No Kitchen Sink Here

Since I live quite a distance from friends, I will often carry a backpack stuffed with clothes for different occasions, because I never know when plans might change. Plans don’t change that much that often, but it has happened and I have been glad to have a change of clothes. I hang out often with guys and besides that, the few gals I’m around are of very different sizes and dimensions from me; it’s not likely for someone to tell me, “Here, you can borrow my clothes” and have things work out. Plus, for certain occasions, like a hike or sprucing up for a party, I’d like to have some extra things that could be useful, as in a mini first-aid kit, hand sanitizer, or lotion, body spray, etc.

But I don’t like to carry a lot of things. My typical carry-around is a small purse, and even then I sometimes get tired of keeping track of it. I am mostly seen carrying a small [~6 in. x 8 in.] drawstring bag that I made [in the foreground of the above picture: I had made some for friends and then kept a few for myself].

So people sometimes wonder what I carry in such a relatively small bag. Here it is:

Wallet
Of course. I also don’t like carrying around a bunch of cards and stuff that I don’t regularly use, and so my wallet tends to be compact. I was using card carrier as a wallet but found something much slimmer: an ID case wallet [this isn’t the one I got, but a design I considered]. It is quite compact and tight, so I might go back and forth between this and the last wallet I had just because sometimes I don’t wanna hafta fuss with squeezing stuff back into the slim. Overall though, I really like the slim [which you can find here].

Also, the presence of money, ID(s) and other useful cards are implied to be carried within my wallet in my purse.

Lip stuff
I love my lips! They are my favorite physical feature of mine because I think they look like my grandmother’s. I really don’t like the feel of rough, dry lips so I protect against it. I almost always have a lip gloss, lip balm, and lipstick with me. If I don’t have ANY with me, I have no idea what to do. I small kine panic.

Mirror
Because sometimes I just wanna check my lipstick or pepper teeth or whatever quickly, without having to run to the restroom. I try to sneak a check if I can, so even my mirror is simple: one reflection side with a Wonder Woman backing [as opposed to a flip, often two different magnification mirror which adds to the thickness of the compact].

Hair clips and bands
I have a lot of hair. Thick hair. I have only recently gotten more comfortable with having my hair down most of the time. To prevent feeding my hair on the way to my mouth or looking like Cousin It, I almost always have clips and bands. If a situation arises and I don’t have any at all, I have no idea what to do.

Phone
Duh. I sometimes think about discontinuing the use of a cellphone, but I will never be able to fully. As a female who often travels alone, the cellphone is more for my parents’ peace of mind. I also like simple for phones: the current phone is my first to have a built-in camara [that I really don’t use] because it was cheaper than the one without. My next phone is going to have a keyboard; Apple, Pineapple, or Grace and I sometimes converse by text.

Compact digital camara
I make good use of it! I am rarely ever found without it.

Keys
Because I like being able to enter my house when I return to it. Need I say more on this?

iPod
I love music! Most any music. Unlike a few of my friends, I am not comfortable “spontaneously bursting into song.” I am more comfortable as a sing-along or backup singer, hence the iPod carry. Plus, it’s good for bus rides, or hikes, or exercising at the gym, etc.
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So that’s what I almost always have in my purse. it doesn’t take much to carry this stuff, but I sometimes use a tote for when I bring along a book to read, or I often have a steno book and pens because I like to write, jot some notes down if I get an idea, that sort of thing.

Other things I might have in my purse: mints and/ or coughdrops, Bluetooth, water bottle, MelaGel, lotion, nail clipper, hat, a ring or two, or earrings.

And now you know.