I've Been Tagged in the Empty Purse Challenge!

Purse Challenge 

Though this may not be the typical Monday Motivation, it should motivate you to occasionally clean out your purse. This way you won’t get caught revealing just a little more than is comfortable like I was!

Last weekend was the perfect time to be tagged in the “purse challenge”, since I was changing purses as I prepared for the Maranatha Christian Writer’s Conference. Of course, I was a little squeamish about divulging the contents of my purse. This situation is kind of like inviting people into a cluttered room and apologizing for the mess.

Blue Rhapsody pattern!

While my friend Karla Akins prefers large purses, I’d rather use a small cross-body bag. I usually wind up with something in-between, by the time you include a place for a case for my glasses, phone, keys, and id/coin purse.

Hipster and coin purse in Marseilles
pattern.

My sister started me on a longstanding, budget-debilitating addiction to Vera Bradley bags. She didn’t purposely do it—she started giving them to me as gifts. Then I became spoiled. When I was working, I found some good deals on their online store. At that time I acquired a matching purse and lunch bag in the Pink Paisley pattern. I still enjoy perusing their online “up 75% off” sales.

While visiting the local Vera Bradley habit recovery/support group, where I had to say, “Hi, my name is Kathy and I am addicted to pretty quilted purses and tote bags made from colorful fabrics . . . usually in a paisley pattern,” I was confused about which pattern was my favorite. The facilitator insisted I needed to admit what it was before I could be freed from the habit. Recovery means no longer sweating and having shaky hands when I delete one of Vera Bradley’s emails, or walk by one of their stores without a glance.  

Now for the contents of my purse:

1.    Old grocery lists.
2.   Outback gift card.
3.   Inhaler, in case my asthma acted up from bonfires up north.
4.   Two coin purses—one holds my license and other important stuff, the one underneath it holds stuff like my Barnes and Noble card.
5.  Hand sanitizer.
6. Tieback from my new family room curtains, so I could show it to my sister when I met her for lunch.
7.   One tube of hand cream.
8.   Old receipts.
9.   Old coupons.¨   
10.   Two mini-packets of tissues.
11.  Disposable toothbrush.
12. Case for my glasses.
13.   Flash drive.
14. Comb with a pick, some black thing that I don’t remember what it is?
15. A large blue hair pick—this comes in handy when I let my hair go wavy.
16.  Car key and fob.
17. Change.
18. One tube pink lipstick.
19. Mascara.
20. One tube pink lip-gloss.
21. Two pens and a pencil. How did my highlighter disappear?
22. One sample paint card.
23. One 2014-15 calendar with cute kitty on the front.
24. Two old appointment cards.

Not even sure how I fit all that into one of my favorite purses. Of course, there had to have been a purpose for each item at one point or another.

As far as a favorite pattern goes, I’m still trying to figure that out. The question is: Do I really have to, when purses, totes and other things are useful objects? Maybe it won’t hurt to delay my recovery . . . a little longer.