1. Wallet. The most important thing you need is your wallet with money, IDs and credit cards. Ok so my wallet is quite big. Maybe its time to change to a smaller one.

2. Keys. - House and car keys and office keys too. No keys- no car to drive, no keys- no house to get into!

3. Tissues. The most important thing needed to catch a runny nose or cleaning up spills or food that kids spit out. These days the tissue is more for myself with allergies giving me the sneeze and runny nose. But most importantly tissues are to wipe our mouth after a meal.

4. Hand phone. For many of us, it’s the most important thing after our wallet. The device that keeps all the important numbers, appointments, to-do-list (cause our mummy brain can't retain much information) and who are we kidding? the most important of all YouTube or Apps that keep our kids busy when we are trying to do something.

5. Face Mask. Protect ourselves as well as protect your loved ones by having your mask in hand at all times. Never know when you might need it.

6. Note book and pen. When you are on the go and rushing from house to meetings, you need a note book and a pen to write down notes or reminder during the meeting.

7. Water bottle. So this is the bulkiest and the heaviest thing I will have in the bag. But I can't live without water!!!!! And water is essential for your health and I'm a guzzler. 

8. Sunglasses. The main reason for wearing sunglasses is to protect our eyes from ultraviolet (UV) light, but we know the actual truth is to look fashionable or to hide our eye bags for all the sleepless nights taking care of children.

9. Business cards/ Name cards. We hardly give namecards these days but for some business meetings it is still a courtesy to give it out, so always have it ready at hand cause you never know when you might need to give it out.

10. Loyalty cards. We have so many of these loyalty cards. From Starbucks cards to all the cards we have signed up with brand shops to get our discounts. I keep them in the cardholder so that it doesn't make my wallet bulky and also it's easier to find them all in one place.

11. Wipes. One thing we can't seem to go with out these days because it is super convenient to clean! Be it kids dirty hands (coz they refuse to wash their hands!) or even wipe down surfaces or smudges.

12. Scrunchy and Hair ties. We always need a hair tie, be it when the weather is hot and we need to put up our hair so that food doesn't get on it. Or just to tie up our hair when we are having a 'bad hair day'. Or even when you have no time to wash your hair yet!

13. Lipstick and lip gloss. Always to have it in hand just to give ourselves a fresh look and a bit of color so that we don't look too tired.

14. Gums and mints. Something to keep us awake if we had those late nights caring for kids or just a burst of sugar is good sometimes.

16. Dental Floss. As I get older, more food gets trap in between the teeth but its also important to take care of our gums. I always believe in a good dental floss, coz some floss don't glide smoothly or keeps breaking.

17. Hand Sanitizer. We cannot be too clean these days. And everything in public is yucky and covered with germs. What more kids touch everything and what better way to keep those hands clean with hand sanitizer.

18. Plasters or band-aid. You never know when you’re going to need to remedy a cut or scrape. Kids think that colorful and cute band-aid will remedy everything, so it’s good to keep them on hand just to avoid having to hear loud cries.

19. Lotion. All that sanitizer can dry our beautifully manicured hands (let’s pretend we have beautifully manicured hands, shall we?) so lotion is a must. What’s more, it can be used to tame flyaway hairs and soothe chapped skin.

20. Tape Measure. Never know when you need to pull out the tape measure during meetings to do some calculations on drawings and designs.

After looking at the list above on what's in my purse, I have a total of 18 items and honestly the above is the bare minimum of items that I need. I like to use a bag insert to organize what's in my purse. For one it's easy for me to change my handbags to match my outfit of the day. For another, I can see if I have forgotten something (as that compartment will be empty). 

I also love using pouches for all the small things. Not only does it keep it in one place but I know I won't need to rummage through my bag just to look for the band-aid or chewing gum.

For you ladies out there who carries too much stuff, maybe it's time to

re-evaluate what you carry in your purse. Maybe you don't need that much, or maybe some stuff can be left in the car instead of carrying it in your bag.

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of carrying less things in your purse. It seems the lighter we are on our feet and you have everything you need and no more, it's an incredible feeling. With an organized and downsized bag, it just shows that you are ever ready to seize the day.

Let me know on how much things you have in your bag or is your bag very heavy? I am also interested to know what other mothers' carry in their bag. For those of you who did manage spring clean inside your bag, comment below on how you did it, cause sharing is caring!!

 

Till our next article, Bag in, Bag out!