last

I'd love to hear about your favorite new summer bag and any purse organizing tips you have.  

Hope you all have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.  

Here's a little vintage James Brown to get you in the swing of things!