Are you a pack rat and proud?

[packratandproud]

I've just opened my backpack at work to get my notebook out and my colleague has just said " oh have you been staying away from home?"
It was just the usual stuff I carry around every day! I have really tried to be a small crossbody bag person but I just feel miserable never having what I want. I spend long days in cities- often leaving home at 6am and not getting home until 10pm and nothing gives me more joy than being in a coffee shop between events, and having my book, my notebook, my wrap if im a bit cold, my toothbrush, my makeup etc etc
Are you an 'everything but the kitchen sink' carrier? If yes do you love it?
I like it, but my bag is very heavy 😀

if you were going out for the day, what would you do though?

I'm 100% all or nothing

I go to work with a backpack with:

Laptop
Notebook
Water Bottle
Coffee Cup
Hairbrush
Deoderant
Umbrella
Glasses
Sunglasses
Tupperware of Teabags
Keys
Tissues
Passport

Pouch containing:
Laptop Chargers (2 of cos I sometimes forget one of them so there is a backup)
Work mobile phone
Other chargers
Travel Cutlery
Pens
Headphones for work (large over-ear type)

Small parts box with sections containting:
spare battery pack
safety pins
plasters
painkillers
airpods
lipbalm
throat sweets
5 way charger (phone, watch AirPods etc)

And then if I go to the pub after work:
mobile phone and keys only (no wallet) maybe tissues and lip balm in pocket if there happen to be any in there from before 😆

@NoMoreSpaniels totally resonate with your post. I only clicked on the thread as I also have no idea what a pack rat is ... and still don't.

@packratandproud do you brush your teeth at Costa ?!

No. And I hate adults with backpacks, especially on public transport! Unreasonable, moi?

If I was out for long periods like OP I think it says sense. Probably the equivalent of all the stuff I keep in my office pedestal just in case.

I think it's safe to say that yes, I'm an absolute pack rat if my spare room is anything to go by. 😂

A Pack rat is someone who carries lots around with them

Yes I'd brush my teeth at a coffee shop if I was going from one event to another

I have resigned myself to what the Americans charmingly call a "fanny pack", which I find childishly amusing, but it is SO handy for work! I mean, my enormous coat pockets are brilliant in the winter, but not so much in the summer. My "fanny pack" means that I have everything work-related on my person at all times. People at work laugh at me for wearing it, but they find my organisational fanny pack a godsend at times!

Other than that, I never carry a bag, and all of my coats are carefully assessed before buying to ensure that I can fit my phone, purse and keys in them.

I had enough of carrying a big bag around when my children were little so now I either don’t use a bag or just a small one with my phone, lip balm and keys in it.

Nope I can't stand feeling encumbered. If I'm going out for the day I MIGHT take a small crossbody bag but otherwise I just put my phone and keys in my pockets and off I go.

What do i need if i go out for the day? I don't need anything if i go out. Lots of places to eat around, i generally never need to change my clothes if i go out. I don't brush my teeth when i'm out. I don't take books to read or wear glasses so...

It genuinely baffles me why people need to take so many things out with them.

Oh yes, laptop, notebooks, reading book, thermos flask, water bottle, extra layers, hat, gloves, scarf, power bank, charger, make up, snacks, tissues, hand gel, mini pencil case...

I love a good back pack but often end up with an assortment of bags. I have one that's great for three waterbottles (yeah, thry should carry their own but inevitably....), one that fits my house key, phone and a bit of cash, then maybe a small backpack with whatever I need. Then I need to find something and I've put it back in the wring place or a pocket!! I'd lovely a fancy leather backpack with lots of pockets but I dot work so I can't afford or justify one lol

I know you didn’t ask me but on a non working day I take car keys, a phone and an inhaler, they go in a pocket. O a work day I have to take a laptop and a book but that’s all I take in addition and they go in a bag.

I can’t imagine wanting to take a toothbrush anywhere outside my own private bathroom.

No, I’m generally a move fast and travel light kind of person. The only time I take a back pack is when I’m working or if I am actually staying away somewhere. i often just take my phone and nothing else.

I think it stems from my childhood. My mum is an everything including the kitchen sink kind of person and the memory of being weighed down by numerous bags on days out as a child when you wanted to just run around and play has stayed with me. I may take it to the other extreme though 😂

No, I’m generally a move fast and travel light kind of person. The only time I take a back pack is when I’m working or if I am actually staying away somewhere. i often just take my phone and nothing else.

