What's In Your Wallet... er, Purse?

Do you carry a purse? I bet you do. Purses are great, they really are, and like Big Girls they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and textures.
So, what kind of bag do you carry? Do you carry a clutch or a gigantic bag? What about one of those chic, across the chest numbers? Do you carry just the basics or are you, as my Dad likes to say, carrying everything but the kitchen sink in your purse?
I have three main bags: a glitzy little number that wears like a messenger bag, a hobo bag that slings low across my body, and an Andy Warhol money bag that can hold a full change of clothes/makeup bag/pair of sneakers/ two books.
As I write this, i'm using my hobo bag. It's pretty much the most practical purse I own (think suede with brassy tones and purple inside). Since I have to lug this bag around campus and up stairs and down stairs and everywhere in between, I try not to carry too much stuff that isn't necessary. I fail a lot with that reasoning, though, because my belief is that I never know what I may need on any given day. Ok, so what I'm trying to say is that I have a whole lot of crap in my bag.
So, what's in my bag?
1) My wallet. I know the whole fad is geared towards those slender wallets, but after breaking my third one (my purse isn’t the only thing I pack full of junk), I decided that I needed something a little more practical but it also couldn’t be reminiscent of my Nanny’s wallet. Simple solution: Poketo. Don’t know it? Look it up at www.poketo.com Poketo is a design studio founded by a husband and wife team, Ted Vadakan and Angie Myung (totally cute couple!) They showcase artists through everyday wares. I opted for multicolored check wallet because it holds so much stuff. And yeah, my wallet is full. We’ve got license, social security card, debit card, insurance car (both health and auto), two library print cards, student ID, an Office Depot card, Hot Topic card, Starbucks gift card, four receipts, and $9.81. Oh, and a check book.
2) A camera. You never know when you’re going to need one. If you’re going to carry your camera around, though, make sure you have a nice camera bag for it. I, again, chose a Poketo camera bag (it has owls on it!)
3) A wide variety of pens and one pencil.
4) A bottle of Cherry Blossom lotion from Bath and Body Works.
5) Nina Ricci perfume
6) Tampons.

7) Those really cute little bottles of Tylenol and Advil.
8) Bobby pins and some rubber bands.
9) Some spree and suckers.
10) 9 different kinds of lip gloss/balm. Is that a bit over the top? Sure. But it’s just how I do.
11) Mints.
12) A small bag that I put whatever makeup I’m wearing that day in for quick touchups. Currently: Hard Candy Sheer Envy primer, NP palette, eyeliner and mascara.
13) A mix cd and letter from my BFF, Pauline!
14) A nail file/ clippers.
15) My cell phone and a pair of white earbuds.
16) A spring loaded weighted baton. You know, in case, someone ever tries to attack me.
17) Various receipts that have somehow managed to escape my wallet.
18) A USB shaped like an orange lego.
19) A pair of gloves so that my little fingers don’t freeze off.
20) An extremely cute hat that has ear flaps. Seriously, I’m not one for those kind of hats usually, but this was knitted one and I had to have it.
21) A bottle of Yankee Candle Hand Sanitizer in apple.
Now, you may ask, what is Pauline lugging around?
1) Phone.
2) Wallet.
3) Perfume.
4) Random monetary notes
5) Change

6) At least two lighters that I could never find when I smoked and now I don’t, I pull them out every time.
7) Two kinds of mints
8) A pack of gum
9) Receipts.
10) At least two sets of keys.
11) Hand lotion
12) Gloves
13) Germ-X
14) Deck of cards for impromptu card games with strangers.
15) A phone charger
16) Tampons.
17) And when it starts to snow, I’ll be throwing a hat in there, too!
Ok, cluttered. Both of us, I know, but we’re female and that excuse enough. But what do you really need in your bag?
First, let’s start with the bag. It needs to be cute. It needs to compliment you. Have you ever seen those little tiny girls lugging around HUGE bags? Kind of silly looking, right? Or what about the Big Girl with the itty bitty purse? Looks like she stole her little sisters bag, right? You try on your clothes, so you should also try on your bag. That’s how it works.
Now, cut through your crap. What do you really need? What are your bare essentials? It’s hard, I know, I tried it. I dumped my bag out and decided that I would put in what I absolutely needed.
The wallet went back in, of course, but then I took it back out because there were things in my wallet that I really didn’t need. The receipts could be filed away, so those were the first to go. (Random insert: It’s getting to be that season again. I hope all of you feel generous in any way possible. Publix has a great Food For Sharing program going on and you can buy a bundle starting at right under $6. When you donate, save your receipts and you can write it off on your taxes!) One of the print cards was from two years ago and hadn’t seen any action in a loooong time,. Trash. Everything else I needed to keep. Ok. Wallet back in bag.
The gloves, hat, and hand sanitizer went back in next. It is that season. A pack of mints, two pens, Tylenol, and perfume. Lotion, too. The baton, just in case.
There. Bare essentials. That’s all I needed in my purse.

And then I panicked and put everything I had originally had in my bag back in it. Plus a scarf.
Good grief.
Can you do it, though? Are you stronger willed than I?
Even if the answer is no, I still hope you have a fabulous bag to put all your things and the kitchen sink in.
And remember, “I’m beautiful, I’m beautiful, I’M BEAUTIFUL, DAMN IT!”
Xoxox

Anda.
 
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