Peek inside.

It seems that the bigger the purse the more I put in it. As the bag gets cluttered and heavy, my shoulders and back start to hurt and I think, “What the heck is in here?” Then I look and wonder why I feel the need to carry around an extra pair of socks, 5 to 6 varieties of gum or breath mints, a bottle of Advil, an array of tampon sizes, a large notebook, a variety of writing utensils and every receipt from the past 3 weeks. The problem: Things go in the bag as I need them, but they don’t come out. The resolution: I’m pledging to stop lugging around extra weight and only carry the vitals in my bag!

As my muse for this handbag clean out I’m using my absolute favorite bag, my Chanel Jumbo flap. When I stuff her (yes, her) full not only is she heavy, she gets misshaped. And clearly that’s no way to treat a gorgeous bag like her. She’s about the average size of most of my bags, so it’s a good gauge on what will fit in many of my bags. Here’s what I wound up with:

Wallet: Money makes the word go round, so I obviously need my wallet. I was using my large Marc Jacobs wallet, but I realized it was additional weight and space, so I transferred to something smaller, my Micheal Kors. That took a bit of editing itself, as I feel the need to carry around loyalty cards and coupons from every store (because you never know when you may hit a good sale.) But the downsize was worth it, so much smaller and lighter.

Keys: Work keys, car keys, house keys, supermarket and pharmacy loyalty cards. No cute key fobs or keys to things I don’t need on an everyday basis.

Make-Up Bag: I admit, my make-up isn’t always on my face when I leave the house which is why I need to carry it with me. Again, I edited the contents a bit (that’s a whole other post) and it now weighs a bit less than it did before. I also made room for when I need to carry monthly feminine needs, so they aren’t aimlessly floating around my bag.

iPhone: I couldn’t live without it. Because of my phone I don’t have to carry a camera, notebook, pen, agenda, iPod, etc. It’s a life changer.

Brush: You never know when you’ll get the tangles. At a 1/3 of the size of a regular brush, this baby does the trick. And it was just $.99 at Sally Beauty.

Small Clip and Bobby Pins: You never know when you’ll want a ponytail, or when you just won’t be able to stand your bangs on your forehead. I like using a small claw clip to make a messy pony or bun when I need my hair off my neck. I always keep bobby pins to hold down the bangs in windy, rainy or super humid weather (they’ll puff up if not.)

Lipstick and Chapstick: One is for fashion, the other is for function. I never leave home without them. I keep them in an interior pocket, rather than my makeup bag, as it’s quicker to find and reapply.

Train Card: That’s my monthly train pass, I keep it in the exterior pocket of my bag for easy access (thought I really should be more careful with it…)

Sunglasses: Back to the point about my makeup not always being on when I leave the house, rain or shine, I always have my sunnies with me. I did realize that all cases are super bulky so I purchased one of these, which still protects them but takes up no extra space in my bag.

All of the other junk I carried just weren’t necessities. My bag is much lighter and more organized. Now are there going to be days when I’ll need an item or two more in the bag? Yes. But now there’s room for those items and once the day is through, they won’t be staying in the bag!