Purse Organizers: Brief reviews of different purse organizer designs.

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Hi,
I'm Your mama, you don't have to agree with what I say. But before you cast your judgment, I suggest you first read.

I'm a member of the messy purse society. If you're a girl and carry a purse you're probably a member of a local chapter of the messy purse society in your area.

I decided I'm tired of wasting time digging, and conducting a search and rescue in my purse for my keys and cellphone every time I need them. (I hate JUST missing a call because you didn't get to your cell phone in time...hate that!)

My purse isn't HUGE with a small convenience store in it, nor is it too small that I can't even hold MILK+C (money, ID, lipstick, keys, & cell). Here, see for yourself:

It's roughly 13.5" long, by 5 or 6" high, and about 4" deep. So that's what my purse currently looks like. It's really roomy and the bag doesn't have much shape to it so everything I put in there just sinks to the bottom or lays down on top of one another, so I get so frustrated with my purse.
I first asked myself:

Why carry a purse?

• Carry my girlie things.
• So my butt to look ugly with a cell phone shoved in the pocket.
• Pant pockets are not deep
  

Big purse v Small purse

• You need one big enough to hold all your stuff.
• You don't want it too big because then it looks like the purse is is walking with a human and not the other way around.
• Small purses are cute, but sometimes they don't have enough space to hold all of our stuff
  

So my purse may not be THAT disorganized because I pack things in small pouches within my purse. Keeping things in small pouches within my purse kinda keeps it less clutter-y. But now pouches pile on one another instead so that doesn't fix the problem.

I don't understand why purses have that built in key holder, you know what I'm talking about? The clip that's attached to a cord and then is anchored to a seam in your purse, yeah? I never use mine because I would only be searching for that damn cord (not my keys), or just my keys, but then once I find them, I still have to detach it from the cord, so I'm not sure the purpose of that cord. If I make the mistake of throwing my keys in my purse, rather than one of the two small pockets on either end of the purse, @#%$ me.

I'm a nut and I LOVE researching things on the internet. I started looking for the perfect purse organizer.
***ATTENTION: This is just a comparison of different products I've found using my personal remarks. I'm just talking about what I like about something and things about it that I don't like. This isn't meant to defame anything or anybody.***


So I've come across 3 designs

• The Panel
  
• The Basket
• The Tray

The Panel:
A belt of fabric that is divided up with pockets. It can roll up and fit into almost any size purse. I would suggest you go smaller if you can, because if you get one that's huge it'll take up a lot of space in your purse because it creates a perimeter on the inside of your purse, and if it's too long, it will create a spiral and take up more space. If you don't mind having the organizer take up more space, then don't worry about what I just said.

http://www.purseket.com/index.php?target=banners&bid=65&sl=EN&aff_id=4323

I like how this one comes in wide variety of CUTE girlie fabrics as well as less decorated ones. And the different sizes allow you to use them not in just purses but diaper bags and backpacks too. The best thing is that it's got a pocket with a flap so when we ladies carry extra sanitary napkins or tampons we don't have feel embarrassed when we open up our purse and show off our cute organizer.

Even though it says it's 7" tall, remember that's from the top of the key ring, so the body of the thing is more like 5". The quality is very good.

http://www.purse-brite.com/

This is the first purse organizer I have ever seen. I like the light, that's pretty damn handy based on different review I have read the light actually is bright and not some useless accessory. HSN also carries Purse Brite with some accessories with it. But I think the actual website has a better offer only because I think having a mini and extra light is much more practical and you would probably use it more often--I know I would.

joeyjunior.com

This seems like the most popular one. I guess Rachael Ray helped out on that. It's pretty basic in terms of pockets and design. The quality seems pretty reliable. I like the design of the mini purse organizer. I like how it's a triangular shape so it stands up on its own. I do however, love the purse clip they sell on the site. You know when you go to a restaurant sometimes it's tricky to find a good place to place your purse. You'd prefer to place it in an empty chair but sometimes that's not possible, and hanging it behind your chair can get in the way of others, and lord knows you don't want to place your expensive purse on the FLOOR. Well with this hook you position at the edge of the table you can hang your purse from the table. I'd like to shake the hand of whoever invented that idea. I do feel this website sells them at waaay too high of a price. I have found less expensive ones on Amazon. Check it out!

