I carry a bag until it dies. It's mostly for work or if I'm going to need sheetmusic. The rest of the time I can fit my wallet, phone, shuffle, keys and an eye/lip/cheek pencil in whatever jeans or cargo shorts I am currently wearing to death.

Purse-wise I have a silver evening bag and a blue evening bag. I used to have a black evening bag but my friend never gave it back. I've had them for years and years and years.

And I agree with Beverly about the pockets thing. Well, I've thought the same thought many times.

I carry a bag until it dies

Oh, I'll carry a bag from behind its grave. Ditto for clothing. I try to get rid of this habit, though, but I'm just very loyal to my stuff, you know?

Am. So. Tired.

I've got three,

Three in the carry on suitcase, one to wear. It would be one less, but I'm not sure I will be able to wear one for long because the heel is so high.

< delurk >

How do people really have that much stuff to carry? I've always wondered. As a guy, I deal entirely in pockets, and carry phone/wallet/keys and very little else. Occasionally, a DS (my pokemons. let me show you them), but really I cannot understand the Must Be Prepared for 5 Billion Eventualities mindset.

(Yes, I understand the ladies' need for small maintenance items. It's a general rant, and thus not meant to be collided with logic, although perhaps they'll do that experiment at the LHC when it opens in a week and see what strange logic particles are formed.)

< relurk >

Edit: I kept meaning to have something to Natter and do Nilly's "make an equation out of the post number" game on it, but when I finally do, it's a slutty number and thus really easy. 6*0=0

also, I do this same thing all the time with addresses, mile markers, and pretty much any other sequences of numbers.

As a guy, I deal entirely in pockets, and carry phone/wallet/keys and very little else.

I've had more than a few periods where relying on pockets alone was tricky. These days I manage by being very planny about what I'm doing and where I'm going.

Once I was a pockets-only girl.

And then came the army, and there were no actual pockets in the uniforms (except for in the coat, but given my country's climate, we only use it about 2-3 months every year), so I had to adjust. Plus, I got my grown-ups wallet then, and it doesn't fit any pocket (maybe to marsupial ones', but I'm not one, last time I checked).

Plus, you know, books. And music.

Well, for one thing, my pockets as a girl tend to be smaller than those a guy gets. So even my keys don't tend to fit (I have four house keys (two building keys, one door key, and a mailbox key) a car key, and a beepy car thing). Those won't fit in a jeans pocket unless they're dangling out. Girl jeans fit different than boy jeans. Now, if I'm carrying a jacket, that's different, but in the summer?

And that's before you get into the fact that my phone is not a Razr, it's a big PDA type one.

So generally, if I'm walking around town? I carry a bag (though not always a purse-type bag, usually a backpack or messenger type bag). (And if I'm already carrying a bag for the keys and phone, then I'll put in the iPod, the little thing with my migraine meds, some chapstick, a pen, my whole bulky wallet, maybe a book, some gum, eyedrops if I've got my contacts in, sunglasses...a notebook if it's a big bag...who knows?)

But if I'm going out at night, I'll often walk, so I can just take the house keys, and not take the whole wallet, and Seattle is cool enough that I can justify a jacket, to have more pockets, or I won't take the phone, so I can just have ID and cash in a back pocket, chapstick in a front pocket, and keys in another one. Maybe an iPod and cellphone in a jacket pocket if I'm carrying a jacket.

There are some necessities that I just won't do without:

Wallet
Phone
Keys
Book
Inhaler
at least 2 Lipsticks
Burt's Bees lip color (chapstick and color all in one!)
Powder Compact
Oil Blotting Papers
Mints and Listerine Pocket thingys
Immodium (I'm never w/o that stuff)
Tylenol
Extra daily meds
Manicure set (I hate not having clippers and a nail file)
Extra tampons
Pens

During the school year I also have my flash drive on me all the time and usually a script or two.

Now, if I'm going out for a fancy-ish evening, I pare that down to phone, ID, cash, keys, and lipstick. So they can fit in my little evening bags.

I can break someone's wrist with my handbag. I consider that useful.

The things in my handbag currently:

Keys
2 small notebooks (1 of which is a Moleskein calendar)
Fountain pen
Flash drive
Cell phone
iPod and carrying case with headphones
Compact of translucent powder
2 lipsticks, 1 lipliner
Nail file
Pill case with Aleve
Handkerchief
Wallet
Card case with GCS business cards
Little metal case that holds my vampire fangs (yes, I carry them in my handbag. They amuse me)
Good luck charm

Believe it or not, that is *less* stuff than I used to carry.

Rolled shawl
my checkbook
cash & coin purse
card wallet
zip bag 1: 2 lipsticks, 2 tiny teddy bears, a moss agate pendulum in a velvet bag, emery boards
zip bag 2: tylenol, sufedrine, benadryl, sewing kit, metal tape measure, magnet, magnifying glass, mirror, floss, lip balm
zip bag 3: hand cream, comb
zip bag 4: a larger bag containing smaller zip bags
a. Aleve, foot cream, joint anagesic, bandaids
b. nano, the good ear buds
c. manicure tools, little swiss army knife
d. leather cigarette case containing phone charger
Also, notes, directions, phone numbers
Hard eyeglass case
Book
checkbook for Mom's account
floss leaders for bridgework
spiral notebook
pens
notepad
tissues
phone
pillbox for daily meds
keys (upstairs and downstairs doors, 2 cars, truck)
mini-maglite
foam cozy for waterbottle