Baggage!
8 years ago by
Recently I’ve been trying to get away with not carrying a bag on the weekends. It’s such a silly thing, but so liberating! It makes me feel like one of the boys.
It doesn’t always quite work out – life’s demands can interfere – but most of the time I can get away with stuffing my wallet, phone, and house key in my pockets (this is super easy in the winter with big coats) and then just go!
I finally realized that I hardly ever use most of the crap that I carry around, but it’s been a slow transformation. Being from LA, I was used to just hopping in the car and not having to worry about how much junk I had in tow. Now I try to get away with the smallest amount of things possible, even on the weekdays. I have built quite the collection of the teeniest, tiniest work bags you have ever seen – some are so ridiculous that I feel a bit like Derek Zoolander whipping out his miniature phone….
Have you downsized recently? If so, do you feel like you are missing out on the millions of things that you used to lug around?
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the smallest I could do is a cross over bag. this is b/c I had to do it for traveling on a plane with laptop (had to fit in my backpack). but it was nice to walk around a little more lightly, especially for taking public transpo.
otherwise in LA I am carrying a hobo bag regularly. it is probably larger than I really need but I really loved the color.
I wonder with a wallet, how do you carry tissues and lip gloss (or balm)?
Hi! I know exactly what you mean. A good solution could be a little pouch like this one that can fit in a big pocket https://www.net-a-porter.com/us/en/product/651735/Anya_Hindmarch/eyes-small-embossed-textured-leather-pouch
I too recently stopped wearing purses much of the time. I found though, that it works best in winter, when I have a sizable coat with pockets to put everything in. And even in that case, I find that my pockets get pretty crammed–even with my basic necessities, like keys, wallet, chapstick, sunglasses and sunscreen. I like the idea of not filling a back-straining bag full of unnecessary items, but I’ve reached a middle ground. Sometimes a small bag, sometimes nothing, depending on the outing. And to answer your question, I don’t miss all the junk that a purse accumulates!
Je partage totalement!
Quand je peux je sors les mains dans les poches, avec seulement mon téléphone, ma carte bleue et mes clés. J’adore!
Bon, il faut dire que le reste du temps je trimballe des couches, doudous, et autres indispensables pour deux enfants en bas âge, donc j’apprécie d’autant plus le fait de voyager léger :)
I just downsized to a tiny cross-body bag and a small wallet. In general, I like how light and tiny it is. I have to limit my credit cards and accessories but I feel tidier in general with it. But I keep wishing I had some hand-cream and tissues with me, as it’s still winter in the Midwest!
It is freeing not to have to schlep around so much stuff. Even just having your hands free (by way of a crossbody or backpack) is nice. I generally get around by bike, which has a pannier, so I just carry lipbalm, phone, keys and wallet on my body. I’m also a runner so I’ve gotten really good at carrying just the essentials with me. It’s amazing what you can fit in your sportsbra;) It is annoying however, when I’m out with the boyfriend and he asks me if I have lipbalm, or tissue, or gum… I say to him, “Do I look like a purse?!”
I kinda want a fanny pack! I think they’re the best
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Yes, it is so liberating!
Pockets in my alpaca coat in the winter do the trick, and a small clutch or pockets in the summer as well.
Except in the rare case when I’m driving, I’ve found all I need is a card, my ID, some chapstick, and find an alternative spot for my sunglasses (decolletage or breast pocket of a shirt, sometimes the good old crown of the head).
I have tried to downsize, but I still have quite a big bag. I really use the stuff in it and I also like to have some extra space in case I buy sth.
https://sofaundermapletree.wordpress.co.
I really need to do this. I am sick of carrying around my big bag and actually using only two or three items from it.
