Everyday carry : do you go light or are you a pack rat?

[partyetiquette]

Lighthearted but out with a friend today. She arrives with a tiny crossbody phone case type bag. I arrive with my giant tote the size of a beach bag. I've always wanted to be a small handbag type but I like stuff.
Going round Tescos and I suddenly need to brush my teeth? No probs! Got my travel toothpaste and foldable toothbrush with me! My book (in case I get somewhere early and want to read) book boring? No worries, I've got a magazine as well. And my diary, and my notebook, oh and a scarf in case I get cold. And a mini stapler (never know when you need to staple something small while out and about)
Are you a pack rat or do you have a tiny handbag?
If you are a reformed pack rat- how did you do it? I'm sure my shoulders would thank me!

I mostly carry one of those small Uniqlo cross body bags. I have two! It looks very small, but I can fit phone, kindle, glasses and small water bottle in it (plus little things like keys, lip balm and small sun cream). That's all I need. DH calls it my magic bag! It even fits a bottle of wine if I leave out the kindle and water!

For work I have a backpack as I carry a computer.

But if I'm just popping out in the village then I'd only have my phone in my pocket, assuming I have pockets. Not even always that if I'm going for a walk or to a friends house and don't need to pay for anything. I quite like going out phone free! I also almost never carry a house key, only a key for work if I'm heading there.

I don’t carry anything except my phone, card and keys - maybe a tampon or two if I’m due my period.

I have three modes with keys and phone in common.

1 Dogwalking cross-body bag with poop bags, treats, grooming equipment, Labello, pen and notebook. Bank card in phone case.
2 Ryanair size backpack with padded compartment for tablet (not often used) inside are: foldable shopping bags, sunglasses, reading glasses, tissues, notebook, mega-purse with ID, CC, licence, loyalty cards, donor card etc. Double sided pencil case with perfume, makeup, tissues, aspirin on one side, tri point pen, mini screwdriver (!), pencil with rubber, USB charger and earphones on the other. Water bottle if I remember.
3 “Good” handbag with nicer versions of the above.

I think the idea of the mega-purse is dying out but I’ve used the rectangular style for decades and it acts as a catch-all for receipts etc. It also holds my phone if necessary.
When the kids were small I had a Mary Poppins bag: wet wipes, hairbrush, snacks, school letters, emergency sewing kit, change for swimming pool hairdryer etc etc etc.

It’s carrying water and glasses that means a bigger bag for me. I have just downsized to a smaller bag which “only” fits glasses, water bottle, wallet, phone charger but can also stuff my laptop or a book in if necessary. Less room for crap.

I’m so intrigued @partyetiquette what was the last thing you stapled?

It can vary from nothing at all, through small handbag, to a small backpack of seemingly random stuff but which really does all have a purpose.

Nothing at all can be carried for something like a supermarket trip with DH because he carries everything needed in his pockets! Wallet, phone with loyalty card app, car keys. He would be carrying these anyway so I don't need to.

A quick trip down in to town I will need reading glasses, phone, card wallet, purse and keys at a minimum so I take a small handbag.

For most days out though I have a small backpack in to which I put those same items plus whatever else I might need depending on the type of day out. For example, small waterproof, sun cream, sandwiches for a walk; magazine or book for a train journey.

Some things I keep in the backpack all the time as standard. Recently though, before a short break in London, I went through my backpack and the items I decided to ditch as probably unnecessary for this trip included:

• Insect repellent
• Foraging handbook
• Binoculars
• Headnet
• Telescopic magnet

DD suggested I might be dangerously unprepared!

I try to get away with just carrying my phone. Otherwise if I have keys and other stuff like a lip balm I'll take a small cross body bag.

I have a smaller handbag for when I go out by myself/with older DC- phone, purse, lipbalm+ stick, mini perfume, fold up shopping bag.

Then when I go out with younger DC, i have a couple of radley tote bags to chuck everything in. All of the above plus nappies, wipes, etc.

I always have my car filled with essentials though, and I don't mind buying nappies or clothes for the kids if I haven't packed them.

I am a reformed packrat. Used to lug a huge bag around, but now wear a small cross body, with purse, keys, paracetamol, lipbalm, phone, airpods.

My work bag contains laptop and charger, 300 pens, bits of paper I should have done something with.

HOWEVER, at work in and on my desk I have 10x lipsticks, 3x perfumes, toothbrush and toothpaste, 2x SPF, spare sunglasses, sunhat, phone charger, water bottle, vitamins, cuticle oil, 3x shoes, 2x cardigans, notebooks, tampons etc etc etc.

If I didn't have an allocated desk, I would need a wheely case.

The thing that prevents me from travelling light is the need for a refillable bottle of water!

Really hate to be without one or to have to spend money on bottled water when I’m out.

