Monday, July 19, 2010

Five Things in Any Woman's Handbag

We're in the last two weeks of this incarnation of the Answer Girl blog, so I'm taking requests. Any lists you'd like me to include that I haven't gotten to yet?

This is my own laziness, as much as any generous impulse. In the absence of my own ideas this morning, I threw it out to my Facebook friends, and have already gotten several excellent suggestions. This one came from my friend Ann Marie, who is much better at all things feminine than I am — so Ann Marie, please add your own items in the comments section.

1. Wallet or Billfold. Women have big, unwieldy wallets. I had a great red one that was a gift from my friend Maeve, and I stuffed so much in it, over a period of years, that it eventually came apart. I've since replaced it with a much smaller black one, in an effort to be more efficient/less packratty, but it's just as bulging.

2. Sunglasses. At the moment, I can't find mine, which is why I often carry more than one pair. I can't find any of them right now.

3. Keys. I have a giant black shoulder bag that was a gift from my friend Karen, who gets fed up at how shabby I allow my bags to get. I am very grateful for friends who pay more attention to this stuff than I do. The size of the bag, however, means that my keys always plunge to the bottom, so I'm perpetually looking for them. My sister Kathy addresses this problem by keeping her keys on a cluster of key rings, so that the bundle of key rings is always the largest thing in her purse.

4. Lipstick and lip balm. Not the same thing, and you do need both, especially in winter. In wintertime I am constantly thinking I've run out of Chapstick, and buying more, or throwing an extra one into my bag because I couldn't find the last one. At any given time in winter, my bag may hold up to five tubes of lip balm.

5. Pens. I don't always have paper (though I usually carry a hard-sided notebook), but I always have pens. They need to be replenished periodically, since I lend them out and leave them places.

And what else? To be perfectly honest, this list would need to be at least 12 items long . . .

9 comments:

Claire said...

Other things that are always in my purse: Cellphone, comb, mirror, powder/concealer, nail file. (I cannot concentrate on anything if one of my nails is chipped or raggedy because it catches on everything and drives me insane.)

Jennifer Lechner said...

I have Mom things-applesauce, juice boxes, wipes, Matchbox cars, crayons. Glamorous, right?

Unknown said...

I can not imagine how much junk I would be toting around if I had a handbag but it would likely include a dry pair of socks, antacids, tick removal kit, CPR mouthgard tube, Computer thumb drives, change of underwear, folding knife AND a leatherman

Anonymous said...

I am never without my green gum - Extra Spearmint..to the point that all my bags smell like it. Just like Mom's always smelled like spearmint Life Savers.

And you're right about needing lipstick/lipgloss AND chapstick. I always have both - usually more than one kind of each.

Susan

Karen Olson said...

Hand sanitizer for after my bus commute.

A small thing of Kleenex.

Small bottle of Advil.

Jack said...

I suggest one of these.

Ellen Clair Lamb said...

I'd blow off a finger while hunting for my keys.

Anonymous said...

Ack! Mom's purses always smelled like Pep-O-Mint, not spearmint life savers...the kind in the blue roll. It's all coming back to me now.

Also, I'm never without my iPod and something to read. You never know when you'll get stuck with no distractions from the thoughts in your head. Not a good idea for me. :)
Susan

Anonymous said...

I agree with Claire about the nail file, you can't do anything when your nails aren't right.

I still carry my keys on a bunch of key rings. I now have two sets, but sometimes I still can't find them.

A must in the winter is hand lotion.

Kathy