I’m probably showing my age a little, but do you remember the T.V. series “Mad About You” that aired in the 90s? Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt played a newlywed couple named Paul and Jamie Buchman, adjusting to life together in Manhattan.
Paul is a documentary filmmaker, and Jamie is a public-relations executive. In this episode called Purseona, written by Eileen Conn, and Andrew Gordon; Paul is shooting a film in Canada, Jamie has a pitch to give to a client, and Jamie’s sister, Lisa (played by Anne Ramsay), needs a job.
Of the two sisters, Jamie was considered intelligent, confident, organized, proactive, and put-together, while Lisa was seen as her exact opposite, often appearing disorganized, reactive, insecure, and unkempt.
In the hectic morning rush, Jamie and Lisa exchanged places for a day when Lisa accidentally walked out of her sister’s apartment with her sister’s purse—which looked like hers.
A Peep in Her Purse
Jamie, as you can imagine, had all the logical stuff in her purse; Lisa, on the other hand, did not. When Lisa needed money to catch the train: Voila!—she found it in her purse. She also found a snack when she was hungry. When it rained, she had an umbrella. When she snagged her stockings, she had an extra pair of hose, and when she needed a comb for her hair, she found one. Still oblivious that she had the wrong purse, a different person suddenly arises. She becomes confident, self-assured, and ready to take life by storm. As a result of her newfound confidence, she was able to land a sales job at a department store on the spur of the moment.
Jamie’s day, as you can imagine, wasn’t as smooth as Lisa’s day. When she needed money for the train, it wasn’t in her purse. Because she didn’t have money for a snack or lunch, she did without. When it rained, she got wet. There were no replacement stockings for the rip in the one she had on, nor a comb to comb out her matted hair. What Jamie did find in her sister’s purse was a rabbit foot, a stale half eaten sandwich, moist pistachio shells, and other meaningless stuff.
You probably won’t have to worry about that happening to you. However, regularly evaluating and cleaning your purse will help keep you grounded and ready for what most of the day will bring. This is especially true if you are a commuter. Our purse, on a microscopic scale, symbolizes our ability to organize our lives, and for many of us, it represents the Bermuda Triangle from which things enter and never return.
Eventually, Jamie begins to look more like her sister did just a few hours ago: unkempt and disheveled, and you can imagine what that did to her self-esteem—just before an important meeting..
Organizing Your Purse
Next to a cluttered home, having a cluttered purse can also be exasperating. So, how do we get from chaos to order, have the ability to quickly and effortlessly find the things we need, and be able to swap out purses with ease? If you are ready to begin, let’s start organizing your purse.
- Step 1—clean out your purse close to a trash can and shredder. Take everything out of your purse to examine it.
- Step 2—toss makeup that is dry, flaky, or more than a year old.
- Step 3—determine what things you will need to keep in your purse daily. This might include: money, keys, wallet, eyeglasses, cell phone, planner, water bottle, snack, pens, notepad, business cards, basic makeup, or a small Bible. Carry only the identification and credit cards needed daily. It may be helpful to photocopy the front and back of your credit cards or make a list of all your credit cards just in case your purse gets lost or stolen. The list should include the name of the credit card, the account number, the expiration date, and the toll-free number to report a lost or stolen card. Plan to keep your photocopies or list at home with your other important papers.
- Step 4—become versatile by packing your essential items into zippered mini pouches. This allows you to transfer items from one bag to another quickly. Use the pouches to compartmentalize related items within your purse. One pouch can be used to hold makeup, another pouch can be used to hold coins, and another can be used for receipts or medication.
- Step 5—organize your purse into zones; for example, put money, keys, and wallet in one zippered pocket. Put your communication tools, such as cell phone and planner, in an easily accessible space. Place reading material and notepads in another section and your mini pouches, water bottle, and Bible in your purse’s main living room section.
- Step 6—be resourceful; if you have additional items you want to carry but do not have space, keep those items in the trunk of your car or your office desk drawer.
When my youngest son was an infant, instead of lugging a big diaper bag around everywhere I went, I discovered the ease of leaving my big diaper bag—with everything I could possibly need—in the car. Instead, I towed around a smaller diaper bag with only the bare essentials.
If you would like to share tips for organizing your purse, please leave a comment below. God Bless.
Original Post: http://balancingblessings.blogspot.com/2009/03/peep-in-your-purse.html
