7 Minutes = Clean Dance Bag

Is your dance bag disgusting? We have an exclusive list of the things you do and do not need to keep in your dance bag. It's time to clean out that bag and keep it that way for good. So take the next 7 minutes to go through your bag and use this as a checklist.

                                      What you'll need: 

• 2-3 dryer sheets
• Air freshener
• Paper clip
• 3 sandwich or snack size ziploc bags  
• Permanent marker
• Snacks
• Filtering water bottle (optional)

                                                 What to Do:

1) Unzip all the pockets of your bag, turn it upside down and shake vigorously. This should shuttle all of the contents straight to the floor.

2) IMMEDIATELY throw away whatever was inside of your bag that made you gag after dumping it. (Trust me, you don't want to be smelling that 3 week old half of a sandwich for the rest of the night.)

3) Take all unpaired dirty (maybe even crispy) socks to the laundry room and start a load.

4) Place dryer sheets on the bottom of your bag. Generously spray bag with air freshener (scent of your choosing). These should help control your nasty foot stench.

5) Place all necessary shoes in your bag as pairs. Tie laces from each shoe in a bow so you can pull them out as a pair. If you have jazz or tap shoes without laces, put one shoe inside of the other so they stay together. If you have half soles, use a paper clip to keep them together. When you need to wear them, simply attach the paper clip to the strap of your bag so you can re-clip them after class.

6) Label plastic bags with permanent marker as follows: Bobby pins, Hair ties, Safety pins. Sort the mess of these items on your floor into their appropriate bags, zip the top of the bags, and place in the front pocket of your dance bag. If you don't want to buy bobby pins and hair ties every two weeks STOP THROWING THEM INTO THE BOTTOM OF YOUR BAG and just place them into their ziplocs.

7) If you do not have a makeup bag, get one (or use another ziploc). Put all your makeup in this and keep it in the same pocket as your bobby pins, hair ties, and safety pins. Put a brush and/or comb and small bottle of hairspray in this pocket as well. Also for everyone's sake, put an extra deodorant in there.

8) Add snacks to one pocket of your dance bag so you don't have a plethora of granola bars floating around your shoes. Don't forget to pack a water bottle. I suggest one with a filter so you don't run out, you can keep refilling it!

9) Anything else that is still on your floor cannot go in your dance bag. Either throw it away, or find a better place for it. Chances are, it's just cluttering the thing up.

Voila! Your dance bag is clean, and you now have a system to keep it that way!