Oh dear. I’m so embarrassed. I just spilled my purse out for all of you to see! Luckily it’s WAY less nasty than it could be – or has been – sometimes I have weird stuff in there. Like this one time I kept an apple in my purse for a month. Gross. Then this other time I had a plastic sheep in my bag. Anyhoo, this is what’s in my bag, and as you can see, it’s completely disorganized with little things everywhere. I also have to carry my laptop in another bag, which means I’m just hauling a bunch of junk around in multiple totes, and nothing is organized.
Luckily I have some new goodies from the Martha Stewart Home Office collection at Staples. Martha has partnered with Avery on this awesome collection that includes totes, bags, laptop/tablet sleeves and more. As you would expect, I love the look and patterns that Martha has to offer. Here’s more about it.
These are the zippered pouches that are part of the collection and the first step in organizing my bag. I love the flexible material and blue zippers (I’m a sucker for those little touches). The material is also easily cleaned, which is important in a purse like mine. You never know when an apple or latte is going to get all over everything.
I was able to put all those little items from my purse into the zipper pouches. So convenient!
The next element to organizing my stuff is the tablet sleeve. I actually like to carry around an iPad in my purse sometimes when I don’t want to carry around my larger computer. I’m always concerned about breaking the thing, since I’m kind of a klutz, so luckily this iPad case is padded. AND it’s cute. I love the blue, but there are several styles available.
My tablet just slips in and I’m ready to go.
Now for the pièce de résistance – the laptop tote. My goal was to get rid of having two bags, and that is what this purse does. Thank you, Martha! It’s nice enough to carry to work if I have to visit a client, but also casual enough to take to Starbucks. LOVE this thing. And the material is easily cleaned as well, because you know this thing is going to have diet soda all over it before long.
Love the nice, padded laptop sleeve inside. I just slip my computer right in and I still have a ton of room for all of my “standard” purse goodies.
Remember my pouches? These coordinate with the bags, if you like to be matchy-matchy.
And the tote has something that my purse doesn’t have – an area for pens and electronics. Yay! I’m so organized. I hardly feel like myself.
You need to check out the full collection at Staples – there are totes of all sizes and in various colors . . . same with the laptop/tablet sleeves. The collection is beautiful, durable and sturdy. I love it. And guess what? THIS WEEK Staples is having a huge Martha promo: Spend $40 on any MSHO tote/accessory and get $10 off!
Are you ready to win one of your own totes and tablet sleeves so that you too can organize the contents in your bag? Let me know what’s in your bag – enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure here.
Blogger who loves the color blue and sock monkeys. You can find me in public easily— I'm wearing glasses and lots of stripes.
Definitely saved up tissues… then when I toss them, I immediately need them!
this may offend some so i apologize up front: for me, the funniest thing in my purse is a tampon. haven’t needed one in almost a year (knock wood) and i carry one around sort of like a talisman!
I don’t have anything funny. The oddest thing I have in there is probably a surgical marking pen from work.
I have a little baggie of dog treats in case I run into a little canine cutie–
5 different flavors of ChapStick. Oh why do I need so many ?!?!
I have a bag of dog treats in my purse because I am a Dog Mom
Funny? Not sure, but I carry around a too-heavy padlock for days at the gym. If I take it out, I forget it the next time I need it–which is worse than lugging it around!
used tissues for me too.
the funniest thing in my bag is coupons which always seem to expire before I get around to using them. Thanks for the giveaway
The funniest thing in my bag right now is probably dog poop bags (no worries they don’t contain any poo).
When I took my oldest daughter for her driver’s license test (very early one morning), we found out there was going to be quite a wait, and since I hadn’t had my breakfast, I pulled my “breakfast hotdog” out of my purse and chowed down…much to my daughter’s dismay! YUM! This is still a funny family story….at my expense, of course!
The item itself isn’t funny but the situation it solves is amusing…. my boyfriend is addicted to his lipsyl, but he forgets it, so I have to keep one in my purse as his back up! I guess he needs his own man-purse…..
Thanks for the great giveaway!
