As more and more counties in PA start to re-open, chances are you’ll be running more errands, potentially going into non-food retail spaces, and even be returning to work.

Hopefully, during these stay-at-home times, you have been wiping off groceries and deliveries before they fully enter your house. But what about your purse, backpack, and shopping totes? Bags can also be exposed to germs, and properly cleaning purses is one more precaution you can take to reduce the risk of spreading the disease. Here are a few tips and tricks for purse cleaning during a pandemic.

First, try not to bring a bag with you when you go out. If you need a purse, maybe leave it in the locked car and only take your debit card and keys into the store. [On a side note: if more women’s apparel had pockets (like menswear) the need to carry around a germ-filled bag would be greatly decreased.] However, if you prefer to keep your bag with you, then try not to set it down on surfaces that are potentially contaminated. Coronavirus may be able to survive on some surfaces for 72 hours.

Upon returning home, have a designated space, near the door, to set your purse. Consider keeping your bags and keys on hooks near the front door or the door to your garage. Even if you do leave your bag near the door, it is probably wise to disinfect it anyway. You can use alcohol wipes or a wrung-out towel that has soap and water on it to clean your bags. And don’t forget to wipe down the handles, straps clasps, and zippers.

For cotton fabric bags, rigorous scrubbing with any kind of soap will kill the coronavirus, because it’s actually the friction that breaks up the virus’s protective envelope. For leather and vinyl purses with a hard, flat surface, use alcohol-based wipes or 70 percent rubbing alcohol on a damp cloth. The parts you can’t scrub, also spray with 70 percent rubbing alcohol. If you can launder your fabric bag without destroying the shape, do so in 80-plus degree water.

If you’re worried that cleaning will discolor your purse, spot test a small unnoticeable patch. If your bag is suede, the good news is that rubbing alcohol will not stain suede-like water does. You can go ahead and apply rubbing alcohol spray to your purse, then rub vigorously with a washcloth that has some rough texture to it. The fabric will re-fluff back to its normal look and feel once dry.

But don’t just stop at the outside of your purse, the inside needs to be cared for, too. Again, use alcohol wipes, a soapy wrung-out rag, or rubbing alcohol spray to clean the interior of your bag. Once the inside of your purse is clean, keep it that way by sanitizing the items you place inside it, and by not toting around any unnecessary items. Also, you could try putting smaller items in a plastic Ziploc bag, so they aren’t constantly touching the bottom and inside of your purse.

These techniques aren’t just for purses. You should also be disinfecting reusable shopping bags, book bags, and any bag that regularly comes in and out of your home. And please don’t carry a bag you would be sad to part with; designer handbags, high-quality work bags, purses with sentimental value, keep them in the closet. If you don’t carry them, then you won’t have to disinfect them and run the risk of potential damage. The days will return when you can dangle that vintage satchel over your shoulder, carry that mirrored minaudiere (a small, decorative handbag without handles or a strap), and sling a suede bucketbag from your elbow as we all head back into the sunshine.