10 Pieces Of Trash In Every Woman's Purse

We claim our purses are full of the essentials, but honestly, how many pieces of trash are we really holding hostage in there? My Kate Spade weighed in at just under 6.5 pounds and I have to say I’m utterly shocked that I’ve been walking around with the equivalent of a newborn baby strapped to my shoulders! I wish I could say the only reason I accumulate so much junk is because my bags tend to be massive, but alas, that isn't the case. I dumped out a tiny crossbody only to find that it was full of wrinkled papers and various crumbs.

Should I be ashamed to admit the only time I truly clean out my purse is when I switch over to a new bag? Probs not. I’m confident I’m not the only one. Sure, there are some things every girl should carry in her purse. However, a piece of chewed up gum stuffed into a wrapper and an expired bottle of crushed Advil fits under the gross things at the bottom of your purse category. If it’s true that some call a woman’s purse a bag of fun, there is certainly nothing amusing about the garbage we’re stashing away in them. You’ll probably want to reconsider your habits if you’re guilty of holding onto these ten pieces of trash found in nearly every woman’s purse — but hey, at least you're not alone.

1. Old receipts

My mother for one is the queen of holding onto receipts (I wouldn’t be surprised if she had one from the '90s in there), and I've inherited the habit. Someone please explain to me why do we do this? I’ve probably worn that dress from H&M 100 times already and can’t even remember why I bought gorilla glue from Target, so why do I still have the receipt? I’m sure six months later is six months too late to bring it back for return or exchange.

2. Crumbled or half-eaten food

I'm very guilty of leaving half-eaten granola bars inside my purse. I can usually dump out my bag and find a pile of crumbs at the bottom. Obviously it's a good idea to keep food on you at all times, but those crumbs can be a disaster.

3. Gum wrappers

Rather than throw our gum and candy wrappers away we throw then down into our purses. This includes wrappers filled with chewed gum that we no longer wanted. Gross.

4. Expired medication

There’s nothing useful about keeping medication in your purse if it’s a year past its expiration date, and the powdery residue crushed pills leaves behinds is a disaster for your bag. To protect my purse, I thought it was clever to put all of my pills inside a Ziploc bag (which is now powdery from medication residue might I add). If I’m going to carry around old, broken up pills I’m at least going to be somewhat classy about it.

5. Used tissues

Again, it's like we forget trash cans exist if we have a bag on us. Whether you're wiping off lipstick, blowing your nose, or cleaning up a messy kid, those dirty tissues almost always end up back in your purse.

6. Empty lip balms sprouting hair

This is probably my biggest sin committed against my beloved bag. I’m always whining about how I can’t seem to find any of my ChapSticks. That’s probably because they’re always lost in my purse, broken under the weight of my wallet and makeup bag, and covered in lint and small hairs. It's gross, and highly uneconomical.

7. Melted candy

Remember when you thought saving that half-eaten Snickers for later was a good idea? It wasn't. It never is. Now you’re left with a sticky disaster at the bottom of your bag like you’re a five year old or something. On the bright side, maybe you’ll enjoy the scent of chocolate every time you open your purse and see that brown stain.

8. Useless rewards cards

By now, all of those punch cards you collected are crumbled, ripped, and long forgotten in a pocket somewhere deep in the depths of your purse. If you're really convinced you'll go back to get that tenth burrito for free, at least gather them all together with a rubber band.

9. Expired coupons

An angel cries every time a good coupon hits its expiration date. The only thing that beats the high you get while shopping is knowing you saved a fortune on that new dress! Sadly we don’t always put all of our amazing coupons to good use as they’re crushed in the bottom corner of our purse.

10. Old hand lotion

There’s probably some form of lotion or sanitizer in every purse being toted around out there. The sad part is sometimes that lotion is a little old and cruddy. There’s nothing cute about putting on lotion that puffs out weird, crusty stuff every time you open it. It’s time to give it up, girl!

Don’t be ashamed if you’re purse is packing some serious trash. I personally wouldn’t trust any woman who denies having the least bit of clutter. We’re all guilty of a little hoarding when it comes to our bags.

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