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Post by DJ on May 26, 2008 20:25:02 GMT -5
My friend's wife was here while i was cleaning out my purse. I'm emptying it again because I want to wash the thing.. it's just a canvas multipocketed tote. She was somewhere between awe and horror at the things i was pulling out. I had- my keys. with a stick of ram attached to it, laser point, LED mini light, whistle, pill bottle, pocket knife, keys to apartment, dad's house, dad's condo, his ex girlfriend's house, my grandparents house, my storage locker, my mancreature's storage locker, gumball machine, luggage lock, bike lock, exexex boyfriend's house key wallet with- checkbooks, debit cards, cash, coins including a buffalo nickel, punch cards, store cards, receipt from the stuff i bought the last time i made mom dinner. i tossed receipts i didn't need anymore, scraps of paper and business cards i didn't need. my mom's key's on her lanyward with the jumpdrive attached. an airplane sized bottle of vodka which was bought, stuck in my purse, forgotten and quickly became a joke between mancreature and me but seems to horrify other people so much that i think i'm worrying them so i'm removing it NOW. a miniature first aid kit i made. my marbs, cloves, zippo mini sewing kit hand cream lip balm eye drops lipstick colour of the day rolaids hand sanitiser mini pack of kleenex tampons book to read ipod+earbuds camera altoids
it doesn't seem that weird to me but she was like. it's a tiny. full first aid kit. in your purse? a buffalo nickel? you carry a book everyone seriously don't you. i dunno. she kept raising her eyes at things. what's squalor/hoarding and what's just eccentric. i figured i find all these things handy frequently and other people are always borrowing SOMETHING from me or i'm slapping a bandaid on a kid at the park or SOMETHING ya know? and everything has little pouches and stays fairly clean and tidy. i dunno. she just kept looking in disbelief.
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Post by Fivecat on May 26, 2008 20:36:42 GMT -5
sounds alot like my own purse dj. You'll make a great grandma one day Fivecat
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Calico
New Member
Joined: October 2011
Posts: 59
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Post by Calico on May 26, 2008 22:06:31 GMT -5
Sounds like my purse and tote bag - I have about 50 % of the things you listed in my purse (multiple pouches to keep things handy), and another 20-30 % in a tote bag. The bag sometimes stays in my car. I often have things that people need, too!
I don't carry a book, though. Sometimes a magazine.
Sounds like maybe you're carrying more keys than you need to have with you.....especially the ex's and the exexex's!
My philosophy is that I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Your bag sounds normal to me.
Calico
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Post by disarray on May 26, 2008 22:30:07 GMT -5
Everything sounds useful.
Personally, I try to carry around small purses because I know if I start carrying around big purses I'll inevitably start carrying around more stuff.
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on May 26, 2008 23:27:57 GMT -5
I think there was a long thread on SqualorSurvivors last year called "What is in your purse?".
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Post by Meme on May 26, 2008 23:30:22 GMT -5
sounds normal to me. ..although I now have to take a smaller purse due to shoulder pain and also so many stores ask to either take your purse or check it after shopping- this is in Canada ---and of course, it is no longer safe to just leave it in the car and just take your money while shopping- sigh- we have an expression here that we are carrying every thing but the kitchen sink
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Post by peppermint66 on May 27, 2008 0:05:06 GMT -5
I vote sane! HEHEHE
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Post by Script on May 27, 2008 4:14:35 GMT -5
I used to carry everything but the kitchen sink in my purse. My mom called it The Filing Cabinet. I used to have ONE PURSE as my day-to-day purse, and was very resistant to taking anything else. A bad habit for sure. Maybe also squalorous and definitely a sign of my anxieties ("I have to be prepared for every contingency and I am too busy to concern myself with fashion or appearance. Life is hard and I need to outfit myself like I'm going off to The Wars"). In addition to The Purse, I also carried a matching tote bag. With extra food, underwear, first aid supplies, etc.
I now am far more conscious and selective, as I am trying to carry only what I need for specific outings. Because of fibro-shoulder-arm-wrist issues, I am very motivated.
What I have done:
*I bought a LOT of nice designer purses, some very expensive, some dirt cheap: mostly on e-bay. Some were gently used; some NWT; some NWOT: all have been wonderful
*I have a decorative basket, which I put on my long counter in the kitchen (former hot-spot)
*I am trying to retrain myself to: empty my purse every night into the above basket
*I am FORCING MYSELF to carry a different purse each day; trying to co-ordinate purse and outfit.
*I cannot believe how easy this is: with The Basket system. Not perfect, but boy-oh-boy do I see how I had this armour of excuses in the past.
Sometimes I forget something. SO WHAT? I tell myself. My family is SHOCKED by this New Me. So am I, to tell the truth.
