Be honest. How many times have you left the house without your wallet? Or your headphones? Or your favorite lip balm? It’s so common to grab your bag assuming everything you need is already inside, only to get to your destination and realize it’s missing several key components. With a purse bowl, this would never happen.
On April 2, TikTok creator @cocotakes shared her “purse bowl” in a video that’s since gone viral with nearly 2 million views. “This is my purse bowl,” she said while holding a ceramic one full of necessities, like sunglasses and keys. “I wear a new bag every single day ... so what I do is I will drop everything at the end of the day in this bowl and then the next day, when I want to refill my bag, I have all my essentials.”
In her comments, one person said, “This is... the smartest thing I’ve seen on this app?” while another wrote, “So you’re telling me I don’t have to buy five lipsticks for each purse?” Another joked, “Women in STEM, wow!” because it really is a such a perfect solution to an annoyingly common problem. Keep scrolling below for all the ways to use a purse bowl and why everyone loves it so much.
Life Is Easier With A Purse Bowl
If you’re like @cocotakes and change your bag regularly, the purse bowl ensures all your necessities stay in one place instead of getting left behind in various purses or scattered across your house.
Simply come home, empty your bag into the purse bowl, and rest easy knowing nothing will get lost. The next day, grab your new bag and fill it straight from the bowl. Wallet, keys, sunglasses, planner, book, headphones, lip balm, meds — it’ll all be right there waiting for you.
This is the perfect hack if you carry different bags for different occasions, like a big catch-all tote for errands on Saturday, a smaller purse for a night out, and then a sleek bag for work. When you put all your items in a purse bowl, it ensures everything you need will make it into your new bag every time. And if something doesn’t fit, you just leave it in the purse bowl for later.
According to @cocotakes, the purse bowl hack is also an easy way to keep your bags clean. Emptying your purse each night gives you a chance to throw away receipts and gum wrappers and make sure all your cards and coins are where they belong. Just dump, quickly pick out the trash, and move on.
In a follow-up video for FAQs, @cocotakes said she keeps her purse bowl in the same spot by her front door so it’s easy to find and use each morning. For the people who suggested using a removable pouch or purse insert, she explained that doesn’t work as well since all her bags are different sizes.
In a TikTok posted on April 4, creator @sofisplayground showed off her own purse bowl. Instead of keeping all her belongings scattered amongst multiple bags — a belt bag, everyday bag, date night bag, etc. — she put everything in a big bowl and immediately fell in love with how much easier it was to grab what she needed as she came and went throughout the day.
Other creators have chimed in to share their own version of the purse bowl, like @caratheequeen, who showed off her “purse bowl,” which is actually a couple of shelves in a closet. This is where she keeps reusable shopping bags, self-care items like deodorant and sanitizing wipes, and whatever else she might need. It’s all stored right next to her bag collection.
Many people have posted to share that they have a purse bowl, too, like @mackenziemosher who said, “Purse girls unite!” She’ll use her bowl whenever she switches out bags, which isn’t even every day like @cocotakes. With this hack, everything stays contained, then you can head out into the world knowing you have your phone, keys, and wallet.
