What’s in my purse or bag? 2020 Spring Edition

In the past I have gone from CARRY EVERYTHING .. to carry nothing… to carry..essentials-ish?

I used to carry things like Tide-to-Go pens, to safety pins, .. and I found that I rarely used any of it. *shrug* So why tote it around?

Besides, I keep so many stashes of emergency kits in my car, to my home, to the office, that at any given time, I can get to one of these spots and quickly treat a stain on my shirt with a pen.

The only true bare minimal essentials I carry around with me 100% are:

Cellphone & Wallet case & Keys

Not shown below.

This is the only true essential aside from my keys that I grab every time I leave the house.

If I am out for a short period of time, I don’t carry much – just my cellphone (the case is a wallet as well), and my keys.

Besides, I’ve noticed that my car holds a lot of what I need too and more often than not, I am out in my car and able to access it for things I may need and have left at home.

Otherwise, I do carry these other items on occasion when I have a purse or a bag, and plan on doing a tiny bit more than just dropping Little Bun at daycare.

Note: You absolutely will not see a messy bag here

I am not someone who hoards crap for no reason in her purse and totes it around. Every ounce counts in weight on my shoulders and my back, and ever since I have been in physio for my knees and my back, I have realized how important it is to be light and free, as best as you can.

I do not store receipts (I try not to take any, I just note down what I spent so I can update my budget later).

I also try to bring just what I need for that specific period or time.

Wallet

This is my second wallet, a non-essential one for daily life, but it carries all my credit cards, bank cards, and loyalty cards that need stamping for when I visit local cafes. I so rarely refer to it, but as I do have over 10 banking institutions I am with, it ends up coming along for the ride just in case.

The wallet is old, from a m0851 sample sale of leather goods, and was my previous wallet, until I downsized even more. I like that it had spots for cards, and a tiny zippered area for coins.

Hand lotion

I refill this humangear GoToob bottle with Marius Fabre Nourishing Handcream – Shea Butter, Lavender, Camphor hand lotion which smells divine.

(They also make our favourite dishwashing soap bar –Marius Fabre – Savon de Marseilles – which we use with a sponge to wash our dishes and I much prefer, as it smells better, no longer harbors bacteria like with dishwashing detergent and is more zero waste than buying liquid detergent.)

This is an attempt to try and be less wasteful, in the sense that I used to buy individual hand lotions to carry around, but then I saw the waste it generated when it was used up, that I switched to a reusable bottle and refill it with larger tubs of hand cream.

If in my zero waste store I find a hand lotion I like equally as much, I will refill from there instead and be even more zero waste. Baby steps I say!

Lipsticks

I really don’t need this many. I just need one, but some days I want a neutral lip, other days I want a darker colour, or a bright red, but I have to do it after I eat out because otherwise it smears onto my food or all over my face (I am thinking of vegan burgers right now)…

Pictured here:

Revlon Colourburst – This one is called Pink Truffle but I think it is discontinued
Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Liquified Lipstick – This one is called Infuse, a deep vampy burgundy
Kat von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick – Pretty solid for a long-lasting, not sticky, hardwearing red lipstick that doesn’t bleed. This one is called Nahz Fur Atoo and is a very deep blood red

Ebook reader

I use a Kobo Glo. This also isn’t necessary but I do like to read in bursts and at cafes.

I upgraded from an old Kobo reader, and this one was such a huge improvement – larger screen, better backlighting, not buggy and didn’t die after 10 minutes, most importantly. They have newer e-readers out, and I like this one a lot, it reads like paper and is very easy to use.

Hairband

Always one. At least one so I can work!!

Pen

This happens to be an Fisher space pen because I didn’t want it to burst in my bag, be able to write wherever and whenever, like when I am traveling on a plane, otherwise it would have been a fountain pen, like my go-to reasonably priced Lamy Safari pen which is an EXCELLENT one for the money.

Tissues – this pack is about a year old, they are for emergencies only

I am really trying to be zero-waste, so I don’t use tissues unless I am in dire, DIRE need and my nose is dripping or I just really need one. I usually have a cotton handkerchief from Eco-Freako but the issue is that long lasting lipsticks or makeup, tends to stain cotton handkerchiefs.

This pack, is old. It is beaten up. I have used ONE, once, when I was out with Little Bun at the park and forgot to bring a handkerchief.

(I even remember the situations where I use them as they’re so rare!)

Headphones (Airpods)

Always. I can be on a conference call at any time, so I have these things with me, and I charge them nightly.

Once you go wireless, even with possible sound issues, or whatever, I can’t go back to wired headphones unless I am sitting down at a desk and working.

I much prefer wireless so I can just get up at any time, not interrupt what I am doing and be FREE to walk around.