I’m sure if you ask anyone who carries a purse (not only women use purses y’all–the smart and prepared men do too) they’ll tell you that there are a few things that they always always always have in their bag. Even people who don’t carry purses have things they never leave the house with. Now, since I have about a million purses (only a slight exaggeration), I wanted to share what things are constantly getting moved from one purse to another and what things I have a million of so I can leave one in each bag.
Of course I have the usual: phone, wallet, keys that move from purse to purse because I wouldn’t want to get locked out of my apartment, lost without my phone, or not have my ID and credit card just in case. Common sense, right? I am selfishly looking forward to the day when I can have my ID on my Apple wallet so I can leave my house without a wallet at all–just my phone or watch–but I don’t think that’s coming any time soon so wallet it is. I also switch between a cardholder, a wallet, and a wallet that’s big enough to hold a checkbook, depending on the situation. Currently, my go-to wallet is a cardholder from Kate Spade (because of course).
Like most women I know, I also keep a tube of chapstick in literally every single purse I own so I’m never caught without it. In addition to the chapstick I usually have 1-3 tubes of lipstick in my purse. Hopefully one of them is the lipstick that I’m wearing that day, but unfortunately that’s not always the case. Along with that I usually have a small compact mirror so that I can put on my lipstick without going to the bathroom to use the mirror or using the selfie mode on my phone.
DC winters make me hands super dry so I also always have hand lotion in my purse. When I was in North Carolina, my field director gave me a tube of Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve and oh my god it’s amazing. Hands down the best hand lotion I’ve ever used (pun fully intended, you’re welcome).
If I’ve thought ahead (or if I’ve been breaking in a pair of shoes) I’ll also throw a handful of bandaids into my purse just in case. These have come in handy on more than one occasion–even if you’re not the “mom friend” of your group, it never hurts to have some bandaids just in case.
Since I’ve been using it, I’ve been carrying my bullet journal and a pen around with me most of the time when I leave the house so that I can be sure to write down plans, reminders, and notes so I won’t forget them. If I’m going out somewhere with a smaller purse I’ve recently taken to carrying a mini moleskin notebook and a pen for the same purpose and then transferring the notes into my bullet journal later.
Finally, I rarely leave the house without a book. Sometimes this is a physical copy of a book (when I have space in my bag or I’m taking a longer trip) and other times it’s an ebook on the Libby app. But either way I have a book with me to read on public transportation, while waiting in a coffee shop, or basically whenever I have downtime and need a break.
I know it sounds like a lot of stuff to fit into one bag, but trust me, it’s not. Most of the time I’m carrying around a pretty small purse and all of this fits in easily. Plus whatever Brandon hands me because he can’t fit it in his pockets or doesn’t want to carry it. And a snack, there’s usually a snack too.
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