What's In My Bag

This is quite a popular video on YouTube and I thought I would give it a go in my own version in blog form.  I am trying to minimise everything in my life, but at the moment my bag is not one of those areas as I try to get through / use up a number of items and reduce my waste when out and about.  The bag itself I got from an army surplus store, is a cross body strap, made from 100% cotton, and is very sturdy (which is just as well as it's been washed regularly, hence the fact its no longer really blue).  It is falling apart a little bit, but I still think it's got a few years left in it. 

So this is what I carry........

I try and make sure that I have a re-usable water bottle with me at all times as I'm needing to drink more water and I don't want to buy plastic water bottles as it's expensive, environmentally unsound, and there is evidence of hormone-like chemicals leaching into the water.  This is one is glass and has a silicon casing, though I don't know if that would actually protect it from anything particularly vigorous.

There is, of course, the usual assortment of keys.  A set of house keys (the minion key ring), car key (black sheep key ring), the key for my bike lock, and one of those coin substitute to unlock the supermarket trolleys.  They're all attached to an extension lanyard as I'm constantly losing them in my bag. 

I always keep headphones in my bag as I sometimes find that noises (especially in cities) a little bit too much and this allows me to listen to something a bit more soothing as I'm walking around.  I like keeping it in this lucky cat case which my Mum gave me for Christmas, though it has unfortunately lost the bell now. 

This little case is something that I have in my bag as part of my 'use up project' containing the lipstick I'm using at the moment.  I keep a mirror in the case as well, not surprisingly, so it seemed like a good place to keep my tweezers.  The case is another Christmas present from my Mum.

At the moment I carry two wallets in my bag.  The one on the left is my main wallet and is from Lifeventure.  I got it when my previous wallet started to fall apart and I was looking for a small, simple wallet that only contained the basics.  This fitted the bill and is also RFiD protected.  The second wallet contains all the store cards that I have at the moment.  I'm keeping an eye on these and all the ones I don't use anymore or only use now and then I'm going to get rid of.  The hope is that in the next year I'll be down to just the one wallet. 

Sunglasses are something I have in my bag at all times as I can get headaches from the sun (yes, even in Scotland especially in winter when the sun is low and almost always low).  I used to buy very cheap sunglasses but they were constantly breaking and it seemed to be a very wasteful practise.  These are the Foster Grant's Mac glasses, have all the UVA and UVB protections, and I think I paid around £12.00 for them.  I really like this style and they have lasted a long time, despite the fact that I accidentally drop kicked them one day.  I can't remember where I got the case from, but it's blue with polka dots and that's my favourite colour and style.

I wouldn't normally carry a pencil case around with me everywhere but I am trying to use up the stationary I've been ferreting away for years.  This pencil case is one I've had since I was a child and was given to me by a friend.  In it I have a number of pens and pencils, which I will replace with my fountain pen and mechanical pencil once they're done.  I also carry my hole punch / ruler that is for my Filofax.

Two diaries is also not something I would normally carry with me, but for a couple of years I've been using a traditional diary over my Filofax, but I miss having the additional sections where I can store and work on projects.  At the moment I use a diary for my to-dos (I use a digital calendar for appointment etc) and my Filofax for the projects I'm working on, but next year I will also put all my to-dos into the Filofax as well.  This one is the Metropol Pocket Organiser and I think the colour is kingfisher blue, though I don't think you can get this anymore.

I always like to keep reading material with me for when I have some free time to read.  This is especially true as I'm trying to read a lot more this year and reduce the number of books I have in my home, just sitting there unread.

The last thing in my bag is a sort of catch all bag that I got from New Look.  This contains a number of little things I use on a daily basis.  Starting from the top left I always have a sanitary towel (this one is an organic cotton pad from Natracare) and some plasters as I'm forever cutting myself.  As my work is outside I always keep to tick removers with me just in case I find one on me (it's making me itch just thinking about it) and some hand cream as it drys out my hands quite a bit (this one is The Body Shop's Hemp hand cream).  For eating out and reduce waste I have this spoon / fork camping cutlery and a metal straw.  As I always have a runny due to allergies I keep a spare hanky with me in a re-purposed Ecotools travel case.  I always keep it in the case as it keeps the dust of it, which is one of the things I'm allergic too.  Also as part of my allergies I keep eye drops for dry eyes.  As my hair is fine it tangles easily so I have this wooden comb which I got from Tebay services, as well as a selection of hair grips and clips.  The little tin with the cats on is my pill tin where I keep my Ibuprofen (for headaches) and Ibuprofen plus (which contains codeine for the migraines I get now and then).  I keep these in this tin as they always pop out of the container for some reason.  I have this nail file as well, but I haven't used it in a very long time so I think it's probably time to say goodbye to it.  It's also metal which means it's not the best thing to use on your nails any way.

So that is everything in my bag.  I'd love to know what's in your bag?  Let me know in the comment box below. 😸