Inspired by Sarah's version of this post, I'm here to show you what's in my work bag.
My work bag! This baby is a Bison Leather Travel Tote from Duluth Tote. The design has been updated since I bought my bag, but that link will get to a bag that's almost like this one. I've had it for about a decade and it's starting to get some wear, but it's been rained on, the dog did repulsive things to it, and it's been thrown in and out of cars, so I don't think it's in terrible shape.
Here's what I pulled out:
A smaller bag that I will get into in the photo below; a hairbrush; an umbrella; two empty containers from my lunch; my wallet; business cards, a tiny notebook I am trying to contain my to-do lists in; some lotion (that I honestly need to get rid of - it irritates my eczema); and two jump drives because I'm living as if cloud storage has not been invented.
What's in the People I want to meet: 1. dogs bag?
Lip things; pens; masks; and another bag that contains feminine hygiene supplies and BandAids. I refuse to tell you how many times people have asked me for hygiene products and BandAids since I started this job just over a year ago.
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What's in your work bag?
I don't carry a bag/purse anymore, but my favorite on was a leather bag my sister bought in Italy ages ago. It stood up to all the abuse (spills, drops, squished, dragged, wtc) ,; I had the strapped fixed twice. It held everything - wallet, diapers, wipes, bandaids, scissors, pens, snacks. Unfortunately, it did not survive being in a flooded basement - I didn't realize what had a happened until too late.
ReplyDeleteHow are you getting away with no bag? Pockets? Do you just not go anywhere? I have so many questions for the no bag people!
DeleteMy phone has room for money and credit cards. Keys around my neck. I've stocked my office with things I might need, and other wise I'm never far from home.
DeleteOh, I guess it's true that a lot of phone cases have some carrying capacity. It's great that you can travel so light!
DeleteI love bags in bags!! That Duluth bag is gorgeous and such a nice size. I have a small pocketbook that has my wallet, a brush, lip products, feminine hygiene, worry stones, and pens. For work, I add on a backpack for my laptop, external camera, wireless mouse, physical notebooks, more pens, more feminine hygiene products, the key to a storage room, and my lunch.
ReplyDeleteI can fit a travel yoga mat and a laptop in my Duluth bag. I love it. If I needed a camera or something else, that would be a bridge too far and I'd have to break out my backpack, too.
DeleteI have a small purse that I use when I'm not at work. Maybe that's a post for another day. It's not nearly as tidy as my work bag!
Wait. Where's all the garbage, the random slips of paper, the loose pieces of gum that fell out of the package, the random knife? Oh wait. That's my bag. Maybe it's time to clean it out!
ReplyDeleteOh, that's all in my purse. So many random receipts and grocery lists in there.
DeleteI try to keep my work life organized, though, so this bag rarely has extraneous things in it.
I have a little bag in my bag too - it also contains lipstick, and a travel toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as a charger. I have several lipsticks in another part of my bag too and honestly I should probably cull some. I also have like four pair of sunglasses, a little bag with bandaids (no feminine products though), a wallet, keys, hand sanitizer. I usually shove a book and reading glasses in there as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of the bag inside a bag situation. It keeps me on my toes! Hand sanitizer! That's something I should add to this bag. I'm taking notes.
DeleteI only have pockets. lol
ReplyDeleteI find pockets too confusing, to be honest. Which pocket did I put my keys/wallet/name badge? The bag is actually easier on my brain.
DeleteBless you for being that person who has a bandaid for a friend in need.
ReplyDeleteMy purse has: wallet, sunglasses, airpods, eyedrops, allergy meds, chapstick, Swiss Army knife, keys, and then I have an outer pocket where I carry a couple of dog poop bags in case of emergency.
My purse is a whole different thing! Maybe I'll have to do a follow-up with my purse.
DeleteBreaking news: it's a mess in my purse.
I love this post! It reminds me of the early days of blogging circa 2005 when we'd do bag checks or refrigerator checks. So fun!
ReplyDeleteHa ha! I follow a subreddit where they post photos of the inside of their fridges and ask people to figure out what sort of person has a fridge like that.
DeleteI was going to say that handcream is my fave, sorry it exacerbates the eczema :/
ReplyDeleteYour purse is so neat and organized, Engie! I don't carry one anymore--otherwise, I'd be making notes.
This is just my work bag, though - my purse is a nightmare with lots of old grocery lists and random receipts. Maybe I'll do a different post on my purse and you'll all stop being awed by my organizational abilities.
DeleteIf I emptied my bag, well - it would remind you of that unsettling kitchen photo I posted a few weeks ago even though I'm not prepping for a tailgate in my bag. How is your bag so neat and organized? I carry an Adidas sport bag as if it were a purse. I mostly leave the bag in the car and take my zipper pouch/wallet thing in to places with me . . . wristlet, that's the word. (welcome to my daily fear of Do I have early onset dementia, or is it normal to forget everyday words?) My bag has spare contacts and solution, bandaids, mints, kleenex, plastic silverware, loads of papers that were shopping lists, or rosters from kids' games, my epi-pen thing in case I ever react to my allergy shots again, etc. I hung out at a library writing last summer while my kid was at 6 Flags. I was in the restroom when a gaggle of teenage girls came in. A girl had fallen on the sidewalk and I whipped out a bandaid for her and saved the day. ;)
ReplyDeleteIf it makes you feel better, I could not remember the word drawer (as in dresser drawer) early today and kept thinking "is it a rack? is it a box?" and literally thought that I was losing my grip with reality.
DeleteYou have children. I have a dog and a cat. I don't need mints or plastic silverware or rosters. I would definitely lose my grip with reality if I did need those things!
