Organizing Your Wallet, Purse, and Briefcase

Organized people are always prepared but they're not packhorses. The first move in your mobile lifestyle should be assessing what you need to take along for the ride, and then assembling the power briefcase, purse, or chic over-the-shoulder bag that puts everything at your fingertips without slowing you down.

Feeling things first: The wallet

By definition, your wallet generally holds your most valuable assets. You want to be able to quickly spot what's there and what's not. Start your quest for a smart wallet by choosing a model that keeps your assets organized and in view. Of the dozens of shapes and sizes available, four basic features comprise a wallet that works:

• A section for unfolded currency

• Slots for charge cards

• An ID/driver's license window holder

• A closed (zipper or snap) change pocket

Next, take a hard look at your cards. You may have 20, even 30 cards documenting everything from prescription insurance to restaurant discounts to frequent-flyer miles. Do you really need to carry every one with you every day? Pack your driver's license, ATM card, one credit card, and whatever other cards you'll be using that day. The rest can stay at home. You can keep airline cards in a cardholder tucked into your carry-on luggage; and if your health club membership card is in your gym bag, you'll always have it when you need it.

Chances are you'll still want to carry your all-important business card. Use a separate holder to carry them so you can whip your cards out quickly and leave your wallet unstuffed and safely put away.

Packing less than the kitchen sink: The purse

Women love their purses — and why not? A fashion accessory that can hold everything you think you may need (whether you really need it or not), a purse is like a best pal. Women's purses are also notorious for packing away far more stuff than any person needs in a day. If yours has become a piece of luggage, the time has come to pare down to the basics. Start by carrying only the following:

• Wallet

• Checkbook

• Datebook/organizer

• Keys

• Glasses/sunglasses

• Only the cosmetics you regularly touch up with during the day

• Comb and mirror

• Nail file

• 3-x-5-inch notepad

• Two pens: One blue or black (for normal use) and one red (for high-priority entries in your calendar)

• Business cards

A round purse wastes space, just as anything else round does (think about all those stolen corners). When selecting a purse, start with a rectangle, and then look for

• The right size to hold just what you need and no more. Murphy's Law states that you'll fill any available space, so resist temptation by keeping your purse on the small side.

• A reader's pocket if you like to carry a book to read. This outside pocket allows you to grab your book without digging through other things.

• A front zipper pocket, that extends about halfway up the purse, to hold pens and business cards. Again, the pocket gives you quick access without having to open the main compartment.

• A zipper or locking flap closure at the top to keep thieves' hands out of your purse and valuable items in.

Though separate compartments inside a purse may seem organized, what happens if you look for something in the wrong compartment? You have to start all over again by looking in another one. Purses with one section let you see everything at once.

Taking care of business: The briefcase

Finding the briefcase that best suits your needs is half the battle. Basic designs include hard suitcases, soft bags, and double-duty computer cases. To choose your briefcase, consider the weight and nature of what you carry. Leather briefcases look better than vinyl, but they also weigh more, especially if you're looking at a combination laptop case/briefcase. Here are some considerations in the briefcase debate:

• Hard case: A hard exterior does a good job of protecting its contents from bumps and bends, and also provides a writing surface while you ride the train or perch in a chair at a tableless meeting. Most hard briefcases don't come with any place for pens or pencils, so a small holder helps to keep them all together.

Need an immediate fix to keep your pens and pencils from floating all over your briefcase? Try a cardboard pen or pencil box or a resealable plastic bag.

• Soft case: Usually equipped with sections and pockets to hold pens, pencils, files, and a pad of paper, soft cases have some organizational advantages. They're generally lighter in weight, and many also come with a strap for wearing over your shoulder. Soft spots of the soft case: a more casual look (which may be just fine, depending on your profession), no handy writing surface, and the things inside can get banged and bent — especially if you overstuff the bag, which those soft walls can tempt you to do.

• Computer case/briefcase: If you use a laptop, you can benefit from combining your computer case and briefcase, which gives you just one thing to carry and one item to track during busy, high-mileage days. Here are features to seek:

• Padded laptop section with room for the power cord and cable lock.

• Briefcase section that holds file folders and writing pads and provides pockets for pens, pencils, and business cards.

• Pockets for disks and/or CDs.

• Slot for a CD drive if you need to exchange it with your floppy drive.

• Strong zipper closure that can be locked if necessary.

Some briefcases are specially designed for public-transport commuters, with external straps to hold a newspaper and an umbrella. After all, you always need the news, and you never know when the weather is going to turn to rain.

Your briefcase should get you through all the day's business with efficiency and ease. The contents are targeted to the task at hand, so it shouldn't be stuffed full of shoes or cosmetics or files from yesterday's projects. Take 15 minutes once a week to clean out your briefcase — it'll become habit in no time.