Handbag Hoarders
Our handbags are full of rubbish- it's official. New research has confirmed what most of us have suspected for years.
Other than the usual suspects, such as purses and keys, there were a few unusual objects in the handbag mix, like detachable car CD players and screwdrivers for repairing glasses.
Despite this, 92% of these items weren’t seen as being useful by the 1,300 women surveyed and over half of respondents (57%) admitted they only use 1-5 of those items on a regular basis.
The same five items were also voted the most useful: purse, keys, phone, pack of tissues and a pen and notebook – all of which featured higher than makeup- in the survey carried out by Kleenex.
TV psychologist Anjula Mutanda comments: “This research shows that whilst we recognise that we don’t need all these things cluttering up our handbags we do still tend to cling on to objects “just in case” – we are nurturers by nature and therefore prepare accordingly. All we really need though is just five essential items, as identified in the research, that will actually have a use on a day-to-day basis when we are out and about
“What is interesting, however, is that it’s clear from the research that today’s women are demanding both fashion and function from their handbags and the products they put in them. That suggests that we’re unwilling to compromise – basically we want it all in one handbag fix: stylish must-haves that are also useful.”
This notion is confirmed by the fact that over half (51%) of women said they wouldn’t buy something just because it looks good and a further 1 in 5 said that they liked to buy things that look stylish.
Anjula’s top tips on de-cluttering your handbag:
- Choose a bag that fits with your lifestyle and with what you need, nothing much more
- Clear out your handbag when you get in every night to rid it of those unnecessary items – only carry the essentials
- Choose a purse that does the job and no more – you don’t need a brick!
- Kick out unnecessary keys and hefty key chains
Tagged in handbag