How To Use Your purse As A Diaper Bag And Carry Less

Are you wondering if you should pack around a purse and a diaper bag, combine them, I’ve got you covered! It’s so easy to use your purse as a diaper bag and ditch carrying two heavy bags. You don’t even have to order a purse insert (I didn’t). I used to pack around a diaper bag (FULL), and purse (FULL), and a baby. Wow was that a lot to carry! Bag lady coming through. Even with lots of kids, you can just carry a purse!

Now I have 3 kids, and 2 are still in diapers.  I really wanted a way to carry less baby gear, in a regular purse or backpack. I use my purse for a diaper bag, and in turn carry only what I will likely need for that outing.

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How to use your purse as a diaper bag and what to put inside.

I was looking for a minimalist diaper bag, and decided I could just use my purse I loved.  You can either copy me, or buy a diaper bag insert for your purse. This easily converts any purse into a diaper bag as it has lots of pockets! It sounds really handy. I was just too cheap to buy one.

Since a purse usually has 1 to 2 pockets inside, I reserve those for my items like keys, phone, and chapstick. Then, I keep the diapering items together in their own smaller bag in the main purse pocket. That makes is SO easy to find and pull out when doing a diaper change!

I also don’t pump or use formula, which would make this a lot harder as that stuff just takes up space.

I highly recommend keeping a larger stash of everything in the car just in case…it’s saved my bacon when I forgot to restock diapers in my purse.

Related Post: What it’s like so far with 3 babies in 4 years

Mama swag for your purse:

• Wallet.
• Lipstick.
• Gum.
• Keys
• Water bottle (this sometimes just goes in the car or stroller)

Baby/toddler items to pack in your purse:

My kids are 3.5, 2, and newborn.  Two are in diapers, so I carry 2 diapers of each size. Here is a list of everything I carry in my purse. I also tuck a wet bag in my trunk filled with EXTRA diapers and wipes. Do it too! You will be SO glad you did…at some point.

• 2-3 size 1 diapers
• 1 size 6 diaper
• Wipes, not a full pack.  I use a sandwich ziplock bag to put in a small handful, enough for a few poopy diapers (or sticky toddler hands). Or, I’ll find those travel wipe packs just for my purse at Target.
• Poop bag or plastic grocery bag to toss a diaper in so the whole trash doesn’t smell rank for everyone else all day wherever you are 🙂
• Snack of some kind. Usually crackers. (not pictured, sorry!)
• Swaddle blanket, which is my burp cloth/changing pad.
• Nursing cover

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Why you should carry baby items in a wet bag in your purse

1. It’s waterproof, machine washable, so you can always use it to carry wet clothes or pooped on clothes if needed.
2. It will fit diapers and wipes inside making it easy to grab when you need to change a baby. It keeps things organized!
3. If someone else is going to change your baby’s diaper, you can just hand them the wet bag! Since it will have diapers, wipes, a poop bag, and maybe baby bottom cream, you won’t have to hand your whole purse to someone.

A gallon ziplock bag works well too, and can double as a disposable poop bag if you need! It’s also super easy to just toss this baby bag in the stroller or car so you are always covered.

Or, make two baby bags for the car and your purse. A friend sewed my bag, but there are tons of cute ones on Amazon.

How to pack less baby items in your purse

The main way I carry less in my purse is to get a smaller purse. No joke. The other thing I do is put items in the trunk that I rarely use but may REALLY want close by “just in case”. It seriously lightens my load. Baby items I don’t need to carry everywhere seem to be:

• Diaper cream
• Toys (Update: now that my 3rd is older I do add chew toys for him and a binky)
• Extra outfit
• Changing pad (I bring a swaddle blanket as it’s multipurpose and way smaller and easy to wash)

I used to carry ALL of the above with me everywhere. Now I love having less! Using my purse for a diaper bag is easier than I thought and almost forces me to carry less.  I also like knowing that I could run to the car to grab something if totally necessary.

But, word to the wise, refill those diapers as you get home or refill your car bag backups as you need…its awful to get somewhere and realize you didn’t do that! Ahem..never happened to me… 😉

Update 2018: Using your purse as a diaper bag AND toddler bag

Using a purse got a little tricky when I started to carry around more snack items and up to 3 sippy cups. One thing I bought was this vacuum sealed water bottle that my 1, 3, and 4 year old could all use. It doesn’t spill when tipped, and it has a straw function so ALL of us can share it on outings.

I also actually ended up switching to a diaper backpack instead because my hands were both free and it came with a water bottle holder. There are some really cool backpacks out there designed with lots of pockets for bottles and snacks!

I’ll go back to a purse someday, but with multiple young kids, I just needed my hands totally free. You can see my new backpack and how I packed it here.

I’m curious, what MOM items do you pack around besides a wallet? Let me know in the comments!

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• 8 Things I’ve cut out be less busy as a mom

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