Is your pocketbook a real mess? So full of stuff and disorganized that when you go to retrieve your keys you can’t find them? And, you know you put them in there somewhere. I know how frustrating this can be, especially when you are in a hurry to go somewhere and can’t locate your keys.

Here are some solutions for un-cluttering and organizing a perpetually messy pocketbook:

• First, empty the contents of your purse onto a table. Toss the trash, put unnecessary things where they really belong, and keep only essentials in the pocketbook such as your wallet, keys, ID and credit cards, pocket calendar, blackberry or cell phone, sunglasses and reading glasses, medications, tissues and a few cosmetics.

• Large hand lotion or makeup tubes and hairbrushes take up too much room, so use travel-sized bottles and hairbrushes.

• Keeping the bag interior organized is essential. Use different colored pouches to separate and hold similar items. The pouches could be clear, or made from mesh for easy identification of items inside. If you are changing pocketbooks, switching over the pouches will be quick and easy.

• Instead of tossing your keys into the depths of your purse, put them in an existing pocket on the outside of the purse. And, only put them in this particular pocket. If there is no external pocket, buy a key chain with a small stuffed animal, rubber ducky or stress reliever koosh ball on it that will be easy to identify if it has made its way to the bottom of your purse.

• Once a week, clean out the bag to stay sane and organized.

Keeping an organized pocketbook will make it easier to locate items, and save you lots of time in your busy lifestyle.