getting organized: your purse

I was recently given the opportunity by BlogHer to answer some questions about organization.  For those of you don't know me well, this is a topic that I love.  I mean really love.  I stalk read organizing blogs, read every magazine with organizing mentioned on the cover and am typically reading one book on organizing at all times.  So I was happy to think about and answer their questions as part of their Life Well Lived series on Getting Organized.   Here are some of the questions I was asked and my answers...

What are the biggest issues you have in keeping your purse organized and neat?

My biggest issue with keeping my purse organized is my kids.  Quite frankly, I did not realize how much stuff ended up in my purse that belongs to or was picked up by my kids.  Since I am in the post-diaper bag phase of parenting, my purse has become the family catch-all for stuff when we are out.  The other day, I found two rocks, candy wrappers, chewed gum that not been fully wrapped in a piece of paper and some lego toys.  None of this stuff belonged to me.  But it was causing my purse to be dirty, unorganized and heavy...

What is the best advice you have to keep your purse neat and orderly?

I would say that the one thing I try and do daily or at least every other day is clean out my purse.  I relocate things to their proper home, which is never my purse to begin with.  I have to admit that I used to collect sugar packets and would put those in my mother's purse, so I'm secretly happy that my kids do the same thing.  But in order to keep things organized, I purge daily!

What 3 things in your purse are must haves and what 3 could you live without?

Three things that are must haves for me are; lipstick, money and my cell phone.

Three things I could live without are; basically I could live without everything else in my purse.  Which begs the question, why do I carry so much stuff around with me?!?

To check out more answers to these questions and to post your own answers, please go here.

To enter the current Life Well Lived Moments $250 Sweepstakes go here and leave a comment.