Organizing a Large Handbag

A great way to organize the contents in a large handbag is to separate things out into smaller bags and pouches. Heres what I like to use in my own bag:

organizedhandbag-ariannabelleblog.jpg

In lieu of a wallet, I use a wristlet (love this one from dooney and bourke) and a card organizer (card cubby has some great options).  In the wristlet I keep my credit & debit card, cash, license, insurance card, cell phone, and lip balm -basically all the essentials I need to have close at hand.  All the non-essentials, like store rewards cards, gift cards, back-up credit cards, and coupons, go into the card organizer and are filed alphabetically into the little labeled compartments.

Items like lipgloss, blotting sheets, a mirror, hand cream, and hand sanitizer go into a cosmetic bag (love this one from tory burch).

Separating things out like this allows me to quickly and easily pull out what I need when I need it (nothing is more annoying than having to rummage through your bag to find items), and also lightens my load when I'm on the go. If I need to make a quick errand, I can just pull out the wristlet and take that with me instead of lugging the big handbag and its entire contents.

How do you like to organize your handbag? Have any of you ever tried one of those inserts used for switching from purse to purse?

handbag - dooney & bourke, card organizer - card cubby, wristlet - dooney & bourke, cosmetic bag - tory burch