5 Tips To Keep Your Work Bag Organized

I recently got the opportunity to become part of the #ECSquad and I am so excited to be working with a company I love so much. The team over at Erin Condren sent me this bag so I could try it out and provide a review for you guys. Today you’re going to get my full Erin Condren Tote Bag Review and my top 5 tips to keeping your work bag organized!

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Make sure to check out the video below to see my full review of the bag!

Erin Condren Tote Bag Review

I have wanted to get my hands on this tote bag for SO LONG. Especially now that I need to have my laptop, business planner, and camera whenever I travel, I really needed something that would be sturdy and have plenty of space for everything I need. This bag is easily one of my new favorites!

What do I need to know about the EC tote?

For starters, there are two different sizes. I have the larger tote because I wanted to make sure I could fit my laptop inside. The smaller tote would work well as a purse and or it would be great if you just needed to carry an iPad or tablet instead of a full-sized laptop.

They were created to hold all your planner goodies while on the go, but they work great as totes for a ton of other purposes. I’ve seen them be used for work, school, as a teacher bag, and as a diaper bag just to name a few! They are pretty roomy, sturdy, and are easily organized.

What can it hold?

SO MUCH. I am easily able to fit all the things I need into this bag. I carry my 15.6″ laptop, my EC Deluxe Monthly Planner, the softbound notebook I use for my business, my budget planner (in an EC folio), my mini tripod, and my camera bag and camera. And honestly, there is still some room even with all that in there.

Are there customization options?

Yes! The larger bag comes in four colors – gray canvas, navy canvas, black leather, and metallic suede. The smaller comes in metallic suede, black canvas, and maroon canvas. You can also customize your bag strap. There are multiple colors of straps that will watch multiple different bags. My current favorite is the kaleidoscope colorful!

What do I love about it?

One of my favorite features of the bag is how much space it has. It has two zippered pockets on either side of the main middle pocket that are the same depth as the rest of the bag. These are fantastic pockets for keeping your planner, wallet, or phone safe and zipped inside. I also love that the one I received is canvas. It’s really nice quality and when I’m carrying it around town I won’t have to worry about it getting ruined. The strap options are also a nice way to add some personalization.

How can you get your own tote?

Online through the Erin Condren website >> Click here to get yours!

Make sure to also check out the video above to see all the details about this bag!

How To Keep Your Work Bag Organized

Since I’m using my new EC tote to keep my business tools handy, I thought it would be a great time to share my top tips for keeping a work bag organized!

1 – Only carry what you need.

When I was in college, I carried waaayyy too much around with me all the time. I carried things around I used maybe once a month, and it resulted in a heavy and cluttered bag. Easy solution to this – only carry the things you actually need! When I was putting together the items I wanted to have handy in my new business bag, I decided not to include some items (like stickers and extra highlighters) that I wasn’t actually going to use all that often. This makes it easier for me to find the things I need and stay productive.

2 – Create systems for productivity.

The way you organize your bag should make it easy to get your work done. Utilize the different pockets to make things easy to find when you need them. Keep the things you use the most in the most accessible places in your bag. Avoid just tossing things into your bag, because this will end up with a bunch of stuff just floating around taking up space.

Make sure you have a specific place for things that are most important to the purpose of your bag. For example, if this is a work bag, make sure you have business cards in an easy to access place. If someone wants a card, you don’t want to be digging around looking for them, you want them to be on hand and ready. For me, I have my business cards and my content planner the handiest in my bag. I use the planner to keep my business organized, and I want the cards to be easy to hand out. If you plan ahead for your most common situations, you’ll feel (and look!) a lot more organized and on top of things!

3 – Do a bag check.

This sounds kind of silly, but this is something I actually do when I leave work every day. Take just a minute to go through the main pockets of your bag to make sure you have all the essential items you’ll need. So for example, when I’m at work I make sure I have my laptop, second monitor, planner, charger, and mouse. It doesn’t have to take very long – just a few seconds! It has saved my butt several times though, so I definitely recommend making this a habit.

4 – Keep the things you need within easy reach.

This ties in with tip #2. Make sure you put all the things you use often in places where you can easily access them. Don’t zip your favorite pen into a deep inside pocket if you know you’ll be reaching for it a million times. Use smaller bags to keep your office supplies and electronics together instead of floating around your bag. Keep it simple – I like to set my bag up into one or two pockets that hold everything I need to get set up to work. This way, I’m able to get everything I need ready at one time instead of having to dig through all the pockets in my bag just to get started. You want to get things done, not spend your valuable time looking for things!

5 – Pick a bag you love.

Make sure you have a great bag! Whatever bag you choose, it needs to be both functional and beautiful – otherwise, you aren’t going to want to use it! It needs to be easy for you to organize and work well for it’s specific purpose. I also recommend getting a higher quality bag. While the initial purchase may be a little more expensive, you don’t want to end up with a falling apart bag. I can just imagine myself being out traveling for work and how annoying it would be to deal with a broken bag strap or bottom!

> Get your own Erin Condren Planner Tote Bag Here! <

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