Something to carry all the stuff in?

[Yellowbananasarebetterthangreen]

I know this has been asked a billionty times before sorry.....
Best thing to cart the work stuff, the personal stuff, the work laptop, lunch bag etc back and forth to work. No car/bus etc - walking both ways everyday.
Ive looked at backpacks/smart work bags with laptop sleeves but by the time Ive got everything in........... I suspect it will be really heavy and burdensome. Ive used a shopping trolley for years (for shopping!) but the wheels wear out SO quickly. The trolleys that cost about £20 arent hardwearing at all. And they arent the stylish professional look Im aiming for in the office!

So I was pondering something like this.......... a wheeled trolley bag. But the wheels on this one are little - Im not sure it will cope well with our pavements (plus the wheels are likely to be noisy)
Buy it Luggage 28L Backpack with 2 Wheels - Black | Cabin luggage | Argos

This one? For £40 - Im still not entirely convinced about the wheels though. And its not possible to fold the handle down if the bag is on the frame - so although not as old ladyish as most shopping trolleys, it will still be super visible in the office next to my desk.
Sour Lemon 45L Folding Shopping Trolley on 2 Wheels, Lightweight Folding Shopping Cart, Large Shopping Trolleys, Stair Climbing Shopping Cart, Grocery Trolley : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

This is the one Im drooling over because look at those awesome wheels (plus it can be hooked onto the back of a bike)....... but also look at the price!
Andersen Tura Shopper Aluminium Foldable with Ball Bearing Wheel Diameter 29 cm and 72 Litre Bag Fado 2.0 with Cooling Compartment Blue : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

Any other suggestions?

OP you're carrying way too much around.

My backpack contains:

• laptop
• digital notebook
• lipstick
• purse
• keys
• sunglasses/normal glasses
• emergency sanpro
• pen
• sometimes a water bottle

In my desk draw/on my chair I keep:

• cardigan
• smart jacket
• chargers
• headset
• mouse/keyboard
• sanpro
• waterbottle

And TBF, loads of other junk!

Re lunch, I do tend to buy ingredients to make lunch at work every day, but I've also got some slimline lunch boxes if I am taking in lunch from home.

I think you just have to commit to taking less stuff. Does your laptop actually need to come home every night? Can you leave a cardigan at work? Can you find a nice small lunch bag/box? Leave your water bottle at work?

I have a waterproof Barbour rucksack. It's very waterproof, very comfy and nice and roomy.

@pleasecallmeback lol - theres no way you can easily walk with one of those here. They are designed for airports.......... with gloriously smooth floors. Not for 20-30 minutes on our pavements which are not at all smooth, pot holes, dodgy concrete, litter, dog poo, curbs etc. The wheels wouldnt last 6 months. Even in our town centre its ill advised (having watched people with them!)

But thankyou for your suggestion - its helpful to know what works for others even if I think it wouldnt suit me.

@wonderingwhatlifemeans omg that looks amazing. Look at those wonderful large wheels. Do you have a link please/details of the brand. Id love to investigate getting one of those.

Why are you taking your laptop home every night? Surely that's the main weight issue here?

@Papillon23 yes we are required to bring the laptops home every day. There are lockers at work but we arent supposed to put laptops in them. And we need the laptops at home because we all hybrid work so need the laptops at home for working on them at home.

We havent got desk drawers either or any facility actually at our desks to store things. Its a hot desking system so you book a computer/desk and thats yours for the day. And you could easily book and have that same space everyday - but anything you leave at your desk potentially wont be there in the morning (eg cleaners could nick it) and you cant have things at your desk like family photos (well not unless you carry those in your bag each day too)

Perhaps riding a bike with a pannier or basket would be better? Then you can use a rucksack, tote bag or whatever and just carry it from bike to desk. Unless your walk follows on from train/bus?

@AlisonDonut because we are required to! Partly because we hot desk (no storage at the desk, no particular personal desk) and partly cos hybrid working. So today I was in the office. Tomorrow Ill be at home.

Search WMHYLYH on Amazon. It is expensive. The photo below is also on Amazon but has the brand name uniker.

I think it's really unreasonable of them to expect you to take company equipment home to keep it secure! We have lockers and are allowed to keep laptops and peripherals in them, I walk a mile to work every day over a hill, so I don't want to have to lump my laptop to and fro.

Leave your water bottle at work unless you actually drink from it while you’re walking. Leave the mouse and headset at the office too and have separate ones for at home - you can get them a lot cheaper than that expensive roller bag! I also leave a neutral cardigan and scarf in my work locker along with paracetamol, tampons, phone charger, headset, plasters etc. The only things I transport are lunch/snacks, things I want during the commute, and my laptop. I even have a separate laptop charger for at home.

I read 'walking both ways everyday' to mean you were taking it home every day.

How silly of me.