Nothing really funny in my bag right now, unless you count the small turtle… Just joking! I’m afraid my bag is filled with the usual stuff — pens, wallet, some makeup, coupons/gift cards.
I would love to win a tote — it would be perfect for carrying to all-day swim meets. Thank you for offering the giveaway!
The funniest thing is my bag is probably a pack of smiley face stickers for correcting my students’ papers.
a sample from Costco…okay it is chocolate still in its little cupcake paper holder omg i forgot about it. good thing is was in a pocket and not melted
I guess the funniest thing in my bag right now is my lego Yoda key ring. Thanks for the opportunity!
oooh, very pretty!
In my bag right now: A flattened roll of toilet paper, broken crayons, and a ball….and yes I’m a mom of a toddler and a preschooler so it all makes sense
The funniest thing in my bag is probably a few random dog treats
Awesome combo!! I have that tote and absolutely love it! It’s my new go-to bag!!
It’s more the combination of things: mini quick-drying bottle of glue, a Silhouette tool, papers to grade, a small piece of paper with “2+7″ written on it (who knows why?), a dirty fork…I’m a teacher; my purse usually combines with my teacher bag. I could really use Martha’s help.
Hi Amy! Love this post. So the strangest thing I have in my bag is a bamboo flute. It belongs to my son (6). He made it in class and it must go everywhere with us. I rest easy knowing that I am fully prepared for an impromptu concert, or running a plague of rats out of town.
I have a small bag of edamame from last night that I am saving for a mid-day snack!
A stuffed pink chihuahua
A tiny troll doll that I bought for my daughter at a thrift shop….over a year ago.
A rock I have had since a trip to Canada when I was 12.
I always have two pens with me
The funniest thing in my bag is a packet of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate! How’d that get in there!?
OMG! I saw this on the day my purse is bulging at the seams! The strangest item is probably the bright yellow stretchy band and print out of exercises I should be doing for a rotator cuff problem. (Not that I have used it anywhere but home but I still feel I must travel with it back & forth to work, gym, etc.) Other items; tissues, Tic Tac Mints that shuffle so I can find them using sound and my phone number book; even though my cell phone has all my numbers. Gotta have backup!
nothing too funny in my bag. best i can do is a 4×6 sprial bound notebook with polka dots on the cover with only 4 pages left in it.
The number of ink pens!
I think the funniest thing in my bag right now would be the fact that I have about 10 pens in there! I grab one most days when I leave the house and I haven’t cleaned out my purse in a while, so now I have a collection.
my drop spindle.
I so need to organize my purse! I left the external flash for one of my cameras in there and my dog stole it and took it out to the yard and left it in the rain! Not a happy puppy mom right now!
I am a teacher and did a project in November using bells! Today I was cleaning my bag and found 3 bells!!!! I also found a handful of crayons and some tootsie rolls that were pretty sticky! YUCK! Always a mom!
Wow! My purse could certainly use those zipper pouches! I can’t find anything that I need without looking like a bag lady! I actually tthought I had lost my wallet one time because I had so much other junk in my purse. I wound up dumping it all out on the counter to be able to find it. Loving that the totes can match the zipper bags! YAY! We can start a Find It Now REVOLUTION with these!
The weirdest thing in my purse is one earring back, just found it, lol. No idea why it is there.
Loved this! I haven’t seen these MS items at my local Staples yet. I’m there everyday. Lol
Two bottles of Aleve – not sure why I need to have both!
A DOG BONE
splenda and baby wipes
Some plastic gloves.
I have a screwdriver and a measuring tape from work! I didn’t want to carry a second bag so they got shoved in with my wallet and chap stick!
The funniest thing in my purse is probably a half-used packet of hot cocoa. I travel for work & I don’t like straight coffee, so I put half a pack of cocoa & flavored creamer in it, so that’s leftover for next time, but I can never find it, so I usually open another one. I think there are multiple in my car also. lol
OMG I do the hot chocolate trick too!!!
I think the better question is….what’s not in my bag?
