How I Store (And Protect) My Favourite Bags 👜👛👝💼

Disclaimer:  I have not been paid to promote any products or stores.  I just wanted to share a tiny organising project that has made me smile x

Hi Honeys, 

It was such a beautiful day yesterday!  Bright and sunny all day and (with Hubby's help - thank you sweetheart x) I managed to get lots of laundry done and even pegged outside 😊  Hubby also cut the grass and fitted another feeder on the apple tree for our feathery visitors as well.  

In the afternoon, we had a lot of fun in the kitchen trying out the tiny, adorable waffle machine Hubby had brought me home as a surprise gift.  I'm starting to feel a little more like the old me honeys, it's taken such a while but I think I'm starting to find the old Rosie again.  My mobility is still terrible, but I'm a stubborn wee thing and I'll get there eventually.      

I think Summer is starting to arrive (hopefully) and I'm so looking forward to being able to sit outside in the garden with our furbaby Jade and Hubby once we get our little seating area set up💖  

Today though, I thought I'd share one of my very recent little organising projects.  It's a silly thing to be so happy about but I really am honeys 😊   

So, as always with posts chock full of images dear ones, why not go fetch a cuppa (and maybe a cookie) and meet me after the page break for details.  See you in a minute then dear ones... 

Welcome back 😊  Do you have your cuppa?  Me too ☕  Let's take a look then at my latest little organising project shall we?

The Two Bags That Started it all 💼

So, here they are honeys. The two bags I wanted to protect, to keep safe from any sunlight that could fade them, and away from dust even, were the satchels Hubby bought for me 💖  

I absolutely adore these Harry Potter themed satchels, with their beautifully embroidered Hogwarts patches.  They were a gift from Hubby (thank you sweetheart x) and were among the earliest in the Potter range in Primark I think.  

They're quite large, larger than an everyday handbag in fact.  If you've been here before, you might remember that I have my own little "bag boutique" where I store my day-to-day handbags (if you missed it, you can see it here honeys.)  I do already have larger bags stored there but, unlike the Potter satchels, they lay flat against the door. The satchels would also, as I said, be vulnerable to eventual fading from the sun and to dust over time (even if I dusted more often than I do lol) if stored there.  

Nope, it was definitely time for them to have a home of their own.  As the saying goes, a place for everything and everything in it's place.  One of these days, I'm hoping, that will be true about our little home and that tiny projects like this one will help to get us there. 

Keeping it simple...

As you can see from the image above honeys, I haven't used too many items for this little project. Over the past few years, we've found that the systems we've put in place, the ones that still work, are the simple ones. The ones where it's easier to take an item to its designated home and put it there than to leave it sitting on the sofa or the hall table or anywhere else.

We've also found that most things will naturally have a place they belong.  This will usually be where they're used most, such as your coffee cups will be stored nearest your kettle or coffee maker, or a place that's most convenient, like a hook or bowl at the door for your keys, reminding you to take them with you as you go out.  

Assembling the organising supplies...

For this project then honeys, I was still mindful of keeping the system I used simple, but I did add an extra step.  This extra step was necessary because the whole point of the project was to protect the items stored, not just to store them.  

Let's take a look then at what I used:

• Skubb hanging pocket storage for bags - I adore pocket storage! They have so many uses😊
• Pillowcases - one for each bag to be stored - that's the extra step, wrapping the bags in a pillowcase before storing them in their designated pocket.
• Chalk labels/adhesive pockets - to identify the contents of each pocket.  In the end, I choose to just use the chalk labels. 

Only three items, so still a simple system to use, even with the added step.  I'll explain... 

This is the pocket storage product I used.  It's from the Skubb range at Ikea...

As you can see from the illustration/label on the product, it has three medium size pockets on one side and has two much larger pockets on the other side.  These larger pockets are a perfect size to become the new, protective home for the Potter satchels.💼

First step then, was to gently clean the satchels with a soft micro fibre cloth and make sure they were empty.  Since I hadn't used either bag in quite some time, I was surprised to find that the black satchel, the one I had used occasionally for work, had a really lovely shopping bag inside... 

I had genuinely forgotten about this lovely cotton shopper honeys, it's so pretty with a glittery Slytherin design 💖  In one of the front pockets of the satchel, waiting for me to remember him was a Hedwig pen too 💗 

With both bags gently dusted and the shoulder straps placed inside the main body of the satchels.  I carefully placed each of them into a soft cotton pillowcase.  With the bag wrapped in soft cotton and so protected from dust and fading, they were placed into a pocket and a label added so that I could find the bag I wanted at a later date. 

 

To label the pockets I had originally thought about using small adhesive pockets (designed to hold business cards) I could place labels into but after trying the chalk labels, I decided I really liked them. What do you think honeys? 

Having decided on using these pocket handbag hangers (I ordered two) I then set about gathering my favourite bags, thinking why not pack away and protect all of my "good" bags and leave only the day-to-day bag I use when I go outside on show in my "bag boutique."  

You might have read in a recent post that I no longer have my job due to the pain in my spine (this and other catching-up-topics were already covered here honeys.)  This has been life changing.  Going to work was the only time, other than medical appointments, that I've regularly travelled outside our home for several years now, so losing has been difficult. My point is that I don't go out anymore, so I really only need one handbag set up with my phone, inhalers etc, ready to grab when needed. Why not properly store the others? 

Back to bags then dear ones.  This was supposed to be a fun, organising post after all.  I've been blessed to have been gifted some beautiful handbags over the years.  Some from a much loved friend (thank you Miriam, love you millions honey x) and of course, this one...

There are no words for how much I adore this mini satchel honeys💖  It's much smaller than the other two Potter satchels and is much more suitable to being a handbag. This bag too has been wrapped in a pillowcase and is now safely stored in it's own pocket. 

One of my more recent online purchases a few months ago I think, was this adorable messenger bag.  It has my favourite Chibi versions of the Potter characters.  I do love these little guys💖  This too, for the meantime is packed away into a pillowcase and into a pocket. Oddly enough, I did think about using it as a knitting bag.  There's a large pocket in the front that could hold extra needles etc. What do you think honeys?

So cute 😍  Does anyone else immediately look for their favourite characters when seeing the Chibi designs?  I know exactly where all of the tiny Snapes are (and I can see you too Professor McGonagall)😊💖 

The final result...

So, when favourites were all carefully wrapped in pillowcases and placed into their pockets, the handbag storage hanger looked like this...

As you can see, it has room for two large bags, in this case the Potter themed satchels, while the other side has three medium sized pockets,.    

This image does make me smile honeys 💖 Now, if we could just get the rest of our home to be this organised 😃 We'll get there, I think.  One tiny organising project at a time 😊 

I hope your week is off to a great start, and will be full of smiles and hugs dear ones.  Thank you for keeping me company today, till next time, hugs always x