What's in my bag?? (Winter Edition)
My goal this year is to write a new post about once a week if I can (at least twice a month if things get busy) I know this is not necessary, or needed at all, blogging is not my job, I don't get paid to do it, and who knows how many people will actually read it, but it's fun! Writing is something that is creative and interesting for me to do apart from the usual things I keep up with on a daily basis, like homeschooling my 3 kiddos, cleaning, and cooking, for just a few examples. It's a hobby and it's fun for me and it's important to do fun things even when your a Mom ;)
Today I thought I'd do a really simple post and share "What's in my bag?". I always enjoy reading these posts myself! This winter I switched from carrying a traditional shoulder purse to carrying a small backpack, a 'purse backpack' if you will. Here is a pic of the one I have...
My family made a bit of fun of me at first, but I gotta tell you, I don't know if I can ever go back! Not only is it cute, it's super comfortable and light, and holds a TON if you need it to. You know when you have to bend over and help tie a shoe, or pick up a child and your shoulder bag goes BANG to the front of you and possibly takes out your child, and pulls hard on your shoulder? This doesn't happen with a back pack, you've got all range of movement and it's pretty wonderful ;) The backpack I have is real leather, and so it should hopefully last a good long while, and hold up to the wear and tear of me throwing it in my car, or dropping it on the floor ect ect :) I got it online (I get pretty much everything online as the only store in my town is wal-mart) and I waited until it went on sale and used a coupon code (woot woot). OK so what is IN it you ask? I am going to open it right now (I haven't pre organized it or anything) and take pics on my phone of the various things I find in it...here we go!
In the first outer pocket of the bag I have some trusty hand sanitizer, and some lotion. These are two things I always have in my bag wether it's winter or summer. I only use hand sanitizer on the kids or I if we are out and about and have no other way to wash our hands, but it comes in handy for those sticky or icky situations! And the lotion is because I live in Canada and if you don't have lotion your hands shrivel up and may never be the same again!
I also have my wallet, which has my debit card, drivers licence all the kids health cards, letter stamps and a bit of money, I never carry much actual cash with me. And my keys! I always leave my keys in my bag because if I take them out and don't put them right back, they are bound to get lost. This way I always know where they are when I need to lock the front door or start the car. My only key chain is a little pink turtle from our favourite island in Anna Maria Florida :)
Next I pulled out a book that my hubby Chris gave me for Christmas (it's called 'Refresh' by Shona & David Murray) I keep this in here for when I am waiting for Mia at ballet class, or for Ben at basketball, and I have a few quiet minutes to read. I don't get much quiet reading time at home, so this is just a good way to get in a little extra book time. The little book of word search puzzles serves the same purpose, I am not ashamed to admit that I literally love a good word search, and so do my kids, so it's always a good little activity to pull out if we are waiting somewhere.
Two more bottles of hand sanitizer came out next (cold and flu season, can never have too much apparently haha) as well as some tic tacs (I usually always have a package of gum, but my daughter Mia has become a gum thief lately and she usually eats it all before I can get to it now!) and the brown coil that looks like one of those snap bracelets from the 90's is one of Mia's 'bun makers' that we use to make a bun in her hair before ballet class. Have you ever used one of these? They make perfect buns in less then a minute that stay in without any bobby pins, we love them and got them on Amazon of course :)
Hand wipes, because sticky messes arise, and an emergency granola bar can ALWAYS be found in my bag if not 3 or 4. Snacks are one of the most important things I throw in my bag before we leave the house, gotta fend off those low blood sugar moments! The kids are inevitably always hungry at some point when we are out and about (and me too) also frequently found are apple sauce squeezies and boxes of raisins.
In the zip pocket on the inside of the bag I found two different lip balms (one is peppermint and one is tinted pink) and some ear buds, because you never know when you will need ear buds! The inner pocket also has some feminine emergency supplies just in case (essential) but I didn't think I needed to take a picture of those lol.
Lastly I always have a pen or two in my bag, usually I use them for taking notes at church, for the kids to doodle during a service or for those moments when someone asks 'does anyone have a pen?' :) and my sunglasses in their pouch. I used to never carry my sunglasses in a pouch, but then I scratched up the lenses on a few of my favourite pairs, so I learned my lesson and now try my best to keep them protected. Sunglasses are as important in winter as they are in summer, because on a sunny day driving into the sun while it's glaring off the snow can be super hard to drive in without some glasses!
That was it! Many times there are old receipts stuffed in my bag, or hair elastics and bobby pins. A hot wheels car can find it's way in there somehow as well as a barbie shoe or rocks that the kids find on a walk and just must keep but cannot hold themselves haha. I try not to make my bag to heavy, but it always ends up becoming a catch all, and needing a good clean out at least once a month. What are some of the essentials that you are keeping in your bag this winter? What is your favourite style of bag to carry? Let me know in the comments below!
xoxo,
Shelley