It’s hard to believe, but we’re half way through the year – how are your New Year’s resolutions coming along? Was one of them to lose weight? It may not quite be what you had in mind, but if you’re trying to shed a few pounds, one quick and easy way to do that is to clean out the purse, wallet, briefcase and/or bag you’ve been lugging around. Besides lightening your load, it will make the things you carry with you every day more organized and easy to find.
Empty it out. Dump the contents of your purse, wallet, bag or briefcase into a shoebox or other container so nothing gets lost.
Toss the trash. You may discover you’ve been carrying around a portable trashcan. Toss the obvious items: used or tattered tissues, old or empty makeup containers, mysterious scraps of paper, gum or mints that are coated with lint, ATM receipts that are so old you can no longer read them, etc.
Sort the rest. Divide items between those you need to carry all the time (keys, sunglasses, cell phone, pen, notepad, etc.) and those that are questionable – although any one item may not take up much space or add much weight, collectively these items can have a big impact:
Makeup: Maybe you can just carry your lipstick, and keep the rest of your touch-up items at work so you don’t have to schlep them back and forth from home each day.
Loose change: Unless you’re saving it for a serendipitous encounter with a slot machine, put that loose change at the bottom of your purse or bag into your wallet or pants pocket where you can use it, or into a jar at home if you want to save it.
Checkbook: If you only write checks occasionally, maybe you can carry just a check or two in your wallet. Use carbon checks to serve as a reminder to note the check in your check register.
Here’s a link to my newsletter where I offer additional tips on how to organize your purse, wallet and briefcase.
Wishing you simplicity, harmony and freedom,
