The day before you lose your purse

How many times have you been to a restaurant and left your purse on the booth and had to run back to get it? Or been to the movies and was so busy talking about the movie that you left your purse under the chair? Or put your purse down at a party (SHAME ON YOU)? Or walked out of a cab with your purse on the seat?

There are certain things you should do before you lose your purse. I like to think I am responsible (everyone feels this way about themselves), but give me a great conversation or a glass of wine and I can easily misplace the most important accessory I own. I never know the day that I will lose my purse. Which means I need to prepare TODAY for the case that I might lose my purse tomorrow. Or tonight.

1. Clean out your purse. (This is beneficial in SO many ways.) Do you really need to give the person who finds your purse your social security card? And how often do you really use all 7 credit cards in your wallet? The less in there- the less to lose.

2. Make sure you have your credit card numbers accounted for. This means that you need to have (in a locked and safe place) all of your credit card numbers written down, and a list of the bank phone numbers associated with each one. This will make it easy to call and cancel immediately.

3. Write down your driver's license number. No one like the DMV and the long lines of really angry people. If you have your license number written down (or memorized) you can renew your license online. Sweet!

4. Give a friend a spare key. You lost your purse at a bar. It is 2am. You at least deserve to sleep in your own bed. Make sure someone has a key as a backup.

5. Stash some cash under your mattress. Or well, in your desk. (the mattress just sounded more dramatic) If you are stranded without a credit card for a few days, you are going to want to have some backup cash so that you can at least survive on some ramen noodles.

Don't be lazy today. It will just cause more work for tomorrow..

The Backseat Backup Purse

How do you stay savvy and on the go and constantly prepared? The backseat backup purse. Simple concept, but it has saved me several times.

Basically, I keep a plain black purse in the backseat of my car at all times. (under the seat of course so that no one is tempted to break into my car, important key.) It was probably a purse that I had back in highschool- nothing fancy or oversized or trendy in any sort of the word. Just a simple black purse.

To be honest, I am not sure when I started doing this but it is absolutely essential for the modern girl. I don't carry a purse with me to work (my laptop bag is quite enough), so the purse comes in handy when I want to run a quick errand after work but don't want to drag my entire laptop bag in to Target. Spontaneous happy hour after work? No problem! I take my wallet, cell phone, keys, and maybe some lipgloss into the bar and leave my clunky "work stuff" out of my social life.

Pre-"Backseat Backup Purse" days, I used to take in my cellphone, wallet, and keys in my hand. I then had to lay them on the table and risk a drink spilling over my precious cellphone or leaving my wallet at the table. It also adds clutter to an already busy table. Having a purse lets you walk around, socialize, and yet not break your shoulder carrying around a computer.

I might not have sold you on the concept, but throw and old, simple purse in the back of your car and see how many occasions you end up using it.