Whether you’re headed out for a day of travel or to the pool with the kids for the afternoon, these ingenious ways to keep your tote bag organized will help curb the chaos.
My article about packing the perfect purse for a day of travel has become one of the most popular features on Mom Fabulous. Which tells me you all love keeping your purse organized (or at least trying really, really hard) as much as I do. My tote bag definitely gets out of hand, but it doesn’t take much to whip it back into shape because of a system I started using years ago.
I’ve been using the pouch system for over 10 years after reading about it in an organizing book. I bought small pouches (similar to these) and they hold all of those small items that get lost at the bottom of my bag. Items like lipgloss, chapstick, bandaids, and pens are all easy to find since they’re stored in separate pouches. It’s a system that’s been working well and one I plan on sticking with for awhile.
Here are some tips and products that help keep your tote bag nice and organized. Including my personal system. Happy organizing!
Ingenious Ways to Keep Your Tote Bag Organized
The Pouch System
This system has been working for me for years. It makes it easy to find things, plus it makes it easy to switch out handbags. Here’s what I keep in each pouch:
- Makeup
- Emergency kit: bandaids, Tide to Go Pen, hand sanitizer, medicines
- Snacks: granola bars and nuts
The only loose things in my tote are my wallet, phone, and sunglasses. And even those go in a pocket if my tote has one.
The Tote Insert
If you have a tote you love and it has absolutely no pockets, you can either use the pouch system above or purchase a handy dandy tote bag insert.
The Periea Handbag Organizer comes in 18 colors and 3 different sizes. It also has a total of 13 inner & outer compartments, including 2 large zipped compartments. It’s also machine washable.
This brand is known for its great quality and affordability.
By using an organizer insert, everything has a place. Which means no more bottomless pit of random items!
Use an Envelope for Receipts & Random Papers
Receipts and random papers are a tote bag’s worst nightmare. The easiest way to take care of this problem is by carrying around an envelope or a pouch like this one, to store all of the loose papers in. When it’s time to clean it out, you can easily go through it, throwing away what you don’t need and filing away what you need to keep.
Do a Once a Week Clean Out
When it all comes down to it, no matter how great your organizing system for your tote bag is, it will still most likely need a once a week clean out. This will give you the chance to do something with the papers you’ve collected, as well as replenish any snacks or other supplies you need.
Do you have any ingenious ways to keep a tote bag organized?
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Other related articles you may also enjoy:
- My Go-to Bag for a Busy Lifestyle – Ame & Lulu
- How To Spring Clean Your Makeup Bag (in 7 easy steps)
- Getting in the Mom Mindset: Ideas for Better Organization
I would love to know what size organizer and envelope pouch work best for you. Thank you!
The pouch system is brilliant. It’s helped me so much too!
This is really helpful! My bag is like a bottomless pit lol! I’d love to try the pouch system.
Wow! My world has been changed forever! I never owned a tote bag because the lack of pockets bothered me. But using the pouch system is such an easy way to get around it! Thank you!
I normally carry a different bag on the weekends than I do during the work week so I normally do a weekly clean out and it is great. Before I started doing it, I would have expired coupons and old recipes forever . This has been on of the best things for my bag.
My wife wants me to purchase her a tote bag because she needs something to carry around items, like makeup, that she uses on a daily basis. I thought you made a good point when you talked about how doing a weekly cleanout can allow people to replenish the supplies in their tote bag. I will be sure to suggest to my wife that she should regularly clean out her tote bag so that it doesn’t get unorganized.
Glad you enjoyed!
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