The funniest thing in my bag right now is my puppy’s yellow ducky squeeky!
Oh to be organized! It’s an exciting thing to dream of
The funniest thing in my bag right now is a red glitter box holding gift cards. Getting red glitter on everything
My dog’s new rabies tags.
I am currently toting the mama bag, aka the diaper bag. Besides being loaded with cloth diapers and other baby paraphernalia, I am carrying around my kindle, my wallet, lip gloss, and oh so much more.
I have a pile of ponytail holders in my purse right now. I am always loosing them and they somehow end up in the bottom of my purse.
Yes, I need it all. Thanks!
Funniest thing in my purse is gas x. You never know when you r gonna need it
I have all kinds of “distractions” for my little guys… funniest is probably a bottle of bubbles (they are a great distraction when waiting in a long check-out line!)
The most random thing in my purse right now would have to be a pin cushion. Not sure how or why it got there, but it is!
I went to the pet store and got mealworms for my daughter’s lizard and forgot them in my purse. Yeah, fun! Thank you for asking me what was in my purse!!
I have a Gift Card Wallet that has no gift cards in it, but it is so cute (and I made it), so I carry it around anyway.
Two very small tubes of E6000 that I bought over a year ago. I hesitate to take them out because I’m afraid I’ll lose them
A pair of socks, just in case…haha!
Love Love Love ANYTHING to help me keep my mom/work/tote/craft/kids junk/purse ORGANIZED!!!!! It’s a chore…
Anything that the kids don’t want to hold goes into my bag. Once I put an open juice box in and forgot about it. I ruined two checks that were going to the bank. I had to go back to the companies and ask for new checks because the bank would not take them! I don’t put open juice boxes in my bag anymore.
So cute! Maybe this will help me get some organizations. I too have multiple bags i’m carrying around. I have 4 kids that range from age 4-16 and so i’m often carrying a variety of must haves to walk out of the house
I downsized purses recently which forced me to downsize its contents, but those pouches would be amazing for organizing what I’ve got left!
Well, let’s see…lip gloss ( very important! lol!), kleenex, gum/altoids, my wallet FULL of stuff – needs to be cleaned out terribly!, pens and a green highlighter, lol!, my cheaters because I am almost 45 and my eyes have turned 80 on me, sample of perfume, water bottle and a yo-yo! (yes, I am a mom – hence the yo-yo…actually I am surprised there wasn’t more of the kids stuff in here at the moment! Is that a success???…kind-of feels like a little one! =) lol!
Receipts! I have receipts stuffed in there from months ago!
I have a small bee toy that my son put in there
The funniest thing in my purse is a small wrapped scone I forgot to take out of it last Sunday. Sad…they were really good scones.
3 pairs of reading glasses.
Funniest thing in my bag…….I carry a snoopy comic strip I ripped out out the paper about snoopy begging more food, because my dogs do.
There’s some chocolate in my purse. Can’t believe it hasn’t been eaten yet.
Credit cards, money, iPhone, pens, tablets, measuring tape, chapstick, Splenda, Tums for my tummy when I eat something I shouldn’t.
The most unusual things in my purse today are dog biscuits, toy dinosauer, this is my dogs security toy for when she goes to the vet. Now keep in mind my dog is a 52 lb pit bull and she loves her dinosauer toy.
I had to poke around because I couldn’t think of anything funnier than a bag of Halloween gummy fruit snacks (yawn), but then I found a swatch of wallpaper from my bathroom which I was carrying in case I found some nice curtain fabric (?) or a rug (?) to match it. Doesn’t sound too odd, except that I stripped that wallpaper and repapered the bathroom several years ago. I bought it because it was cheap, but, alas, as was pointed out to me, it was quite ugly. I never did find whatever it was I was looking for to match it. Alls the better.
An old skeliton key.
I only like Celtic salt or Real Salt so I carry a tiny salt shaker and it makes people smile when I pull it out.
That is just what I need, I am wheelchair bound and never have enough hands especially with an 11 yr old, so it is all in a bag!!!! Keeping my fingers crossed to win!!!!