{"id":8931,"date":"2013-02-05T00:01:44","date_gmt":"2013-02-05T05:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=8931"},"modified":"2013-02-05T01:05:49","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T06:05:49","slug":"how-clean-is-your-purse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/02\/05\/how-clean-is-your-purse\/","title":{"rendered":"At Home with GCH – How Clean is Your Purse?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"how<\/a><\/p>\n

Did you know your purse<\/strong><\/em><\/span> may be harboring a dangerous cocktail of viruses and bacteria<\/strong><\/span> such as e-coli, salmonella, staph, and others I don\u2019t even want to say<\/em>? Think about the places you put your purse: on the floor of the car, in the child\u2019s seat of a shopping cart, on the bathroom floor or counter, on the counter at the checkout register, on the floor at the restaurant, on the floor at the movie theatre\u2026 all of which are dirty, germy places<\/strong><\/span>. Then what do you do? You pick it up and carry it around with you, setting it on tables, your kitchen counter, your couch, and your bed, transferring all of the creepy crawlies<\/em> you\u2019ve picked up along the way right into your home<\/em>. It\u2019s a recipe for trouble<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Today, I am issuing a challenge<\/em> to you: Clean your purse<\/strong><\/span>, inside & out. (For extra credit, clean all of your purses.)<\/p>\n

To clean your purse:<\/p>\n

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  1. Empty the contents of your purse and wallet. Throw away<\/strong><\/span> old receipts, shopping lists, wrappers, pens that don\u2019t work, and anything else you no longer need.<\/li>\n
  2. Check the website of your purse\u2019s manufacturer to educate yourself on any special care instructions<\/strong><\/span>. When cleaning my Miche purse, I went to www.michebag.com, and learned to wipe it down with a damp cloth. I use a baby wipe<\/strong><\/span> to clean mine. Whatever I\u2019ve picked up along the way will then go right in the trash, rather than in my laundry room.<\/li>\n
  3. Sanitize<\/strong><\/span> it, especially the bottom and handles. I use a disinfecting wipe for this. (Keep special care instructions in mind so you don\u2019t damage it.) In a pinch, I have put hand sanitizer on a paper towel and wiped the handles, then the bottom of the purse.<\/li>\n
  4. Turn your purse upside down and shake it out. To pick up any debris that may still be inside, wrap tape<\/strong><\/span> around your fingers, sticky side up, and press your fingers onto the fabric.<\/li>\n
  5. To clean the fabric<\/strong><\/span> on the inside of your purse, mix warm water with a little bit of vinegar (or a couple drops of baby wash or mild dish soap) and wipe the fabric with a rag dampened with the water\/vinegar mixture. Once the fabric dries, the vinegar smell goes away.<\/li>\n
  6. Using the same method you used to clean the outside of your purse, clean your wallet<\/strong><\/span>.<\/li>\n
  7. Now you can start putting things back into your purse and wallet, wiping down every item<\/strong><\/span> as you go with a baby wipe or damp rag. I even wipe down my credit\/debit cards. Over the top? Not really. Think about how many germy hands touch those, and they\u2019re never cleaned! Be selective in what you put back, and try to organize everything. A place for everything, and everything in its place. A purse organizer works well for this!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A few extra tips:<\/p>\n