5 Ways To Downsize Your Purse (And Save Your Back)

Does your purse feel like a carry-on-luggage? It’s time to downsize your purse, and I’m here to help. Here are 5 ways to minimize the weight you carry on your shoulder.

Your friends call you Mary Poppins because they know if they need anything, you can reach into your bag and produce it for them. Gum, Chapstick, full make-up bag, mirror, a pharmacy of medicine, make-up remover, pens, pencils, tissues, wallet, paper, old receipts, snacks…the list of what you carry is seemingly endless.

You have gotten to the point where you feel that if you lose your purse, you lose your life. Well, it’s time to downsize your handbag. While it is nice to be the one everyone turns to when they have forgotten something that they need, your shoulders and your back can’t take it anymore.

5 Ways To Downsize Your Purse

When you think of where you’re going and what you will need when you get there, you may find that the things you are carrying simply do not make the list. So, if it is time to reduce the weight on your shoulder, check out these five ways to pack the perfect purse for your daily activities.

#1. Figure out what is necessary

Your purse may feel like a carry-on bag at this point. The true issue here is that you actually believe that you need every single item that you are carrying. Well, this is not always the case.

Your first step to minimizing is to identify the items that you currently have in your purse. Next, see how much of each specific item you have.

While feminine products are a necessity, you might not need 45 of them to ensure that you are protected throughout the day. Consider what day of your cycle you are on, and how long you will be out and about. This will help you figure out how many feminine products you should bring.

What’s that you say? Your friends might need to borrow some? Well, it is time to wean your friends off of their reliance on your responsible personality. Sure, you can bring one or two extra feminine products, but you don’t have to carry a full 40-pack with you wherever you go.

This also goes for makeup, skincare products, nail polish, and medicine.

Reducing the weight of your purse can be difficult, but after the first few times you are out running your daily errands and you realize you don’t need the things you used to carry, your mind will be at ease.

#2. Purchase makeup that lasts all-day

If half of your bag is filled with makeup (you know, just in case you need to reapply), it is time for you to start buying makeup that doesn’t need to be reapplied. Applying makeup multiple times throughout the day can wreak havoc on your skin.

For this reason, you should choose a makeup that works best for you. Make sure you buy makeup that lasts hours and is waterproof and sweatproof. This will help you avoid reapplying throughout the day, which means you don’t have to carry that full bag around with you!

If for some reason your skin rejects makeup, and reapplication is a necessary part of your day, there is a simple solution. Buy a small makeup kit for your desk at work. This is a great way to ensure you have emergency makeup on hand, and you don’t have to lug your makeup bag with you wherever you go.

So, take that makeup bag, put it under the sink at home, and only bring the absolute necessities of makeup with you: lipstick and (possibly) a shine-reducing powder. Just removing the makeup from your bag can help you reduce its weight by a large percentage.

#3. Clean out your bag regularly

When we carry a lot of items, our bags become catch-alls. We toss receipts, credit cards, money, and anything handed to us in passing into the bag. This can make our bags really expensive garbage bins. The downside: it adds so much weight to our bags while it makes it nearly impossible for us to find the things we really need.

For this reason, it is important to clean out your bag regularly. At least once a week, you should dump your bag out, sort through the crumbs, receipts, and garbage and find the items you originally wanted in your bag. Put the change that falls to the bottom of your bag in a piggy bank (you can save up for a newer, smaller bag).

Getting rid of the garbage in our bags on a regular basis will reduce the number of things we carry throughout the day. Trust me, your shoulder will thank you for it!

#4. Buy travel-sized items

Lotion has become a necessity for you this summer. Your hands get so dry they crack. I completely understand this. However, it is not necessary to carry more than two ounces of lotion with you throughout the day. As a matter of fact, two ounces of lotion can last you over a week, even if you apply it more than once a day.

For lotion, and any other large-sized item in your bag, choose the travel-sized options. If you think buying travel-sized items is a waste of money, don’t worry, you can always buy empty travel-sized bottles and containers from your local stores (dollar stores are a great place to find these). Fill your travel-sized containers with lotion, hand sanitizer, pills, and even makeup!

This can help you reduce what you carry while it helps you avoid spilling lotion all over your phone and wallet!

#5. What’s in your wallet?

Is your wallet so full that you can’t close it? It’s definitely time to downsize. Once your bag has been stripped of all unnecessary materials, the bulk of the weight you are carrying comes from your wallet. If you have a membership card to every store you shop at (and even several stores you don’t shop at), it is time to go through them.

A great method of lowering the weight of your wallet is to carry only one credit card and one bank card at a time. Put all of your membership or frequent-shopper cards in the console of your car. As long as these cards cannot be used to make purchases, they are safe in your car. If you forget to bring your card in for you, don’t worry; the majority of the stores you shop at will take alternate identification, and you really don’t need those cards anyway.

When we think of the things we carry, it can seem a little outlandish. The majority of the time, we don’t actually use the items that we carry. Therefore, it is essential that we downsize our purses and downsize the items that we carry. What are some of the items you carry in your purse? Share with us in the comments below!