I cut out one sumatriptan and 1g paracetamol tablet from the blister pack and keep them in a pocket in my purse with a lilet or two. If I need ibuprofen too, I buy it. I would usually do small admin tasks such as an online shop or work emails (I'm freelance) rather than read a book for a small unexpected wait. But otherwise I might think something through if I had time to sit and do nothing.
I have a slim 'handbag water bottle' that I found in Sainsburys.
I do have a hot wheels and a model of the solar system in my back currently, but those are non-essentials.

I'm in the middle but never understsnd how you can just take wallet and keys. Don't people need tissues, hairbrush, many tampons etc? My bag has hairbrush, tissues, hand cream, emery board, umbrella as a minimum.

I used to carry a heavy handbag all the time. But I got jealous of men just leaving the house with keys and phone and decided to do the same!

In winter, keys and phone in pockets of coats (I try to get coats with zip pockets now. I have a small bum bag-style cross-body if I need to take sunglasses in summer, a light foldable shopping tote, maybe a small comb and/or a bottle of water if I'm out for the day (I have the soft running flasks which are perfect - the smallest is 150ml but just refill as when).

This doesn't apply to office days as we have to take our laptops to and fro, so I have a rucksack for that, which has space for my lunch too. But I've tried to really cut down on what's in that too.

I usually have tissues in my pocket and sometimes take a coat or extra jumper in the car if I'm not sure what the weather's going to be like. I rarely take painkillers, but would buy them, I guess if I needed them. If I break a nail I deal with it when I get home. If I'm waiting for an appointment or on a bus, I'll read on my Kindle app - yes, I prefer a book or the actual Kindle, but it's not worth it for a couple of minutes here and there.

Last thing I stapled was a receipt into my diary as a memento of a nice day

The more I think k about it, the more I think it's because of city living. It was normal for me to leave home at 7am and not get in til 11pm at night, there'd be lots of 'trapped time' where I'd sit in a pub/coffee shop reading, writing etc in between events

If I need paracetamol I buy it. If you’re in the city like you say then you can’t be more than a 5 minute walk from a Tesco express/convenience shop/pharmacy. It’s about 60p a packet.

I read books on my phone.

Oh yes, I used to carry a lot more when out on public transport for the whole day living in the city and took a while to adapt to rural living in terms of carrying stuff!

If you really want to give your shoulders and back a lighter load, I would suggest that you could staple your receipts when you get home 😅

This 👌🏼 pockets were invented for a reason!

I suffer far less from back and shoulder pain since I swapped my big leather shoulder bags for small fabric crossbody bags. A Kindle is much easier to carry around than most books.

Pack rat but I don’t carry half of what the OP does!

Work-
Big bag with 2x phones, purse, keys, badge and pass, diary, daily planner, 1 or 2 A4 pads, pens, sometimes games, tissues, lip gloss, deodorant, sun screen, water bottle. Snacks and lunch or that might be another bag.
Then a laptop bag separate to that.

I use smaller bags outside of work but will absolutely always have a bag and have many of them.

You might want to rethink that. I also do extreme day trips and once my flight home was cancelled but all the shops had shut before I found out. I had nothing to sleep in, no clean underwear, no phone charger (had the lead but no plug). I did buy a toothbrush/toothpaste the next morning but it wasn't fun. So now I always take a slightly bigger bag with overnight essentials just in case.

Day to day I tend to carry minimal amounts but am often not out long or that far away from home. I'll take a bigger bag for something like a day out.

I have books on my phone. I never take painkillers (literally maybe 2 a year)

Nope. I use a mooncup, rarely need a tissue, ditto an umbrella, would buy painkillers if caught without or not near my car etc etc. Phone, car key (if driving) and lip balm are the only non negotiables.

Have the Kindle app on my phone, as well as the apps for some studying I am doing...so I'm rarely bored. I work on my phone too.

I have a camera bag style - I cram a lot into it, I can fit phone, keys, wallet, sun glasses, glasses, kindle, phone charger, plasters, paracetamol/anti diarrhoea meds

Team medium-sized backpack here, for day-to-day!
Phone lives in hand. Headphones around neck.
Backpack at its lightest contains power bank, keys, paracetamol, lipgloss, tissues. In summer, also sunscreen.
All of which could easily be contained in a much smaller bag but... You never know!
I've more than once been described as 'the one with the backpack'
I don't drive so often need the extra space to carry trainers/work shoes/grocery bits/whatever.
Genuinely feel a bit lost when circumstances (holiday, night out etc.) dictate I don't have it! Much prefer the feeling of weight evenly distributed, not hurting one shoulder. Having both hands free for sword-wielding.

I dunno, it probably sounds a bit mad, but I feel it supports the (my) idea of myself as a practical, capable, kick-ass woman. Ha ha, I sound a right loser!
But... Ain't gonna be switching to a shoulder bag or a clutch anytime soon.