Handbag contents

This topic made me smile and realise how much my needs have changed over the years.

When I was youner I rarely carried a handbag at all, just my purse in my hand. I didn't wear makeup so didn't need to refresh it, and no mobile phones back then.

But now.... my very capacious bag contains a large purse with all the necessary plastic cards etc; mobile phone; house keys; spare car keys; small notebook; a pen; a comb; asthma inhaler and spacer; Paracetamol; protective underwear and spare knickers (I have IBS-D); Imodium Instants; baby wipes; Sanex hand gel; lots of tissues; a tape measure (just in case I see some fabric I like); my camera; a small penknife and a compact umbrella. I use the same bag whether I'm shopping or out for an evening - no small clutch bags for me sadly!

Sunglasses, large clutch bag sized wallet, sweeteners, bag of Werthers, tape measure, phone, house keys, car fob thingy, spare Tena, pop socks for emergency shoe trying on, pen, multi tool thingy for screwdrivering, sawing etc, 2 folding shopping bags, a letter I forgot to post, and a cereal bar for emergency starvation moments.

It’s a big bag ?

Survival essentials phone, credit card, tissues ,shopping list, two sets of spectacles, shopping trolley coins.Less is more as dislike having to' fumble'.

years ago mine always contained make up, perfume, tampons, tissues, condoms, spare knickers , cigs, lighters, painkillers, money and keys, phone, mints.

Now it consists of money, keys, phone, painkillers , medication, stomach tablets, some make up , Tena liners, spare knickers, no cigs or lighters yay

I carry a very small handbag in the daytime as I can't be doing with a heavy one. It just has keys, purse with cards, driving licence, NT card , Boots card etc plus some cash, an address book, mobile phone, paracetamol, prescription tablets, one lipstick & a biro. If DH & I go out together in the evening, I don't take a bag but use his pockets for the essentials - I don't need money then as he'll take a wallet so just mobile & lipstick then.

Just tipped the contents or my bag out, so here goes:-

Purse, tissues, keys, husbands blue badge pass, lipstick, hand cream, lens wipes, oh and a tube of cough drops, where did they come from - not had a cough for years!

Purse with all cards/any money, bus pass, screwdriver, asthma inhaler, morphine tablets, ibuprofen, 2 large shopping bags, huge hook to hang everything off the back of wheelchair, book or kindle, old receipts, mobile phone, 2 pens, rocketbook

I've cured myself of handbags, that is most of the time. With my knee probs and 1 leg quite a bit shorter (accident) - carrying a big handbag = even more stress and unbalance. I do take a small bag for special events, with very little in it, tissues, small hairbrush and lippy and a small bottle of perfume. And if I travel, I have a small leather backpack- so weight is equally distributed on shoulders- again with essential only- purse with credit cards and small amount of cash (I live with 3 purses all the time, 1 for Switzerland, 1 for France and 1 for UK ...) driver's licence and Swiss identity card, tissues, lip balm and lippy and small hairbrush. Done.

These posts got me thinking back to the 70s. I lived in Belfast and we had our bags searched at security checkpoints when entering the city centre. So embarrassing! Albeit necessary at the time.

I forgot to mention that I have recently started carrying a folding hook to clip on tables and hang handbag on. This is since a friend had her bag stolen from beneath her table without her noticing! No good for evening clutch of course.

My large beige handbag contains purse, cheque book, two A-Z map books of Notts and Derbys, tissues, pix of hairstyles to inspire hairdresser, driving licence, mini nail clippers and shoe horn (from Christmas crackers), pen, diary, small inner bag of mini towels, hand wipes, hook to hang said bag from table - rarely used.
It's very smart but weighs a ton.

When my Dear Mum was younger and was able to engage with all the family and to go out with us, we all joked with her about "Granny's Disaster Bag". Whatever happened, DM had something in her (capacious!) bag, to resolve the problem, or to at least deal with the problem temporarily. Decades later, I now carry that sort of bag....

I like to wear my 30 years old men's biker jacket. Loads of inside pockets so no need for a handbag

Love this post/thread.
I too am cured of handbags and rarely carry one, I just have my phone with cards inside it. I will stick a tissue and a lippy in my pocket if I’m going out ?

Until I reached Happysexagenarian's post, I was thinking I was the only person in the world who never left home without Imodium Instants!

So those, along with nail clippers and tweezers are my "must have" items, beside phone and bank card.

Given free reign, I would fill a postman's sack and lug it around with me, but I have had to dumb it down quite a lot.

Here you go HurdyGurdy

Unbelievable.
Probably only in America.
???

It could catch on with off duty Santas

Hurdygurdy ?

I have a cosmetic bag to keep mobile phone, tissues, pen, bottle of water, polo mints, mini first aid, earplugs, cash and cards in wallet, scarf and either sunglasses or fold-up umbrella. This little bag I transfer from handbag to handbag when I want to ring the changes.

No handbag for me, wear trousers most of the time.
Just a purse in one pocket containing cash, cards, keys and migraine pills. Phone in the other pocket. Avoids worry of leaving bag somewhere or having it stolen.

So reassuring to read all the posts! Now my handbag has in it, handgel asthma inhaler, tissues, paracetamol, gaviscon, strepsils, lipstick and eyeliner and keys various of course!. I wear this tomb across my shoulders these days!!

I too have an organiser bag that I can swap between handbags. It contains an eye shadow palette, 2 lipsticks and a lip balm, mascara, small notebook, 2 pens and a pencil, an ordinary comb and a nit comb, a paper bag, a cotton wool pad, a wet wipe (L'Occitane no less- a free sample from a factory tour!), an emery board, a tiny mirror compact from a cracker, a hairband, several plasters of different sizes, Rennies, Cetirizine and thyroxine tablets, nail scissors, clippers, tweezers, Swiss Army knife, mini torch, plastic cutlery, watch, earbuds, playing cards, sweets, sugar cubes, salt sachet, Vaseline, Ventolin inhaler, Sellotape, tissues, old receipts and business cards from restaurants we visited, spare batteries for the camera and of course my wallet with all my cards and a few coins.
As well as all that I have 2 fold-up shopping bags and my camera in the handbag itself and a spare pair of knickers in the zip pocket. I bet you wish you'd never asked now!
It is what my DDs used to call my 'Mum-bag' before they became Mums themselves!

Transfer bag is great idea.

What a wonderful thread reading all about other peoples bags. I haven't had a clear out in ages, so this is what I've just found - Purse containing money, debit/credit cards, NT cards, too many loyalty cards etc; car keys, house keys, paper hankies, small make up bag containing lipstick, eye shadow, mascara, etc; spare lille pads and spare knickers, various types of pills, mobile phone, wet wipes, hair brush, hand cream, address book, various sweets and sweet wrappers, and lots of fluff! Time for a sort out I think. Do men carry all this stuff with them?