I chuckled when I saw today’s Think Write Thursday prompt…write about the contents of your purse. Are you a minimalist? Or do you carry around a knapsack? And say, what’s in there, anyway? Tell us what you’ve got in your purse and why!
(I lucked out with a stunning view from my hotel this week!)
I can answer this question in several different ways; however, right now my purse leans towards minimalism. Why? Because it’s my travel purse. With all my travel in the last 14 months, most trips have been limited to my carry-on luggage: a wheel aboard suitcase & my work bag (these days a great backpack. And as airlines are trying to be stricter about carry-on bags, I need to have a purse that can easily tuck into a bag when I board the plane.
This travel purse sparks joy in my Kon Mari journey – when I commented about needing a good travel purse (months before I knew I’d be traveling all the time), my sister convinced Mom that we both needed these beautiful burgundy leather bags from across the pond – my first foray into the gorgeous Modalu England handbags. It was a lovely surprise to find this bag under the Christmas tree in December 2015.
I’m finishing up another week on the road – my 14th week of 2017 that includes travel. So, what do I keep in this travel purse? In addition to a small wallet, a quick peek inside the bag includes:
- This week, my passport since I’m finishing up a trip to Mexico
- A purple pen
- 2 phones – my work phone is pictured & my personal phone snapped this picture
- Ear buds for listening to tunes in flight and participating in conference calls that don’t stop when I’m on the road
- A small cell phone charger & cable – this credit card size one was a great promo as one of our product brands celebrated 100 years – it’s small enough to always be in a purse, no matter the size of the bag. It is helpful
- Kleenex, hand sanitizer for trying to stay healthy; throat drops to sooth incessant throat tickles; not pulled out, a small container of Motrin for headaches.
- A hairband for pulling my hair back into some semblance of ponytail or messy bun
- Burt’s Bees rose tinted lip balm for a splash of color & a lavender coconut lip balm. The lavender scent was much appreciated on Monday’s flight into Mexico – about 30 minutes before landing, the gentleman in the seat in front of me became sick – liberally applying the lip balm kept a pleasant scent closest to me until off the plane.
Work travel is going to slow down for the foreseeable future…as that happens, my other “purse-onality” will reemerge as I swap back to larger bags for day-to-day use at home. The contents of this travel bag will migrate back to the larger bag – and some items that travel in my backpack will also be in my purse as warranted: a larger cosmetic pouch (think nail file, lotion, band-aids, etc.), my Kindle, a Swell water bottle, sunglasses.
What is your purse-onality?
