Tuesday Tip: Organize Your Wallet

By Yehudit Garmaise

Instead of continuing to stuff your wallet with old receipts, undeposited checks, and used ticket stubs, pare down and transform the overstuffed mess into a lightweight, neat, and organized accessory. 

1. Empty the wallet's contents onto a table once a week to keep it in tip-top shape.

2. Look at everything you removed from your wallet, and throw away the obvious unneeded papers.

3. Make stacks for the following categories: cash, coins, receipts you may still need, gift cards to use, and any loyalty cards or other identification cards. 

4. Organize your cash. Separate the bills and smooth them out. Put the largest bill at the bottom and layer by denomination from highest to lowest.

5. Look at every credit and debit card and put away your only-to-be-used-sometimes cards. This way, you don’t have to keep everything in your wallet, which you carry with you at all times.

6. Look for a sealed or tucked away section of your wallet to stash cards you want to keep with you at all times, but only use infrequently, such as your family’s healthcare cards. What you need on an everyday basis should not get crowded out by cards and other things you rarely need.

7. Take out your coins every day: Keep a few quarters for meters, but otherwise, take all your loose change, store it in a jar, exchange it for cash at the end of each year, and use it to take your family out for a fun dinner or dessert. 

8. When you have a chance, transfer the information from any business cards into the contacts on your phone. If you wish to keep the actual cards, keep them in a separate “business card holder” or file so you have a designated place to keep all your business contacts.

9. Keep your drivers license in the window section of your wallet, so you always know where it is. If you carry a few of your own business cards with you, stash several of them behind your drivers license, so you always know where they are when meeting someone new.

10. Replace the empty card slots in your wallet only with the cards you use on a daily basis such a debit card, credit card, work entry card, and other essentials. 

Now that your wallet is pared down and cleaned out, you are ready to take on another week: feeling lighter, more organized, and ready for what lies ahead!