This just in! The Coach handbag dilemma...solved! (at least, i hope)

So apparently I'm not alone in having a dirty Coach handbag! Thanks to everyone who emailed me telling me they have the same problem, which made me feel like maybe I'm NOT that careless! (Of course, I am, but it makes me feel like I can blame the bag and not my bad habits). Alot of you, who are apparently better sleuths than I am, suggested that I call the Coach store and ask them, which really is the best solution. Which makes sense and I'm not sure why I wouldn't have known to do this myself, except to say that I have a real problem asking people for help. I have this incessant need to figure it out myself, and I'm not sure why. It's most apparent when I'm in a store, looking for an item. When I'm with the Hubs we're not even in the store five seconds before he tracks down a salesperson, asks them to help us find the item, and within five minutes, we've got the item and are in line paying for it. So, so efficient. But when I'm alone, I'll meander the store for nearly an hour, or more (I'm not joking), trying to find the item myself, like I'm solving a mystery, just like Nancy Drew. It's like I feel that if I do it myself, it'll be much more rewarding. But is finding the right lightbulb really that rewarding? What would Nancy Drew do?

So anyway, I decided to take your good advice and call the Coach store, only when I was Googling the phone number, I found this site, which is a site where tons of women just like you and me, who have dirty Coach bags -- and solutions, for every type of bag (cloth, leather, white) and shoe. And the best part? I learned to NOT take the bags to the cleaners, because everyone who did got yellowed fabric or wrinkled leather. So THANK YOU crazy dry cleaner man for NOT understanding that I wanted the bags cleaned! Without the misunderstanding, I might have ruined two bags!

On the Thrifty Fun site, I also found what I think might be the best solution for my cloth bag:

"Unscented Baby Wipes! They have worked wonderfully on my two-year old khaki signature bag. They were recommended by a Coach store manager. Important that you get UNSCENTED and non-lotion type wipes. I have had excellent results with Huggies Unscented Natural Care wipes and also Kleenex Moist Wipes in a box. Just lightly scrub into the fabric and you will see the soil coming off into the wipe. Doing this every 3-4 weeks takes off the surface dirt and really brightens up my bag. They also a great for a quick cleaning of leather bags and shoes." -- Jeanne

You know what this means though, right? I didn't call the Coach store, so I think I'm still doing what I always do -- trying to solve the problem myself. But Jeanne SAID a Coach store manager recommended this solution! Still, I'm going to try this on the cloth bag but NOT the suede bag, so I may actually call the Coach store this weekend about the suede bag. After all, I'm sure even Nancy Drew would just call the expert about her own handbag, so that she could get on to solving more important mysteries.