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Post by reesa on May 27, 2008 5:20:59 GMT -5
I have a messenger bag. I try to empty it out once a week but often forget. I carry way too much in it. I can't carry purses as my gadgets don't fit- big over-ear fancy headphones, big ipod, big pda, sketchpad, pencils...and papers and stuff for work. It's like a briefcase and a purse in one
of course there's more in the thing than what I just listed...but those things are the reason I need the big bag
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moineau
New Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 57
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Post by moineau on May 27, 2008 6:20:51 GMT -5
Isn't this WHY we have handbags? DH teases me and calls my bag a trunk, but he is always pleased when I can produce a can of drink or notepad when we are out and he is in need. For me it is not wierd, it is just carrying out what I learnt at Girl Guides ( girl scout ) ALWAYS BE PREPARED! . Anyhow DJ, is best to be weird and in the right lipstick... But I do understand Script's comments about anxieties. Great going Script in finding a solution for yourself. Moineau Modified to check spelling, *** perfectionism, in future I will try to leave and accept my mistakes.
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Post by ramatama on May 27, 2008 8:06:08 GMT -5
Isn't this WHY we have handbags? For me it is not wierd, it is just carrying out what I learnt at Girl Guides ( girl scout ) ALWAYS BE PREPARED! . .. is best to be weird and in the right lipstick... But I do understand Script's comments about anxieties... yes!!! exactly!!! I too have several small nylon zipper bags to hold things similar to what you all have described "for just in case". Now I just have to move these and wallet to whichever bag i plan to use.
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Post by mouse on May 27, 2008 8:34:20 GMT -5
I tend to carry everything and the kitchen sink in my purse as well, but I've been trying to limit that lately. Mostly I carry books, but I also have my notebooks, a pocket knife, my keys, my bus pass, my work cards, three sets of keys (my home keys, my "car" keys, and my downstairs neighbours' keys). I also have a collapsible umbrella, tape (don't ask), a measuring tape, all my headache meds, and usually whatever I've shoved in there lately that I haven't had time to remove (drink bottles, paper, assorted bits of whatever). For a while I had a MagLite in there too. In my case it's half-squalor, half-eccentricity. Your purse sounds reasonable next to mine (love the first aid kit idea, but then I'm weird), but I may not be the right judge of that. ~Mouse
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Post by glowworm on May 27, 2008 8:56:54 GMT -5
It's definitely not wierd. You are not in the minority.
I don't carry a lot of things in my purse. Only bare minimum items like cell phone, keys, wallet, chap stick. Most women look at my purse with the horrified expression you describe, and say: "But ... but ... but ... where is the rest of your STUFF?!"
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Post by hypatia on May 27, 2008 9:01:34 GMT -5
I usually don't carry a purse, though I guess you can substitute "diaper bag" for purse at this phase in my life. But it sounds within the realm of normal to me. And I always have a book with me, I can't stand being stuck somewhere without one! Even if it's just for when both of the kids have fallen asleep in the car when we're driving back from visiting friends, there's always at least one book floating around in my bag or car.
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Post by Rennie Ellen on May 27, 2008 12:18:03 GMT -5
Script, I used to carry everything but the kitchen sink in my purse. My mom called it The Filing Cabinet. I used to have ONE PURSE as my day-to-day purse, and was very resistant to taking anything else. A bad habit for sure. Maybe also squalorous and definitely a sign of my anxieties ("I have to be prepared for every contingency and I am too busy to concern myself with fashion or appearance. Life is hard and I need to outfit myself like I'm going off to The Wars"). ! Sometimes I do feel when I go out, I have to prepare like I'm going to war. My purse is one of those totes that say "Home Sweet Home" with stitchery-like homey things on it. I got it for volunteering at the hospital's "$5 an item" sale (it was one of the items selling for $5). I do have a mini-first aid kit I made myself. I have bandages, gauze pads, antibiotic cream, hand sanitizer, Wet Ones, and hand lotion. It all fits in a pink bag I won at a hat contest for a breast cancer fundraiser (I was 4th runner-up). I know it's leftover from my Mom days (when it seemed like every day my daughter skinned, scraped, or found some other creative way to get injured). The other day I was at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society office when a girl banged her little toe on the desk leg (going barefoot) and it was really bleeding! I whipped out some gauze pads and a Band-Aid and the girls were saying, "Wow! You're SO prepared!" It's a Mom thing....and also because I've been in the hospital so much in the past. It's good to have my word search book with me when waiting to see the doctor. My purse also has my wallet, my sunglasses, a portable holder that has my checkbook, calculator, pens, pocket tissues, nail clippers and files, a small bottle of Tylenol/Arthritis Pain, my migraine meds, and a travel size bottle of body spray. My purse also carries two portable photo albums -- one of my daughter, the other of Angel -- and a word search book. The purse has a zippered pocket on one side that has a small Bible and the other is an open pocket side that closes with a snap button where I can carry paperwork for various appointments. And it looks pretty. I don't own any other purses.
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