Willful tie-ups and tag-alongs

This post - Does Your Handbag Show a Simple, Green, & Frugal Life? - inspired me to think more about what I carry around - or what I don't carry around - with me.

There isn't any one item that I always have in my pocket or in a bag. Seriously. Not even identification. Not even house keys. Much to my husband's frustration.

What do I carry around?

First of all, I have too many handbags. I tend to favor large handbags, to the extent that friends occasionally make fun of me and my "overnight bags", to the extent that I have been referred to as Mary Poppins. In fact, any time I have purchased a smaller bag, it usually ends up being given away. My only saving grace is that I have my bags for many years.

If I carry anything beyond keys, when I have them, then I tend to go to the extreme of carrying a lot. Possibilities include....

frequently

water bottle

journal

the best pen in the universe

back-up or for-borrowing-requests pen

receipts

random bits of trash or dead things I find

often

book

sketchbook

chap stick

hair pins

my digital camera

sometimes

bike chain

helmet

Sharpie marker

cell phone

light sweater

coupons

recyclable materials*

red lipstick

rarely

pencil

box of charcoal

box of crayons

paint

Robert's iPod

mascara

sunscreen

pretty much never

money

*There is one establishment around here that I know recycles. ONE. I cannot stand the idea of throwing out things unnecessarily, so I carry it home and toss it in our recycle bin. It might sound crazy or excessive, but really, it's not that big of deal. I carried the cup around when it was full of tea or coffee, why I can't I carry it empty?

Most of my items are actually pretty inexpensive, purchased second-hand, and/or items that I keep until it is completely unusable. So I feel pretty good about what I'm looking at here. Even if it probably makes me look like a pretentious, bookish hippie art fag.

Still, I do own a lot of stuff. I just have enough sense not to carry it all with me. One of these days we'll take a peek into my closet and my bathroom cabinet. This whole investigation has inspired me to get rid of a few of my handbags, so that's a plus, I suppose.

What do you carry around? What do you think it reflects about you? I'm always fascinated by what people have in their bags and purses. There are pictures of me as a child going through people's stuff. Old habits.

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