This Is My Secret to an Organized Travel Bag

A travel bag can be a black hole; a jumbled mess of tangled wires and loose lip balm inviting paper cuts, provocation, and panic, as your plane is boarding and your boarding pass is, you hope, at the very bottom of it all. I say this purely as a hypothetical, because I have never known this kind of chaos.

At any given moment, my tote is separated into three or four purse organizers, each of a different size and style, each holding a different sort of essential that over the years has proved useful to myself and anyone traveling with me—do I have extra eye drops to combat a dry cabin? Yes. An extra adapter? Of course. A ginger chew? Fellow nausea sufferer, it’s your lucky day. All within easy reach, thanks to these tiny catch-alls that I’ve collected over the years and relied on daily. Not since the kangaroo has there been this staunch a proponent of the pouch.

For travel, these are the equivalent of packing cubes for your purse. Use them to restore order to your weekender duffel or your plane personal item. For your work bag, they can be used to corral the daily essentials you didn’t even know you needed: paracetamol for the 4 p.m. headache, sachets of your favorite tea for a mid-morning pick-me-up, a lipstick and travel-sized bottle of perfume for a quick refresh pre-happy hour. An on-the-go pharmacy of all of your favorite things, of sorts.

Using tiny bags as organizers is not a revolutionary concept, but unlike most practical purchases, these are a joy to shop for. I’ve collected most of mine through travel: Hand-embroidered brocade, colorful linen stripes, and intricate beading make for great souvenirs (and equally great gifts). But there’s also a lot you can find online, from smaller brands like Hawkins New York, Milinane, and Autumn Sonata to luxury designer pieces from Prada and Celine. Ahead, we found 24 stylish pouches of all sizes to suit every organizational need—from far-flung travel to the day-to-day.

Pocket-Sized

This smallest of sizes is perfect for a lip balm, a packet of Listerine strips, a teeny mirror—and not much else. They’re great for slipping into a slouchy clutch or minaudière for nights out, or, depending on how Type A you are, using as a sub-compartment for a larger pouch. For more flexibility, choose something cloth; less rigid than leather, it’ll offer a little wiggle room. Kate McLeod’s quilted style or Prada’s nylon micro-bag are both high on our list.