I always have a book or two in my bag, so I can’t do without it – the pockets of my coats and jackets not being big enough for carrying the books…
Je ne peux qu’abonder dans ton sens! J’adore me promener sans sac. Je me sens tellement légère. J’ai eu longtemps un gros problème avec mon porte-monnaie qui était beaucoup trop gros. J’ai résolu le problème en optant pour un modèle de la marque Secrid et depuis je ne peux plus m’en passer. Comme de mon iPhone évidemment. J’y ai tout ce dont j’ai besoin: mon livre Kindle, toutes mes cartes de fidélité numérisées grâce à l’application Stocard. Bref, je suis devenue une vraie pro dans ce domaine! ;-)
Great! ;)
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J’ai opte pour des cross body bags. J’ai appris a n’y mettre que l’essentiel mais quelle liberte dans les mouvements !
i love the idea of feeling free and liberated not only from your purse but all that we carry in it. I have been trying to do the same. I always have a handkerchief on me which seems so much easier than tissue. Lip balm can slide in anywhere. Pockets in outfits are becoming more and more a must for me. The phones and glasses are the biggest items to deal with. Maybe a clever hanging purse for just these needs to be created. Purses really are a pain to carry.
I’m currently obsessed with clutches of all sizes. One that holds mags and big books, and others that can only hold keys or lipsticks or my phone. Clutches let you feel as if you’re rolling around hands free while keeping those little important things tucked safely under arm or at the very least, in one hand.
http://brooklynchateau.blogspot.com/
I love clutches as well for the same reason! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! xx
I know exactly what you mean! it does sound ridiculous but is one of the most liberating things I have ever done! I think living in New York where everything is TOO much, we desperately look of ways to simplify everything!
At first I felt like such a New Yorker always with a tote bag, and it made me feel like a local, then I felt super cool when I started experimenting with backpacks and other formats because a normal bag wasn’t even an option anymore, and then one day I realized I was the bag lady always carrying a book, an umbrella, sunscreen, a change of shoes, and all the things you may need in New York. Yes I still can leave the house without a book, I feel naked, but I tried to be realistic… I am going to Trader Joes do I really need a book? Going to a concert, I won’t really even retouch my makeup… So there we go! Colored lip balm, cellphone, keys and I even opted for a business card case instead of a wallet, and voila! To this day is one of my favorite possessions and just by looking at it I feel so free :)
Cela parait totalement contradictoire d’essayer “d’être le plus minimaliste possible, même en semaine” et de se “constituer toute une collection de mini-sacs”…
Le but du minimaliste est de posséder moins, pas de d’avoir une excuse pour acheter plus et différent.
Another recent devotee of down-sizing here. I used to carry around a fair bit of unnecessary stuff in bags that were the size of Balenciaga Maxi Twiggy… Then, I dropped enough things to fit things into my seldom-used (because I used to carry so much with me, including a book to read and water bottle) Balenciaga Town, and other bags about the same size. That was a huge step for me, as I sued to carry nothing smaller than a massive hobo/tote.
One night, I carried my never-used (but bought, because it was so cute, and the sales staff convinced me I should have a smaller bag to use for “one day”) Balenciaga 2008 Red First – and that was the night I was convinced I could drop yet another bag size. And I did, because I’d never felt so light and free of – baggage – emotional and physical. Like a lot of your readers here, I just realised that I didn’t need all the things I liked to carry for “just-in-case”. My only needs were wallet; keys; phone; small leather pouch for Panadol and peppermint oil for sudden headaches (probably due to my previously heavy bags) and lady emergencies and trio of lipsticks – neutral, scarlet and bright orange; a small diary into which my name cards could also slide into; and pen to write. And now, after carrying by hand the Marie Turnor Lunch sized leather clutch in light tan for the past three months, I feel as unburdened mentally as I do physically. It’s really a very good feeling.
I’ll always need a clutch or very small cross body pouch/bag, as pocket-storage is never an option for me: I prefer all my things in one place, than scattered over my body (I wear really baggy, loose jeans, and always worry that things will fall out when I slouch around), or in pockets of jackets that I’m likely to forget and leave somewhere else.
I am forever trying to reduce the amount of things I carry with me but it seems like a mission impossible :D I just feel somehow “secure” when taking as much as possible with me…But it’s great that you are trying!
xo Stefanie
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