It’s Friday again! Time for more of Jen’s favorite things! This week I want to talk about:
Cosmetic Bags
I have, no joke, at least 30 cosmetic bags of varying sizes tucked in all the corners of my house. I find them to be one of my most versatile organizing tools.
Here are a few of the places that I use them:
Bathroom: My everyday make up is kept all neat and tidy in a drawer organizer but I use bags to hold my make-up that stays in my travel bag. I also use them to hold extra toiletries such as spare sample/travel size shampoos and lotions.
Bedroom: I keep a couple in my nightstand drawers to hold small items such as pens and pencils, extra remote batteries and my stash of mints. I also use a long flat bag (more like a pencil case) to store my jewelry (wrapped in paper towels) when I’m traveling to keep it from becoming tangled.
Kid’s room: I keep small bags in each of the kids’ suitcases packed with travel bath products and their medicines as well as some other small toiletry type items. I leave the bags in their suitcases so it’s one less thing we have to think about packing. Larger bags are also the perfect size for holding a few small toys or crayons to keep little hands occupied at restaurants and doctor’s offices.
Office: I use several large bags to hold various electronic accessories such as camera cords, spare batteries, chargers and other odds and ends such as lens covers and headphones. I also keep a bag of my daily electronics like my spare camera battery and charger, phone cord and SD card reader.
Car: I keep a couple small bags in my center console, one to hold some emergency beauty supplies and another to hold my various car chargers.
Diaper bag: Small cosmetic bags are the perfect size to organize diaper bag necessities if you are using a bag that doesn’t have enough pockets.
Cosmetic bags aren’t hard to come by and can often be found for little or no money. Most of mine have been free gifts with purchase from a cosmetic counter at a department store. I’ve also purchased them at thrift stores and garage sales. Target and Wal-mart also usually have a pretty good selection with reasonable prices.
I use cosmetic bags for holding diapers and wipes instead of the cutesy teddy bear bag.
Great ideas, Jen!!
Know what else is good for jewelry? Press and Seal. I swear by it when I travel. Put the necklace flat on one half and fold over the other half, press it all together; nothing moves. And! It’s re-useable!
I use them for all manner of organizing cosmetic stuff and so on as you mention, and at work in my drawers to house a few toiletry items, but hadn’t thought of them for all that small electronic stuff – good idea!
Like Sam, I do also use ziploc bags for everything, too, especially for travel, when I really can do without a shampoo blowout or some such pain in the tuchus. I store jewelry in tiny ziplocs a lot, because it also keeps silver from tarnishing and things from tangling.
See, I’m this way with the zipper-style Ziploc bags. I use them for EVERYTHING. Though they are not nearly as pretty as cosmetic bags, I can see what’s in them without having to open them.
But now you’ve got me thinking of some great uses for more cosmetic bags…. and… off to Etsy.
P.S. LOVE this column. You have some wonderful tips, Jen! xo
I knew I couldn’t be the only one with a hidden stash! I agree, they’re a great organizing tool.