Tips To Organize Your Bag

Do you have too much clutter in your purse? I have and I am very guilty of that. I need to follow these tips and de-clutter to carry only the essentials.

Here are simple ways to de-clutter using some simple "bag in a bag" tricks.

a) Keep receipts and coupons in an organizer

b) Store electronic charger and plugs in a bag

c) Go to items - contact lens, lipstick, hair pins can be stored in a easy to reach zipper bag

d) Use a hard case for fragile items like an empty hard case of an eyeglass

Deluxe Coupon Organizer

Use an organizer for all the paper receipts and coupons that you might need to carry with you.



4 Best Bargains, Inc. - Purse Size Deluxe Coupon Organizer Wallet ToCart #108 - $12.99, Free shipping - Available at Amazon.com Marketplace

Organize the electronics

Charges, extension cords, USB cords, all can go into one pouch.



Neiman Marcus - MIAMICA EMBROIDERED "TAKE CHARGE" METALLIC GOLD CHARGER PHONE PDA IPOD LAPTOP CAMERA CELL MP3 ACCESSORY BATTERY CORD TRAVEL CASE TRENDY ORGANIZER ADAPTER CARRYING BAG - $20.00, 6.48 shipping - Available at Amazon.com

Small canvas zipper bag

One small bag for bandages, hairspray, contact lens, pins and hair pins and clips etc.



Small Canvas Zipper Bag - $9.99, 9.95 shipping - Available at Exclusively Weddings

Small zipper bag

smartbargain - Smartbargain Grid Pattern Cosmetics Bag Quilted Lining Zipper Small Makeup Bag with Mirror Orange - $7.99, Free shipping - Available at Amazon.com Marketplace

Small eyeglass case

Use a hard eyeglass case to protect fragile items in your bag



Vera Bradley - Hard Eyeglass Case in Hello Dahlia - $19.95, 4.49 shipping - Available at Amazon.com Marketplace

Large eyeglass case

W.R. Case - Large Eyeglasses Sunglasses Case Hard Clamshell Stylish Leopard Gold - $8.73, 5.48 shipping - Available at Amazon.com Marketplace

Organize Your Wire Cables

My husband loves appliances so much especially gadgets great for audio and video. So, it comes as no surprise that our house is like a bulk speaker cable storage.

We have one box of loose speaker cables and other cables for video and home theatre usage too aside from the ones we currently use. I mean, how much cables can a single household possibly have?

So, to ease the eye sore of seeing those dangling cables, I asked my hubby to clamp them with a velcro snap to make them look tidy and organized. Aside from velcro, there are other tools to use to organize and keep your speaker, audio and video cables in check and tidy. Here are some you can buy from your local hardware store or even home furnishing to keep your cables organized.

Velcro strap, 8 pcs. for $3.72 from Amazon.com

Q Knot, 25 pcs. per pack, $10.97 from Walmart.com

Innovera Cable Straps, 25 pcs. per pack, $4.92 from Walmart.com

Cable Runway, 5 ft. for $5.90 from Cableorganizer.com

Corrugated Wire Loom, 10 ft. for $13.95 form Cableroganizer.com

Recycling Your Magazines and Newspapers

I have the bad habit of buying magazines and newspapers every chance I get. I just keep them stacked in my bookshelves. Even my magazine display rack is not enough to hold the number of magazines and newspapers I have collected over the years.

So, I decided to leave some magazines by putting them on the coffee table for our guests to read. The newspapers came very handy too in terms of using them as glass cleaners and counter top wiper. In all fairness, the newspapers did a good job making my sliding doors clean and shiny and I didn't have to buy any glass cleaner. Just a bit of soap and water and the good old newspaper trick.

The rest of my magazine collection is under my bed to add more support on the pillars. And I have already made up my mind that come I will be giving them to the recycling experts.

Organizing the Linens

We don't have a very huge flat which can accommodate a spare area for a linen closet. The closest I can get to ever having a linen closet of my own is to use the spare cabinet we have to store our knick and knacks.

I have done my end-of-the-year cleaning already so I made room for my linens to store there. Here's a simple tip I can share to organize your linens if you are tight for space like I do.

1. Have your comforters vacuum sealed. It will stay flat until the next winter. I have so many comforters at home so you can imagine how bulky they can become when all piled up.

2. Stack your pillow cases in a small drawer you have. At least you have a use for that drawer in the cabinet.

3. Put loose and unused blankets in a vacuum pack as well. It will give more spare to other linens you have like curtains.

4. Keep few towels only. We have 6 towels at home, 2 for each of us and that is about it. We don't buy extra because we won't be using all of them at the same time. Keeping few towels will spare you the misery of washing and storing them when not in use.

Those are my tips. They are practical and will depend on one's situation. If you live in a condominium or high-rise building with very little area to spare then you can use these tricks to store those linens.

Things Gone MIA

Either I am blind, cross-eyed or simply not searching hard enough, but I cannot locate where my tweezer is! I normally leave my beauty paraphernalia in the bath room but this tiny (but a favorite of mine!) has decided to go MIA.

I have told my husband many times to buy a small cabinet which is similar to the common medicine cabinets but has drawers. He keeps delaying the purchase of one so even he has a problem locating his razor and aftershaves! If we had one, then at least we can keep our things in a common area. I will scout for a cheap and small cabinet to buy and install by year end. I cannot keep wasting my time looking for things I normally leave in plain view.

Autumn Cleaning

We just missed spring cleaning so we did an "autumn cleaning" few days ago. I cannot breathe with all the mess at home. I cannot believe how much trash we have amassed in a span of few months and most of them were unnecessary stuff like toys of my princess, magazines I bought and have read only once, old and "tight" clothes, seldom worn shoes and other knicks and knacks.

I just had enough of the trash so I sent most of my daughter's toys to my in-laws' place in the Philippines. I shredded my old magazines to be used for my pets' beddings. I am not sure yet whether I will send my old and tight clothes back home since I am still hoping that I'd fit into them one of these days.

I swear, I am really going to change my spending habits by 2009. I will no longer stack items I barely use and won't buy clothes and bags as often as I breathe ;) I cannot stand the mess anymore. I just want to be a minimalist. In with the essentials and out with the clutter.