what's in my handbag?

Yesterday Andrew wrote about the possibility of acquiring a man bag to carry various personal items including pocket sized antibacterial gel.
This product was new to him, but he sees the merits of carrying some at all times. I think man bags are an excellent idea.
Andrew then asked, what do women usually carry in their handbags?
Several commenters mentioned their contents, I decided to turn this into a blog post. 

 I emptied my current bag onto the coffee table and took photos.

This is the stuff that hides in the small zippered pocket.
A comb, bandaids, safety pins, spare usb, nail file, lens cleaner wipes, the stronger migraine tablets, and a spare camera battery. There's usually a tape measure in there too, I'd better find that and put it back in there.

This surprisingly small pile of goodies is divided between the three main pockets. 
There's a few things missing here too.
A notebook, pocket pack of tissues, hankies, and the purse sized antibacterial gel. 
Well, the tissues and gel got used up and need to be replaced, the hankies are only carried in case I need to wet something to wash a bloody knee if I fall over or whatever. I wash them weekly even if they haven't been used because if you carry them too long they get a stale smell to them.

So here we have my kindle, a pen, a rolled up black shopping bag, purse, keys, bus ticket folder, inhaler, ipod shuffle, (one of the long skinny originals), phone, toothbrush, strawberry chap stick and lip butter, a bus timetable, one of my cameras, regular panadol and antihistamine.

Now and again other bits get tossed in, but they're not permanent inhabitants, being added or discarded as needed.

Dark chocolate & Cherry flavoured lip butter. yum!!

My key chain has a mini Yoda, Serenity, the spaceship from Firefly, and a Stargate.

What's in your handbag?
What's on your key chain?




Comments

  1. Hi River,

    I have nothing in my handbag - because I don't have a handbag.

    However, I do have a rucksack - that I suppose is a "man bag" - that I take to work every day (and on holiday).

    It contains my work laptop, all the leads and cables that go with it, a mouse, a Kindle, mints, chewing gum, pens, a notepad, various chargers, work mobile phone, tissues and that's about it.

    Mrs PM handbag on the other hand has more stuff it in than exists in Britain - or so it seems when I go searching for her car keys in there.

    :0)

    Cheers

    PM

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  2. What's in my handbag?, Don't have a handbag. All i need are car/unit keys, wallet and mobile phone, i like to travel light.
    What's on my key chain?, Keys!.

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  3. Most women I know must be secretly afraid of the apocalyse ... that's the only explanation for the vast amounts of random stuff that just might come in handy one day!!!

    Pilchard loudly and proudly NEVER carries a bag ... but my rucksack (like PM I don't have a handbag, as such) seems to often contain his glasses, wallet, keys, notebook, pen, tissues and sometimes binoculars!!!

    My keychain has a 'Goddess' rubber grip!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. My shoulder bag contains bus time tables, at least one book, several pens, wallet, keys, phone, pain killers of varying strength, tissues, pens, receipts I have tossed in their, dust, and (if I have left it on the floor) an acorn shell Jewel has secreted in there to hide it from Jazz. I am sure I have forgotten things as well. Sometimes a camera. Sometimes an additional shopping bag. Far too much really.

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  5. You're carrying your house around with you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My purse contains only my wallet and is used when I don't have a pocket to carry my wallet. My keys live in a pocket,too, unless they are on my desk because we have no where to go.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love your keychain!

    My mainstays are my purse, a bottle of water, lipbalm and some trail mix. Anything extra goes in another zipped purse than I interchange in bags.

    You are very well prepared:)

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  8. My hubby Rob does not have a wallet, let alone a manbag. I provide him with antihistamines, painkiller, mobilephone, tissue papers, nailclips, safety pins, bandaid etc. Hmmm, I AM his manbag.

    ReplyDelete
  9. How very modern, carrying around a memory stick. I have two sets of keys, one home set with a door key, mail box key, car remote and building remote. My work set has a few keys, and another remote for the work car park gate.

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  10. Plasman; doesn't it get awfully heavy with all those chargers and cables etc? I've had to cut down on what I carry because of the neck arthritis and the bursitis in both shoulders.

