Carrying Baggage

For a while now I've been carrying around a purple leather hobo kinda style carryall bag. Its lovely and I love it, but it's been getting fuller and fuller. Then I read an article which mentioned that the average handbag weighs approx. 2.7 kilos. Which really is a lot, when you think about it.

I decided to downsize. I got up on a chair to drag down my handbag box from the top of the wardrobe, which totally didnt work as it weighs a ton and i couldnt blah blah- the point is, I had to scourge around in the box while it was up above my head and I couldnt see in. But I made my choice, and pulled out an old leather dark brown saddlebag with a long strap. This proved to be an inspired choice cos it has a long satchel strap and is approx 1/3 the size of the purple bag. I sat down to do the Bag Change-over. Heres what I was carrying:

• Pink mini Filofax
• Camera
• Phone
• Sunglasses
• Waterbottles X 2 (one 500ml, the other 750ml)
• Purse
• Sample of Zyrtec (hayfever can strike at any time)
• panadol
  
• Hankerchief
• Ventolin
• Ipod
• Prince CD
• Hand Gel
  
• Ipod cable
• Sunglasses case
• notebook
• pen
• 3 Lip glosses (Kiehls no. 1, Stila Starfruit and Nars Babe, if you're interested)
• jewellery bag (just small)
• Sample of Jurlique hand cream
• dermaid
• 1 tampon
• keys

Sick of reading that yet? There was also 2 hairties and several bobby pins. And that list doesnt include a few receipts and a torn up metcard.

GOD I carry a lot of stuff. No wonder my shoulders hurt- no wonder I cant shop all day without starting to feel tired and cranky. I divided up the stuff into Necessary and Stupid piles, then put everything necessary into the new bag. It was hard cos some stuff IS necessary but still stupid. Like who needs Zyrtec AND panadol? But what if I need it? I dont bother to put my sunnies in their case, so do I really need to carry it around?
Anyway, I took the basics (purse keys phone) added a couple of lipglosses, ipod, sunnies and hanky and I was set. My small water bottle still fits in, too. And I can carry it slung over me soooo easily. The best thing- I havent missed ANY of the stuff I took out. It has only been a couple of days though, I assume sooner or later I will need notebook, camera etc. But its giving my shoulders a rest.

Wondering now how I'm going to manage a magazine? Bah its a long weekend I'll be right for a few more days. But if you are experiencing sore shoulders and heavy bag syndrome- downsize for a while til you recover your strength. I think a lot of women carry so much stuff around so they are prepared for almost anything, but a lot of the time its really not necessary- you can always buy some panadol or borrow someones pen.