I am not sure if I am in the minority here, but I love to see what other women carry in their bags. I remember when my grandma used to put her lipstick on on-the-go and she would pull out of her purse a beautiful little mirror that clipped onto her lipstick while she reapplied.
I remember when I was in college and needed something for a headache during my three-hour evening class and a friend introduced me to the idea of a purse emergency kit: a zipper pouch with a little of just about anything that you could need in a jam. On the occasion, I enjoy watching “What is in My Purse” videos on Youtube or looking up pictures on Pinterest. I guess it combines my lifelong love for purses (starting with my clear plastic Little Mermaid purse from Kmart as a little girl) and my desire to be prepared.
I am naturally a large purse girl at heart.
I would be the person that occasionally friends would pick up my bag and say “What is in here?” Which I do know, heavy purses are not good for the back. For a few years, I tried to stay true to the big purses while balancing a diaper bag and I eventually decided that I looked like a bag lady. Although I love a purse with the ability to hold everything but the kitchen sink, I have gradually starting to enjoy crossbody purses. The ability to carry a decent amount of stuff, while having your hands free is awesome.
For the last couple of months, I have been carrying a wristlet because 1) this year I do not do much other than work and go to my kids’ sporting events 2) I did not want to carry something huge that I would need to put down and be more likely to rub on dirty surfaces and 3) I liked that I could throw it in my work bag or soccer bag and not have to carry multiple bags.
I have started to miss having the option to carry more and I am honestly worried that at some point I may put my wristlet down and forget about it. So I am back to a cross-body purse that is small enough that I could fit it in my work bag, but big enough that I can carry quite a bit.
Here is what I am carrying now:
I always have hand sanitizer attached to the outside of my purse for easy access.
Whenever I have an outside pocket, I always keep lotion, gum, and lip balm in the pocket. If I can fit tissues, they normally would go there as well.
My electronic pouch. Most of these items are obvious, but the circular object in the upper left-hand corner is a tape measure that I got at a shower. This comes in handy all the time when I am at a store.
The notorious Covid protection kit. I would love to add some travel Clorox wipes to this zipper pouch. I keep enough masks for my kids and one adult. This is only a back-up as I normally have my kids holding their own mask in the car. I keep an extra hand sanitizer in here in case the one on my purse runs out.
Hello, my name is Zandria and I don’t feel right unless I have multiple lip balm options at all times. I love the small first aid kit that I found. It’s not going to get smashed, it has the basics that I usually look for, and it does not take up much space.
This emergency kit is very bare compared to what I used to carry in my purse; however, I usually have my work bag or sports bag nearby and don’t feel like I need to double up on items. The ginger chews help with an upset stomach.
For years, I used to carry a large wallet that could fit a checkbook in it. The wallet would often take up a majority of the space in my bag. I now opt to carry small wallets and put my checkbook in my purse separately if I need it.
I love this bracelet that I have on my keys. It keeps me from accidentally dropping my keys and make me less likely to set them down in public. Not to forget, the sparkliness makes me happy.
I put all of these items in my purse vertically and I have room to spare.
What do you keep in your purse?
