Bags

I am not going to admit to how many handbags I have.

I do swop them around frequently.

Always carry asthma inhaler, I have a little case with antihistamines, paracetamol, ibruprofen and migraine meds. (picture)

Then it’s the usual keys (house and car) tissues, lipgloss, prescription sunglasses, hairbrush, mobile phone, purse.

If it’s school holidays and I have the GC then out comes the larger tote bag with snacks, colouring books, pencils, water bottles and mini first aid kit.

Cross body bag contains iPhone, migraine tablets, pen, spectacles, purse, car keys, house keys, tape measure, tissues, wallet containing Oyster card, bus pass and senior rail card; pen, small case containing lipstick, perfume, eyebrow pencil, tweezers. If I am out for the day in London I also take a rucksack with an umbrella, spare pair of knickers, fan, bottle of water, emergency biscuits, cardigan.

My everyday bag is a small(ish) backpack which contains my spare specs because I'm as blind as a bat, phone, purse, card wallet, paracetamols, emery boards, hand cream, specs cleaning cloth, cloth shopping bag and keys. I like to be prepared and when I say my bag is smallish ...
I also have posher bags for high days and holidays.

NotSpaghetti

My parents were tailors too.
I'm not, but still carry one.
I've used it a lot, Oreo!

I need to know why😂

I fear I may be missing out on something😁

My bags have got bigger over the years. Sometimes I have a bag within a bag. I carry a small umbrella or parasol depending on the time of year as well as a lightweight fold-up jacket. Add to that a drinks bottle and the usual paraphernalia I honestly don’t know how men manage without a bag.

My favourite bags are Tula bags I bought on Ebay. Several are red, because I went through a phase of accessorising in red! Those are waiting in my wardrobe in case that phase returns. My current, surprisingly capacious bag is black leather. I wear it cross-body because I use a walking stick and like to have one hand free. On Friday, out for the day with DS2 and DDGS, I managed too have everything I needed in the black bag: phone, inhaler, lip balm, bulky purse containing cash, cards and driving licence (although DS was doing all the driving), spare tissues, pens (why?), eye drops, comb, sunglasses. And - what every gran should have - a 'Victorinox companion' that contains scissors, nail file, tweezers, toothpick(!) mini penknife, and a long nail that I have yet to find a use for - and it's no larger than a credit card.

Oreo
*Checking big plates will fit in my daughter's dishwasher
*Measuring the different sized armholes in sleeveless shirts, the chest, the width shoulder to shoulder etc
*Measuring the height and depth of a chair and height of a bed for my mother-in-law
*Checking the size of a gift (before I bought it as it was going to be sent abroad
*Finding out the dimensions of a glass vase (as the person I was buying for has several all more or less the same size).
*Checking that the bolt I'd ordered was OK as I was going to fit it in a non-standard way (It was fine)
*Checking that the brackets on a new curtain rail would actually fit where I wanted them (they wouldn't)
*Measuring lustre drops in an antique shop.

These were all quite recent uses.
I'm sure there are more!

This thread has reminded me of a lovely tan leather shoulder bag I used to have. On one end of the bottom of the bag was a zip. This opened up a compartment running along the base of the bag, for storing an ☔ umbrella.

I have a handbag for work, it's quite boring, £2.50 from a charity shop, so I just keep work stuff in there. Personally, I prefer backpacks!

I have a big, fake fur, luxurious, handmade black/white cat backpack from robopets.co.uk. She cost me £80.99 + P&P but is sooo gorgeous! I called her Sophie. There's a special comb and a little neck thing I bought for her, too!

I always keep my house and car keys in my jacket pocket, but everything else is in the backpack.

I carry a little magnifying glass, circular in a black plastic case that's attached to the magnifier, a pack of tissues, a small notebook/pen, I know you all might think I'm loopy, but I'm obsessed with rodents so I have a little fake fur toy mouse where you pull the tail and it whizzes along the floor, from Pets at Home! Cost me £3.00, but that's in my bag too! I've had tons of real pet rodents over the years!

Mobile, purse, small torch, small circular tin of lip balm and a small bottle of hand gel, paperback book, as I've forever got my hooter in one - also a book in my work's handbag -, driver's licence and passport, as I won't leave anything with my ID on it at home.

And anything else, like small grocery items such as a can of Coke or whatever I can shove in my jacket pockets!

Oh, and in both the handbag and backpack, there are packets of Paracetamol.

I find that Aspirin, Ibuprofen and Anadin, etc., do nothing for my menopause at all. Migravleve makes me physically sick when a migraine is already making me ill anyway, so I stick to Paracetamol!

My current day bag (since retirement) is a small Roka sling bag. It is like a Tardis - it's small and light, but currently holds the following:
phone
inhalers
tissues
wet wipes
purse
keys
brolly
portable fan
emergency medications (paracetamol, Imodium, blister plasters, elastoplast)
hand sanitiser
sunglasses
tape measure ()
lip balm
small mirror
folding tote bag
small bottle of perfume
pen
dental floss
folding comb/brush

I used to have lots of bags and changed them to match what I was wearing. Now I tend to stick to the same one unless I am going 'out out' and dressing for the occasion.

Blimey NotSpaghetti 😄 what a list, thank you for replying.
I keep one in the bits and bobs drawer in the kitchen to measure anything needed in the house but now feel one may be useful when out and about🤔I shall pop one in my bag for a few months and see what occurs.

Ha ha Oreo
I only take a small one our and about, the fabric retractable sort.
I admit that when I was working on re-doing the kitchen (and, later, a bedroom) I did take a metal retractable one out with me - which was terrific for lots of wierd and wonderful things as so much easier (except for on fabrics) being stiff! 😂

I can't tell you how many glass lamp shades I measured to get the "right" sort of dimensions for my kitchen.
...Now I'm pretty good at guessing cms up to about 70!

It has definitely saved lots of returns over the years.
Please come back and let me know if you use it!

Will do👍🏻

Tbh I can’t wait to whip it out and measure things.😃

I don`t use a handbag much these days. Going shopping I use a cross body kipling. I only take essentials, phone, tissues, c cards, loose cash, a key and perhaps a small nylon shopping bag in its own pouch

Generally I take just a cross body francle pocket bag, hand made in waxed cotton. I made several and they are very discrete. I take the above in that minus the nylon pouch

My good bags, I took a couple to the cs last week, only have 4 left now

Flippinheck

Phone in a case which has pockets for my cards, and my keys. As I’ve got older I’ve found that any bag that rests on my shoulder causes my shoulder to ache horribly so this pared down approach is from necessity.

Phone with cards and keys - that's it

I am currently using a useful raffia type bag. I keep my phone, pen, notebook, lipstick, Rescue Remedy Spray, purse, hankies in it.

Several years ago I bought a Jil Sander brown leather bag in a charity shop for 50p. It was immaculate. I used it once and put it away. I recently sold it on an online auction site and made an excellent profit.

62Granny

Oreo
You can buy an inner bag that has everything you use in it and that transfers into the bag you want to use, but I am not sure how it works if they are different shapes/ sizes.
A few things people have mentioned that I have forgotten I have in my bag:
Reading glasses😎 small hairbrush, sweetener, as I only like a certain brand.
The list goes on 🙄

Thanks 😃
It may work for some of my bags so will look into that.