How does your handbag look? Now what about your gym bag? Are they one in the same thing?
When there’s a little mayhem to get out the door in time first thing in the morning, combined with a heavy dose of unorganized mess… it can leave your bag looking more maxed out than an episode of hoarders, than minimalist chic… I get it, I’ve been there!!
Today we have Kate Jennings, a Sydney-based professional organiser and declutter coach, with us to give us a helping hand!

It can be easy to find an excuse for skipping a workout, can’t it? I used to make all kinds of excuses to skip workouts. One of favourites was that I just couldn’t be be bothered to pack everything I needed. When I realised that my disorganised bag was getting in my way of working out, I came up with a solution. In this post, I share I share my best tips to keep your gym bag free of clutter and quickest to pack and unpack.

 

First and foremost, I recommend that you keep two bags for the gym. “Two?!” I hear you say… hear me out…

 

The first bag should have established content that doesn’t change, like your toiletry bag, earphones and any other equipment that you bring, like a skipping rope for example. If you drive to the gym, keep it in the boot of the car, or if you go to the gym on your lunch break, leave it at work so it’s ready to go. I recommend that for your toiletry bag you keep duplicates of products that you use every day, like deodorant, moisturiser etc. However, for make-up, I recommend keeping to one set, without duplicating as makeup tends to have a shorter shelf life than toiletries.

 

The second, smaller, bag should contain everything that is for that one work out only – so a sweat towel, water bottle, shower towel, make-up, change of clothes and gym clothes, for example. After your workout, you can just take out your clean clothes, have a well-deserved shower and put your sweaty clothes back in the bag – ready to take home and get washed. The smaller bag could live in the larger bag if there is space, but if not, just keep it separate (I do).

 

To keep your bag clutter free – use your second bag to take home any empty items that you need to replace as a prompt to take a new one to the gym. For example, if your deodorant runs out, put the empty packaging in your second bag so when you get home you can grab a new one and replace it.

 

The beauty of this two bag approach is that you don’t have to lug all of your gym stuff around with you and it makes unpacking at the end of the day is so much easier – you can just tip your dirty clothes into the wash basket and pack for your next session – et voila!

 

To help you shift your behaviour, treat yourself to two bags that inspire you to hit the gym and work up a sweat!



About the author: Kate Jennings is a Sydney-based professional organiser and declutter coach. She supports her clients through the daunting task of decluttering homes, businesses, wardrobes – wherever clients are experiencing discomfort around their clutter! You can follow Kate on Facebook and Instagram (@katelouisejennings), or get in touch through her website www.katelouiselife.com