I am a big fan of bags inside of bags (inside of bags) except right now mine are mostly Ziplocks, as they are waterproof and flexible. However, in normal life, my purse contained a smaller bag with Advil, bandaids, extra chapstick, a pen. Other than that, I had my wallet, my Kindle, my headphones (you can tell I take public transport eh?), my lunch and maybe an umbrella if it was that time of year.
ReplyDeleteI get it! Back when I rode public transit, I always had headphones and a book/Kindle with me. You just need to be able to step out of yourself sometimes!
DeleteI have down graded my bags/purses and I usually unpack after every use so I gues it always depends where I am heading. The only thing that is going to be in there every time is my migraine medicine. It better be. And a chapstick most likely.
ReplyDeleteYour bag is in such a good shape after ten years. That is amazing. I guess good quality does that.
Egads. If I had to unpack my bag every time I used it, it would have a wallet and my phone in it and that would be it!
DeleteWell not much is in my work bag now since I'm not working at the moment...but generally, I'd carry my laptop, mouse, umbrella, wallet, work badge and a couple of essential files.
ReplyDeleteI don't bring my work laptop home very often because I refuse to work from home. It does lighten the load and simplify things a bit.
DeleteThat is a lovely bag. I have never had a work bag. I used to keep anything I might want at work...at work. So I had a hairbrush, hairspray (I know, but I can be high maintenance), lip balm, hand cream, note pads, pens, all of it. I never wanted to schlep it back and forth. I'm shocked that one would schlep it back and forth. My current purse has a tiny credit card holder, keys, lip balm, lipstick, sunglasses, and reading glasses. It's a very small purse and cannot actually hold all of that, so I sometimes have to hold my glasses or something. I have a lot of bigger purses, but I like carrying a smaller one right now for some reason.
ReplyDeleteAh, but the thing is that I am very mobile at work. Because of the nature of my work, I am asked for things like BandAids and tampons when I am nowhere near my desk, so I can't count on things in my office when students are in the computer lab and they need something. I have a lot of those same work things in my office, but the real emergencies always happen when I'm not there!
DeleteI work from home, but I have a trusty backpack that I carry everywhere when I leave the house. It contains: power crunch bar, badge, chapstick, tissues, two to three reusable bags, water bottle, (if on daycare pickup) snacks for the kids and dinner, my purse, headphones, likely a hat, phone.
ReplyDeleteBefore I worked in an office, I had an LL Bean backpack that I carried everywhere. It has traveled a lot with me and I love it!
DeleteThat's a great-looking bag. When I was working, I used to buy a very lightweight, washable beach tote with a lot of pockets. The last one I had was pretty much a woven plastic in bright pink. It weighed almost nothing. It had all the stuff you can imagine a teacher would need: grading pens, paper and binder clips, stickers (my highschoolers adored them!), my date stamp and inkpad, gradebook (yes, I kept one even when we went to computerized data), and highlighters, pens, and pencils. I also kept several sizes of post-its and a legal pad. Naturally, there were always folders of papers to be graded in it.
ReplyDeleteTeachers needs are so much greater than mine are. When I taught, I had a backpack and a shoulder bag and I worked so much from home! I teach a few classes now, but they're all small and almost all the work is turned in online, so I'm not carrying physical papers around.
DeleteI LOVE that bag-- it's one of those rare peices that looks BETTER with age-- perfect! Also, I love all of your purple pens
ReplyDeletePurple is my favorite color! If a pen isn't purple, I don't need it in my life.
DeleteI have 1 bag that I use all the time except when I travel. When I travel I have a very small purse that I can cram into my back pack to get down to 2 items when boarding a plane. But in my main bag, I have a wallet, chapstick, lipstick, a small container of tylenol, sunglasses, and kleenex.
ReplyDeleteWhen I used to travel, I had a backpack system that always included a clutch for when I arrived at my destination. But will I ever travel again? Eh. It sounds exhausting.
DeleteI've bought that People I LIke: Dogs design for my MIL and Eve. I love the bag! Love a slouchy leather bag. My work bag doesn't have a ton in it because I work part time in three different locations and I just can't carry that much on my shoulder right now. Mainly a seat cushion to protect my back, a fan and a giant water bottle. The rest is in my purse.
ReplyDeleteI'm basically the "mom" of our advising group, so when someone needs something, there's an assumption that it's in my bag (hence the BandAids and tampons), so that's why my work bag is so full. I guess I don't mind having that responsibility.
DeleteI don't have a work bag and I try to keep my personal bag as minimalist as possible: wallet, keys, Tide pen, little zippered pouch with Advil, a loose tampon, and my phone. I used to have a much more robust bag situations when I worked in an office, but now I don't really need all that stuff!
ReplyDeleteFrom this comment and Nicole's above, I'm realizing that I need to add Tylenol/ibuprofen and hand sanitizer to my bag for emergencies!
DeleteI rarely carry a bag bigger than a crossbody but I have some of the essentials. Do you really use all these lip colors?
ReplyDeleteAll the lip colors? LOL. Two of them are a liner and lipstick in the same color, one is a pink gloss, and one is a clear gloss. Yes, yes, friend. I use them all. Sometimes in the SAME DAY.
DeleteI've recently downsized to a much smaller bag with the barest of essentials, but forever I carried a large tote daily. Like you, I used smaller bags within the tote because who has time to be unorganized and scramble your hand in that big bag of tricks looking for a chapstick?
ReplyDeleteMy purse is definitely smaller than my work bag. I don't need nearly as much if I'm just running to the store!
DeleteI use a backpack. Every day. But... I can only put it on one shoulder, and it's heavy (sigh) and I need to consider a rolling bag.
ReplyDeleteI Am Old. Sigh, again.
Your bag is gorgeous - love how organized it is!
I used to use an LL Bean backpack religiously. Maybe I should reconsider using it instead of Duluth bag because it's so much easier to organize.
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