@Chipsweep yes thats true - would be cheaper to get extras. But I will have to fetch them from my locker every time I go into the office and put them back there at the end of everyday too. Which isnt impossible of course but a bit of a faff (and the lockers are not near my desk area)

@TheSmallAssassin we hybrid work. Everyone works a few days in the office and the rest at home each week. So we have to take the laptops home. Its just how it is.
Its an excellent place to work, fantastic employer, very keen on flexible working with great employee benefits and pension etc so many positives but yes one of the negatives is lugging the laptop and its extras backwards and forwards. Even if Im in two consecutive days its still required that I take it home in between. Everybody does.

I was struggling with this and I basically laid out everything I take to work on the table to optimise it. I only have to take the actual laptop as it plugs into a docking station at work. I keep headphones, cardigan, teabags, hand cream in a cupboard at work.
As a PP I found some flattish lunchboxes that slide into my backpack neatly along with pens, keys and purse, phones, few other odds and ends, plus my A4 notebook and water bottle.

Agree get spares of charger, headphones etc to keep at home.
If you have papers and folders to carry around that's a different matter I guess.

It's just part of my set up/set down each day to transfer things to/from the cupboard, better than carrying them home.

So........ here is my list of what I had in my work bag today. For all those saying "take less". I think this list is pretty hard to make shorter.
Notebook x 2 (I need both)
Diary (used for work and personal needs)
pen x 2 (in different colours)
A magazine to read at lunchtime (would be super boring without it)
Tiny wallet containing only a debit card and £10 note
Mobile phone (mine is tiny old style)
Calculator (very useful for my job)
zip up pouch that contains tissues, a few paracetamol, plasters, tiny pot of lipsalve and another of e45, half a tube of polos, tiny hairbrush
Work lanyard
Reading glasses/distance glasses (whichever Im not wearing)

And then theres the laptop and its extras (which I am required to take back and forth each time Im there)
And my lunch (I take my own due to economy and diet)
Water bottle (people have suggested taking it empty - not really an option...... I get thirsty at the most inopportune of moments - particularly in summer)
Coat/cardigan etc (my body temp is all over the place. I start out with a coat but often end up in just short sleeves by the time I arrive..... but then cool down in the building and need a cardi)

I dont think thats a lot at all but its been plenty heavy enough to lug back and forth.

@AlisonDonut sorry Im confused by your comment.
I have to carry the laptop to work and I have to carry it home. So yes I have to carry it home every night.

@NotMeNoNo thats a good suggestion ta - just make it part of my arriving and departing routine to always go to the locker at the beginning and end of everyday.

my work gave me this https://xd-design.com/collection/xd-design-flex-gym-bag-black/ obviously overpriced but literally miles away from my old rucksacks the comparment that you can unzip and buckle over is really good, for your headset could you switch to some ear buds? can get decent ones with mikes, should say i walk or cycle 20 miles a day with this backpack, laptop headset gym gear, shower stuff, spare trainers and occasionally a top up shop (i dropped it off the side of the needle on the cobbler but that's another story!)

So........ here is my list of what I had in my work bag today. For all those saying "take less". I think this list is pretty hard to make shorter.
Notebook x 2 (I need both)
Diary (used for work and personal needs)
pen x 2 (in different colours)
A magazine to read at lunchtime (would be super boring without it)
Tiny wallet containing only a debit card and £10 note
Mobile phone (mine is tiny old style)
Calculator (very useful for my job)
zip up pouch that contains tissues, a few paracetamol, plasters, tiny pot of lipsalve and another of e45, half a tube of polos, tiny hairbrush
Work lanyard
Reading glasses/distance glasses (whichever Im not wearing)

A smartphone would replace everything in italics. Also, just leave your laptop in your locker if you're in on consecutive days. Nobody's going to find out!

Calculator and pouch of stuff can definitely be left at work. If you even need a calculator- why don’t you just use the calculator on your computer?
Why do you need two notebooks and a diary - can’t some of that information be stored on the laptop instead?
Do you read a different magazine every day or can it be left there for a few days?

Two notebooks, diary and a magazine? Add in your laptop power supply and those are a good few kilos. You should buy an iPad not a suitcase 😊

@theoccupier nice idea re smart phone but its not a solution that would work for me for various reasons.
Alas putting the laptop in the locker doesnt work as an idea because we hybrid work and need the laptop at home..........and at work.

Have a look at large wheeled pilot bags. They are quite smart and hold a lot. I use one for lugging documents and a laptop. I use a crossbody (Uniqlo) bag at the same time. Very small and neat for the bits and bobs like water, tissues, a bit of make up, well you know the kind of stuff I mean, and its easily accessible.

an ipad lol - yeah but no but. That is totally not compatible with how my work functions. And not suitable for the tasks I need to do anyway.
@Chipsweep yes various bits could be left in locker. Once Im allocated one I might try that - get into the routine of fetching and replacing the contents each day.
Notebooks, diary...... I literally write in them at various points during the day and use them in preference to using a computer for the same purpose. I wrote several pages of notes re procedure on how to do stuff today.
Magazine (a thin one) - lunch is often a solitary affair.
Smart phones.......... yes they are awesome for those who love them but just not me.