    Windsmoke; traveling light is the sensible way to go.

    Red Nomad; so if Pilchard carried his own stuff, he'd need a bag of some sort.
    "Goddess" grip? Photo please!
    I usually have a small backpack, but it isn't waterproof, so I switched to the handbag for the winter now that I have to wait at bus tops.

    EC; I have the slight advantage of carrying many, many books in one small kindle. Otherwise our contents are similar, minus the acorn shell.

    R.H. no, just a small portion of it.

    Joanne Noragon; my current wallet doesn't fit in a pocket, it's too long. The zipper broke on the short wallet. When I'm at home my keys live in a dish by the front door, they're only in my bag when I'm coming or going.

    Sarah; I had more stuff on the keychain, but it got heavy, so I transferred half to the spare keychain. I carry water in the summer.

    drb; buy him a man bag for Christmas.There are some really nice ones out there now, not at all sissy looking. A lot of my male customers carry an over the shoulder man bag now. Smaller versions of the messenger bags, in various fabrics. One carries a distressed leather one that's gorgeous!

    Andrew; I always carry a usb. I swap them with my daughter K fairly often. She has one of mine and loads it up with stuff for me and when we meet I swap it for the empty one I'm carrying.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like the idea of carrying a spare USB. I have a satchel that I use most often to schlep about all the Stuff that I need. I have a smaller handbag that I use when all I need is purse, phone and keys.

    My satchel is large enough to fit my purse, phone, keys, iPad, tissues, lipstick, small notepad, camera, a few pens, some panadol and my son's business cards.

    No wonder my neck is often sore after a day out and about.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Handbag always contains my wallet, yearly bus/train pass, sunglasses and keys, plus:
    'Epouse' (french) meaning 'Spouse' pass to get into the UN
    Tic Tacs (the ultra strong ones)
    Fisherman's Friends (just because)
    Bandaids kept in a banker's coin bag
    Migraine and headache tablets in a tin (cos the packets disintegrate otherwise)
    Lip eze
    Tiny bottle of water (from airline meals)
    Umbrella
    Ten pack of wet ones

    ....and, usually, a chocolate bar or two!

    ReplyDelete
  13. What is in my large purse is a mystery. Because of all the room, I tend to throw more things in - but can never find anything. I do much better with a smaller version, just keeping the necessary things like keys, wallet and change purse and for some reason, I still can't find my keys. More often than not, they are in my pocket.

    ReplyDelete
  14. It took me a while to find a purse my hubs would hold for me without looking like he had a dead mouse by the tail....in it I carry my cards, check book, change purse, his cell phone, glasses and address book. That's it. The older I get the less I carry.

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  15. Susan@ Reading Upside Down; spare usbs are so handy for swapping information or music/photo files with friends and family. I used to carry a largish shoulder bag, then switched to a backpack which my doctor weighed one day. I was horrified that I'd been carrying around 10kg every day, so I switched to a smaller one and emptied out everything not absolutely necessary.

    Kath Lockett; very similar to what I carry except the umbrella is uaually in a deep jacket pocket or in my hand. I only carry water in the summer.

    Starting Over, Accepting Changes-Maybe; your large bag is a mystery? Tip it out and have yourself a treasure hunt! May I suggest searching your pockets FIRST next time you can't find your keys?

    Delores; I carry much less now too. You won't find snacks, colouring books, pencils, miniature toys and other such kid paraphernalia in there anymore. Just the essentials.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have the same SG gate key yoke lol.
    In my bag (sometimes a handbag, more often a NY waterproof bag I got when I was on hols with my daughter in the early 2000's, is:
    kindle
    large notebook
    wallet
    pen
    tobacco
    lighter
    phone
    keys
    spare set of glasses
    The keys and phone reside on desk when at home, with keys hanging from a hook by the front door (as I have forgotten keys a couple of times and landlord is nice, but it gets annoying after a while if I call and say "um, can I borrow the spare set of keys you have as I left mine inside...AGAIN!". :)

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  17. Do you still have the same email address? If not, send me an email and I'll send you a 'Goddess' grip photo!!

    ReplyDelete

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