The Basket:
It's almost like a purse within a purse. Most come with little handles for easy use. There are usually pockets where you can stuff your things. I like the design though, it's easy to keep all your necessities in the basket design and then just take it out whenever you're changing purses...super convenient! Like the sites say, you can just toss that into a beach bag, gym bag or in the diaper bag if you don't feel like carrying both. Genius! I like how the basket seems more like it's custom made for your bag rather than the panel design. The space in your purse seems better managed with the basket design.
Here are some sites that have the designs I like:

http://www.chameleoninserts.com/index.html
I like how these have PLENTY of pockets and such, but still gives you flexibility of space so you can easily store small loose things as well as bigger bulkier things like books. Plus there are handles so switching purses is easy. I also like the options of having a regular feather light designs for your bag, or a sturdier one as a stand alone model as a caddy for your car (as featured on the site). After running into this site, I feel a lot more confident buying a purse organizer because this design seems pretty fail proof.

http://www.purznizer.com/faqs.asp
If your tighter on space, this design is better for you. Because every organization system has some kind of key holder, I like how this design incorporates a retractable key holder. That's smart and I would actually use that....I never use that corded clip that's built into many purses. I also like the mesh pockets on the outside--very practical. The designs are CUTE, and the sizes they offer are also practical. If you have a larger bag you can place a couple of those in there and keep things even more separated and organized. They're in Smyrna, GA just down the street from where I grew up! Extra points for them! :)
The only thing I don't like is the velcro. I love the customizable dividers, but I'm not a big fan of velcro, only because I've had too many things snagged on velcro throughout my childhood and adulthood plus lint always somehow gets stuck in them.

http://www.islakinc.com/
The site is a little difficult to get around, but I love the clear pouches because you can see everything in them. I do like the clear pouch idea, because I'm a fan of being able to see what's inside. Plus they're from my hometown in Atlanta! :) can't beat that! My favorite items from them is the pen pouch and document wallet. With the pen pouch you velcro (yes I know I just said I didn't really like velcro, but read on) it to the "plain bag" and pens are at your fingertips. You don't have to DIG ALL THE WAY DOWN into your purse to get pens, because they're right there. The document wallet keeps those receipts from decorating the bottom of your purse and getting all crumbled up in your purse.

http://www.pouchee.com/
I wish this site had more pictures of the product. The design is cute and stylish. The size is the size of all the other basket design's size "small." I can't tell too much from the limited photos but they look pretty damn sturdy. Another good thing is that a lot of small shops around the country sell their product so you don't have to order off the net if you don't feel comfortable with it.


The Tray:
Like drawer organizers only made for your purse. This is the design I was really searching for. I was searching for something light so it doesn't weigh down my purse. I was looking for something that resembled those drawer organizers except for my purse.
I decided that the tray design would be best for my needs because I don't have much luck with the pockets in my purse because things don't stay in them and placing the object back into the pocket isn't very convenient. My primary example are my tissue purse packs. Sometimes the tissue pack doesn't stay in the pocket in my purse and then when I'm trying to place it back, the opening of the pocket will collapse, so I have to: Stop. Reopen the pocket. Place the tissue pack back in and hope it doesn't collapse again. But with a tray, there are little cubbie holes for everything so don't have to search for the pocket or worry about the pocket opening collapsing.

Here's the best one I've found so far:
http://www.pursepleaser.com/Home.html
The site is easy to use. The video is kinda long but it shows the product off very well. It's what I was looking for. The price is pretty friendly, $25 for small, medium and large size all together. If you have one of those oversize hobos that lack structure, this may not work too well, the basket design may work better. My favorite things about this product is that it's a tray with dividers (no pockets), things "are forced to stand up", the built in waste disposal in the medium/large design. The Purse Pleaser doesn't have pretty prints and colors like the fabric purse organizers, but in a way I'm OK with that because then I can make it all pretty the way I would like it to look.


***If anybody has any of these, PLEASE feel free to comment about them. I would love to hear about your experiences, and I'm sure other readers would too.

If you want to read about what purse organizer I ended up getting, click here.