How to Keep Your Purse Clean and Make Your Butt Look Smaller at the Same Time

handbag napkin

I have a giant purse. Huge.

I was even given the cocktail napkins at a retreat after people heard me talk about my undying devotion for oversized bags.

I remember one time telling Roger that I needed a purse with wheels to lug around all my stuff.

Roger told me, “That’s called a suitcase and you have a problem.”

I will always have a giant purse (because I love them and see the napkin above…) but I don’t need to have the back and shoulder pain that go with an overstuffed purse.

So once a week I do my three step method (I use this all over the house, but here it will apply to handbags,) to keeping my bag from overflowing.

1.       CLEAR IT OUT I simple take my purse and dump it out in a grocery bag.

  • Anything I want to keep (but doesn’t belong in my purse) gets put away. (This is when I go through receipts in my wallet – or the ones that have been thrown in my purse, pieces of paper, etc.)
  • Anything that is garbage stays in the bag and gets thrown away.

2.       PUT IT BACK Anything that belongs in the purse, stays in the purse. This includes

Wallet (I like the kind that has a place for a checkbook because I still have to write a couple of checks a month, plus, it keeps my business receipts better organized.

Make-up bag

  • Lipstick and gloss
  • Eye liner
  • Powder
  • Sunscreen stick
  • Blush and brush
  • Eyeglass cleaner wipes
  • Hand sanitize

 

Sunglasses case

Cell phone
Keys
Emergency kit

  • Hollywood Tape
  • $20
  • Needle and thread
  • Nail glue

3.       KEEP IT UP If I do it once a week, it really is easy to stay on top of it.

Also, have a small bag for makeup, and an emergency bag, it makes it easy to transfer the contents of the purse into my computer bag.

So tell me – do you have any fab tips for keeping your bag clean and light?

The Comfortable Traveler – Part 1: Airplane Travel – The Little Things

Contigo

For the Airport

Since I have spent a considerable amount of time on an airplane in the past week – and I know some of you will as well, here are some of the Little Comforts that have made flying cross country a little mroe bareable…

Contigo 

 I am an unpaid sales person for the Contigo Travel Mug. I evangelize everywhere I go about how much I LOVE this little gadget for one reason and one reason only – it does not spill or leak.

Ever.

There is a button at the back of the lid you have to push in order to take a sip – keeping you from spilling. The cup is dishwasher safe but the lid must be cleaned by hand. That is how confident I am about this mug. It keeps coffee hot for about 3 hours, and tea cold for about 4. I throw my coffee into my computer case – that is how confident I am about this cup.

I was at a conference in the New Mexico desert for almost a week. I was without a car and about 90 minutes from the closest Starbucks. My Contigo became my best friend.

At the airport, I pack it in my carryon and then fill it up once I get past security. That way, if I have a super early flight, my morning Peet’s coffee doesn’t land on the lap of the guy sitting next to me.

Southwest Airlines’ Early Bird Check In

For only $10 one way, you can be in the early borading group assuring that you will at least get the window or aisle seat – whatever your preference. This is definately worth the extra $10 when I’m traveling with Roger or a friend so we can sit together.

Neck Pillow
If you are someone who can fall asleep on a plane or in a car or on a train, (thank you, Dr. Suess…) this little pillow is a must have in order for you to keep from drooling on your seatmate. I always do the Early Bird ticketing so I can have a window seat and fall asleep with my head in the neck pillow, leaning against a window.
Noise Canceling Headphones

I didn’t buy noise candeling headphones for a while since I thought if I wanted to get some effective ones I would have to pay the $200 for the ones that are  avaiable from foo-foo chi-chi shops. No thanks.

However, after a long flight of trying to watch movies with my cheapo headphones, I knew I had to try something… Sony makes a pair that retails for around $50 that is just great.I can hear every word of How I Met Your Mother on my iPad. And that’s a good thing.

So tell me – what is your favorite travel tip for those long flights.

The Way Camping Should Be…

jakesmiling

I’m taking the day off blogging because Roger and I will be camping.

Well, at least my version of camping.

We are going to be in Bug Sur on the California coast on Monday staying in a yurt.

A yurt is a tent with a hardwood floor, a sink, and a queen-sized bed topped with a handmade velvet quilt.

For those of you who have heard my camping story, you know that this is about as rustic as I want to get…

Oh, and if you’re worried that I am telling the world that I will be gone overnight and you think this is an invitation to burglars to come and rob our house. said house will be filled with assorted adult children and guarded by our killer attack dog:

“I’s guard d puppy fuds.”