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I love a good “functional” purse that is comfortable to wear and easy to carry. Here’s how I organize all of the contents of my bag! The purse is from The Container Store and is made by Milano. The cosmetic bags are made by Baggallini. I absolutely LOVE Milano (water-resistant, easy to clean, nice zippers) and Baggallini (comes in every color, shape, and size, nice zippers, water-resistant, etc) bags. What’s inside your purse? Leave a comment below or create a video response and show me whats inside your purse!

Video Details

Hi, guys. It’s Alejandra. And I hope you guys are having a great week. I’m going to show you guys what type of purse I use and what I keep inside my purse. A lot of people have requested this video. So if you’ve requested this video then this video is for you.

How to Organize Your Purse

So this is the type of purse I use and I know when you look at it, it doesn’t look very fashionable but I am – first off, before I show you the rest of it, I am not a like purse snob where I have to have all my purse is designer or of designer labels. I don’t think I’ve ever known anything that’s like Coach or Louis Vuitton or any of those expensive designer brands. I prefer purses, bags, and I guess clothes in general that are functional, comfortable over looking nice. Like is still like to look nice but I prefer something to feel good on me, be comfortable, and function as I like. So that’s just a little side note.

How to Organize Your Purse

This is my everyday purse. I’ve been using this purse for maybe over a year now, a year and a half. And you guys are going to laugh when I tell you where it’s from. It’s from The Container Store. And I didn’t go to The Container Store looking for a purse. I just happened to be there, see this, and already be searching for a purse. So it was a perfect find. But let me tell you why I bought this purse.

Well first, let me tell you the brand. It’s made by Milano. Milano makes purses, bags, suitcases, cosmetic bags, travel bags, they make lunch boxes, any kind of bag they make pretty much. And what’s good about Milano is well, all their stuff is really high-quality and this is – I think it’s water-resistant. Yeah, it’s water resistant. But they also have really nice zippers. So I am a total zipper snob. Any purse that I buy, any cosmetic bag I buy, any suitcase I buy has to have a really smooth zipper when you zip it back and forth. That sounds kind of weird. I don’t know if anyone else is like that. But I like my bags to just zip really nicely. So the Milano bags zip really nicely.

So Container Store, Milano, it’s black. I like how it has all the pockets it has. For example down here, so this little zipper pocket right here, this is where I keep my little lotion and then I keep my ChapStick. I like to have those two things like easily accessible, apart from everything else so I could just get to them really easily, use them, and then put them back. So those work really nicely in that pocket.

Keeping Your Phone & Keys Accessible in Your Purse

In the front pocket I keep – there’s no zipper here. It’s just open and it’s accessible. I keep my cell phone and I like to keep my cell phone apart from like the main compartment in my bag so when the cell phone rings or vibrates or whatever, I’m not fishing through the main part looking for my cell phone and then missed the call and push the wrong button or whatever. I like to just have it right here so I can just drop it in and grab it when it’s time to grab it.

Oh by the way, I just got this iPhone two days ago. I’m so happy with it. I’ve been using a BlackBerry that barely worked for the past – like since 2004 when the BlackBerry came out. So it’s nice to have an iPhone now.

In the pocket next to my phone is where I keep my keys. Again, I like to keep my keys separate from the main compartment. So when I need to quickly grab them to get in the car or to get home or to lock the door, I just go into here. And I don’t keep anything else in this pocket besides my keys. Nothing else inside this pocket besides my cell phone. The same thing with this pocket down here, just my lip – not my lip gloss. I actually don’t ever wear lip gloss. I prefer ChapStick. My ChapStick and my lotion in this little compartment here.

So this compartment up here, this is like, I feel like it was the selling point of the bag. I like how it had a separate compartment right here so I can keep my iPad. It slips in really nicely. Nothing else is – I don’t store anything else with the iPad, just the iPad itself. And it felt like the front of it is a little bit – had a little bit of padding inside which – it’s just a little bit. I don’t think it’s really that padded. But I feel more comfortable keeping my iPad in this pocket alone knowing that nothing else is going to damage if it touches it or if it like scratches against it, nothing is going to get damaged. So the iPad goes in this pocket by itself.

