Organise Your Designer Handbag

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When you buy a Designer Handbag, make sure you get your stuff organised. The value of your Bag can be severely reduced if the lining is smeared and dirty, so take care of it. Here are some ideas to help you:
1. Do not overload - apart from anything else, a heavy bag is bad for your back, but being overloaded also ruins the line of a bag and stretches the leather. I carry a tote as well as my handbag to work, which acts like a mobile in-tray. Choose one without built-in dividers as these can be really annoying when you’re trying to squeeze in something big like a file.

2. Have a clear-out - If I have a messy handbag, it feels like I’ve got messy hair - like I’m not quite on top of things. Don’t use your bag as a dumping ground. Every few weeks empty it on to a table and sort through the four lip-salves, three chequebooks and 15 receipts you’ve been carting around. We all carry far more than we need every day

3. Divide and Conquer: I sort everything in my handbag into little loose pouches, each a different colour - one for receipts, one for money, one for things such as paracetamol and lip-salve. It’s like an internal filing system and makes it so much easier when transferring things from bag to bag. We’ve designed some beautiful leather ones - a step up from the plastic foreign-currency wallets that gave me the idea in the first place

4. Everything in its Place: I like handbags that have spaces specially designed for your pen, keys and mobile - it helps you find things quickly, and saves you scrabbling around

5. Spring-Clean Regularly: Don’t forget to bang out all the dust, lint and rubbish from the bottom of a bag. I always wish that there was a handbag version of those trays in toasters that collect all the crumbs. I invariably have an Action Man leg or bit of plastic soldier lurking in there

6. Rotate Your Bags: Don’t use one bag to death then bin it - build up a collection and switch between them regularly. Storing leather bags carefully will add years to their lifespan. Stuff with tissue paper or a blown-up plastic bag to help them keep their shape

7. Love your Leather: Handbags deserve to be looked after. Traditional craftsmen say that the best leather polish is the natural oil from your face, but a clear furniture polish such as Pledge will do the job. If your bag gets wet, let it dry naturally rather than putting it on top of a radiator. And try to avoid getting milk on a handbag - it absolutely ruins leather

8. Match Your Mood: There’s something undeniably mood-altering about handbags. They are far more than just an object to carry your things in. I remember being given a tiny second-hand Gucci bag when I was 16 and feeling the bee’s knees whenever I used it. They always say that actors never really get into character until they put on the shoes. I’m sure a woman’s handbag has the same effect
Anya Hindmarch, 15-17 Pont Street, London SW1 (020 7838 9177)
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