I think it stems from my childhood. My mum is an everything including the kitchen sink kind of person and the memory of being weighed down by numerous bags on days out as a child when you wanted to just run around and play has stayed with me. I may take it to the other extreme though

In my smallish sized shoulder bag I have:

. spare plastic carrier bags x2 neatly folded
. nail file & clippers
. hand cream
. tissues pack
. pouch with meds in: painkillers, antihistamine, anti-diarrhoea, plasters
. spare knicker sticker (panty liner)
. spare hair elastic band
. folding toothbrush
. notebook and pen
. folding magnifying glass for checking food labels in tiny writing
. wallet with cards: debit x2, credit, loyalty cards, membership cards
. purse with notes and coins
. side pocket on purse with safety pin and spare pair of stud earrings in case I forget to dress properly
. house keys
. phone
. car keys with supermarket trolley token on keyring
. lip cream
. reading glasses

I know this from memory as it is always exactly the same stuff in the same place in the bag.
This bag goes with me almost everywhere, but if we are just going for a short walk I will take out the house keys, lip cream and tissues to put in coat pockets and leave the bag.

In addition, I have a work commuting bag, a 'shopper' hand held style not a backpack, with files/folders, umbrella, packed lunch, hat and gloves in winter. Sometimes a paperback book. It could take a laptop but no need in current job.

Things I never carry:
water
sunglasses
charger
makeup and mirror
hairbrush or comb

I always thought it was the American term for a hoarder, i.e. someone who has way too much stuff in their home, not their bag - wondering now if I was wrong.

I’m a bit of a pack rat and I hate stuff in my pockets.
Glasses x2, keys, phone, lip balm, hand cream, tampons, purse.
Then add diary, badge, pens, tea bags etc for my work bag.
Plus my laptop bag with note pad, charger etc

I wish I travelled lighter but actually I love bags and really don’t understand how anyone can survive with just keys and phone in a pocket.

Oh yeah and a water bottle. Small or large depending what I’m doing.

See i read this and think whaaaaattt...

Why do you need a thermos and a water bottle? buy fresh tea or coffee if you need it. Water bottle? just no... no one is going to dehydrate if they go a few hours without something to drink. extra layers? hat, scarf, gloves, i don't wear any of those things. powerbank and charger, I make sure my phone is fully charged before i go out and i can charge it in the car when im travelling... i've never ran out of charge in a day. snacks buy them on the go, tissues and hand gel - i don't use either really. pencil case... what are you doing when your out that you need a pencil case?

thoughts off the top of my head...

Constantly buying tea/ coffee from coffee shops is expensive. Maybe they're a supper so one flask in 4 drinks. That's like £20 every day. Same for snacks. Not everyone has unlimited cash to spend on stuff you can get from home cheaper.

Not everyone drives, I'd guess most "pack rats" don't. So charging phones etc can be hit and miss. Not all phones will last 13 hours without a charge if you're using it for work etc. Extra layers are less needed if you're not standing on a train platform or waiting around for buses

So basically, it's great you've got a car and cash to spare but it can't be that hard to imagine not everyone does

Depends where you are going and where you live obviously. On the days where I am carrying a back pack I'm often going often to places where there isn't a coffee shop etc and on some of the roads I drive on regularly if you broke down or got stuck in bad weather you could be a long way from any help. Not everyone lives in urban areas.
Plus buying a bottle of water or a takeaway coffee every time you need one is both expensive and wasteful. I went on a fairly long train journey yesterday at short notice so didn't take anything with me. I paid £1.75 for a single Mars bar on the station! No, that's not going to leave me destitute but when you consider how much extra you'd spend doing that on a regular basis compared to being organised and taking your own snacks it will mount up. And filling a reusable bottle with water from your own tap has multiple advantages over buying bottled repeatedly.
I don't take a bag at all if I'm going to the shops or for a couple of miles walk but if I'm going on a longer journey I like to be prepared.

I discovered the joys of a handbag that you wear like a backpack when my mum needed a wheelchair. Virtually all my handbags are that style now. The strap just unzips so both shoulders take the strain, better for your back. I’ve also got a variety of small(ish) backpacks for days out which contain as much as possible, including the kitchen sink if there’s space…….

Depends what I'm doing. At work? Large handbag that can carry a laptop, charger, earbuds, makeup, perfume, ID, hairbrush, keys, glasses, purse, water bottle and at this time of year, unbrella, hat and gloves. It also has a pencil case type bag that contains tampons, paracetamol, safety pins. I spend a lot of time moving between sites so I might have workshop materials or training aids that I need to carry as well. On the other hand if I'm hotdesking from one site all day I'll probably cycle to work so there'll be all the handbag stuff minus the laptop in a pannier bag, plus a change of clothes, lunch, tyre repair kit and a pump.

If I'm just meeting a friend for coffee or going for a mooch around the shops I'll have my phone, keys, and probably a folding shopping bag in my pockets.