How to Organize Your PurseSo in the main compartment is where I keep everything else that’s inside my purse. And I’m going to go through each item one by one. OK. So I have my wallet. And I did a video on how I organize my wallet a few months ago so I will put a link if you haven’t seen this. I don’t use a traditional wallet. I use – this is actually a business card holder and I put all my cards in these little pockets like this. I love this thing because I can see all the cards. There’s not a card behind a card making it difficult to see. So if you want to see how I set this up then you can watch my wallet video and I will put a link in the video.

So this is where I keep all of my cash, my change, and my business cards. This is again, from The Container Store. I bought this because it had the best zipper. I told you, I am a totally zipper snob and anything that has a good zipper, I like. OK. So I have my cash, I have my change. Can you guys see that? And then I have my business cards. Yup, stack of business cards, change, and cash. This goes inside the main compartment of the purse.

The next thing I have is a little pencil case with all of my pens. And I really use pencils so it’s pens, highlighters, and markers. What’s in here? My favorite pen. I think I did this in another video. This is my favorite pen. I only write with certain pens. It’s the Jetstream Uni-ball 0.7, the best pen ever.

I have a highlighter. This one is from PricewaterhouseCoopers. I used to work there. I used to be an IT auditor. I have that in here. What else do I have? Just a few more pens. Actually, and the pens started to leak. Actually, the markers started to leak. But it’s fine. It still works and it’s dry so it’s not going to smudge against anything.

A little side note. This is also a really good bag brand. It’s called Baggallini and it’s just Baggallini.com. They have really cool bags. They have really bright colors. And again, their zippers are awesome. They just slide really nicely, really smoothly, really cool. OK. So pencil case for all of my office supplies.

Sometimes there are some more office supplies in there like maybe Post-its or flags or like a safety pin. They’re not really in there now but sometimes they’re in there.

Tips for Organizing a Handbag Emergency Kit

In another Baggallini bag, I have like Advil and aspirin and I have a little GNC Live Well vitamin/pill separator. So again, it’s just Advil and aspirin. I think there’s some Tylenol in there. So I have this in case I get a headache or whatever.

And then of course, I have my feminine care. I have like little packets of other medication. This is Excedrin for headaches. I like to – I don’t get a lot of headaches but I like to be just prepared in case I have a headache so I can immediately take something.

Let’s see. I have hair stuff like a little clip, a hair tie, I have tissues and then there’s cough drops, bandage, and then there is like a little Neosporin pack so in case I cut myself or whatever then I come here for my first aid kit. So basically, this is my first aid kit plus my medications if I’m not feeling well when I’m out and about.

So again, that’s in a Baggallini bag just like this. You have to check out Baggalini. They just have the best bags. OK. Baggallini. OK. Then I have my sunglasses in a sunglass case so they don’t get damaged.

And that is everything I carry in my purse. I don’t carry makeup like a bag of heavy makeup because like I said, I’d rather be comfortable than look nice. So having an extra bag in my purse that’s heavy with like really heavy bag and makeup is going to bring the purse down or make it heavier. So I don’t carry makeup.

OK. So that’s everything I have. I have my wallet, I have my change purse, I have my sunglasses in my sunglass case so they don’t get scratched or damaged, I have my first aid kit with some hair accessories like a hair tie and a clip, and then vitamins or medication in case I get sick when I’m out.

And then I have my iPad in its own compartment and then my phone in a separate compartment so again, they don’t get scratched or damaged. And then I have my keys in another compartment so they’re easily accessible when I need them. And then I have my ChapStick and lotion in another compartment. I just said another compartment like ten million times. But yeah, so I try and keep everything separated, easily accessible, and everything then gets stored inside of a very functional and comfortable purse that’s from The Container Store.

So that’s everything inside my bag. I would love to see what’s in your bag. Leave a video response or a comment below and I will see you guys soon. Bye!

About Alejandra

About Alejandra

Since 2008, organizing expert & certified life coach, Alejandra Costello has taught thousands of students in 132 countries how to get organized through her video-based training programs. Her YouTube videos have been viewed 100+ million times. Named 1 of the 5 most organized people in America by HGTV and “The Decluttering Queen” by Good Morning America, Alejandra’s expertise has been featured in The New York Times, Oprah.com, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, Woman’s Day, Parents Magazine, and CBS. 

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