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by Grawrface on 4 July 2009
Picture #1: The starting tote bag. This is the purse I started out with. I got a bit frustrated when everything inside got tangled and smashed by larger items.
Picture #2: My cardboard structure, covered in cloth. I know the duct tape holding it together is very noticeable, but I assure you there are ways of going about this without such obvious means of holding it on. I also did a pretty minimal amount of cloth on top of the cardboard. I wasn't really too worried about how the organizer would look outside of the bag.
Picture #3: The bag next to the organizer. As you might be able to tell, the cardboard has begun to sag a little. It's gone through a few months of hard use. A simple piece of cardboard attached to the sagging sides should suffice if you too have this issue and wish to correct it. When standing tall, this cardboard organizer should be a mere inch or so shorter than your bag so you can make sure it fits perfectly inside.
Picture #4: The inside of the organizer. You can see the panels I've added. These are customizable to fit whatever you wish inside. You can have as many as you want, and they can be as big as you want. Once again you can see the minimal amount of cloth I've used to cover up the cardboard. I saw it unnecessary to cover up the bottom too much seeing as I plan to put things in there and you wouldn't be able to see the bottom anyway.
Picture #5: The cardboard organizer. Another view of the organizer with visible duct tape and the floral cloth I used.
Picture #6: The bag with the organizer inside. This is the bag with the organizer in it. It looks, of course, like a box, and easily stands up. It's easy to push into small areas while you're busy and need to put it somewhere out of the way.
Picture #7: The inside of the organizer in the bag. A nice thing I've discovered it that the spaces between the side of the bag and the side of the cardboard is the perfect place for a file folder or a notebook. I've been able to use the file folder for paperwork I need to have with me and such.
Picture #8: The organizer in use. Things like water bottles, wallets, lotion, cell phones, and pens all fit perfectly in the pockets I've made inside of the organizer. The pocket with the sunglasses is usually the space I use for my camera, however, since it's in use here, I couldn't quite show that.
Picture #9: The organizer with items inside. Once again, you can see all of the things I've been able to fit inside of my organizer. I've even been able to fit a pair of full sized scissors in it. I can't even begin to tell you the number of times I've heard people ask for a pair of scissors and no one's been able to provide. I figure having room for just about everything is quite useful.
Part of the Project
Purse Organizers
A simple purse organizer made from cardboard and duct tape. I've been able to simply duct tape some custom cut pieces of cardboard together ...
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Comments
kathyswank on 4 July 2009
FABULOUS! I sooooo need something like this...
Grawrface on 8 July 2009
It's pretty handy. On hot days, it's really nice to just stick your arm in there when you're sitting down with it. It's keeps really cool inside, even more so when you have a water bottle in there.
Lucy on 12 July 2009
I need to make one of these for myself but I don't think I want it to always be so wide. Do you think it would work to fold the cardboard on the narrow sides like an accordion so that it can be wide or narrow depending on if you have stuff in it or not? Just cause I don't always carry lots of stuff with me but when I do I could really use this. I guess the fabric would bunch up on the sides then when there isn't anything in my bag. But that's not so bad right? You wouldn't really be able to tell?
Grawrface on 12 July 2009
You might be able to try that with poster board or something. I think it would work, but you don't know until you try.
Mike on 13 July 2009
@Lucy: That would probably work, but you'll have to make the dividers collapsible too.