Organization — Purse Innards (and Receipts)

Can you use the word innards like that? It's usually associated with Thanksgiving and the still frozen stuff in some kind of bag I'm trying to pull out of the middle of a turkey. That makes innards sound private-like, so I guess purse stuff for a girl is private-like and the word is being used well. I'm going to run with it.

Well, we had a little chat about purses a few weeks ago around Valentine's Day and I showed you all five of my new look-a-like purses that have me set for the next ten years or so. I hadn't changed my stuff out of my original cranberry-colored purse until tonight. Spring is in the air — not here but in some of the Southern states — so I went with the spring-like green-colored purse. Just in case you wondered, at last check this evening, we were at 25 and having some light snow flurries.

In celebration of the big purse changeover, I thought I'd show you how I keep my purse organized. Hey, it was enough that the purse/bag check guy at the hockey game commented on it!

I tried to open it up big and wide for that picture so you could see just how roomy it was in there. I just love it! You can also see how large the self-closing magnets are. I don't have my blackberry in my purse in this picture, and I have my keys thrown in the bottom. You can also snap them on the straps like this:

I'll do that sometimes, but it makes it harder if you're going to be getting in and out of your purse a lot.

The primary things that take up residence in my purse are my checkbook, prescription Imitrex for migraines, an envelope with coupons or loose papers, wallet, zippered thing for miscellaneous cards (I'll explain in a minute), blackberry/phone, keys, and sometimes Altoids and/or Kleenex. My Imitrex box is only slightly larger than my checkbook, so they are always next to each other along with the coupon envelope. I use the built-in zipper pocket of my purse for my lipstick, blistex, mechanical pencil, nail clippers, Motrin, and a little box with medicines I take with my Imitrex.

This is my wallet and the zippered pouch I mentioned.

I carry a very small wallet. That helps control how much I keep in it, primarily receipts. I can't keep very many or it won't fold and snap. I keep my driver's license, one credit card, my debit card, and my Sam's Club card in here, as well as my retired military ID, plus any cash I'm carrying. That's pretty much it.

In the zippered pouch I carry a couple of store credit cards that I have, my kids' military ID cards, store cards, punch cards, teacher discount cards, etc. I just have to flip through them to find the one I want when I'm checking out. Usually it's not a problem, and if I'm waiting in line I find it ahead of time. I used to have Krispy Kreme donut cards where you got a dozen free glazed when you bought a dozen, but they got all used up and now I don't have anymore. Tell me we weren't sad when that day came.

You might think pink was my favorite color, having the pink wallet and pink zippered thingie (I should really come up with a good name for that), and being Pink Daisy Girl, but it's not. It wouldn't even be on the radar. If you asked me my favorite color, it's blue, followed by red, then probably orange, unless I'm wearing brown and it's working for me that day, and then brown might bump orange. But pink, not really even in the top four. I don't dislike it, but not a favorite. Now fuschia with orange...LOVE IT!

This is my Bible. Not a single adult comments on it. Now if I were a teenager I might have someone say something about it, but at my age, nothing.

These are my in-the-house shoes. I don't really wear house slippers or house shoes. I just find something comfortable that I don't wear out of the house so they stay clean. But those socks, they are my favorite. And you know what has happened to them.

It feels kind of like when you wear the same lipstick for 20 years and then they discontinue the color. You just don't know what you're going to do. I love these socks. I can wear them with my boots and they stay up. I don't have to stop every five steps and pull them back up my legs. So I'm still wearing them, even with the hole.

I'm going to refocus and finish up this post now, otherwise I don't know where I'll end up. I mentioned that I don't keep many receipts in my wallet, mainly because they don't fit, but really there isn't any need either. I empty it regularly, and I have a Sterilite box where I place all current receipts. Every month or so I go through them and see if they are okay to shred, once I have my credit card bill or bank statement, or maybe make sure I don't need to make a return. Here's what the box looks like:

It's the same style as the paper-size boxes I use for manuals and booklets, but it's just a smaller version. The bottom of the box is around 9" x 5 1/2", but measuring around the lid it's closer to 11" x 6". If you have more than one they are stackable.

So, are you brave enough to show me your purse innards? Are receipts taking it over?