Bag Lady

My friends who know me, know that I have somewhat of an obsession with bags.  I'm not into the frilly stuff, it has to be functional, so mostly what I have are tote bags.

My favorites in the past have been from Baggalini, I had a larger one that housed a change of clothes that I kept in the school.  Why?  Working with people, no matter the age, puts you into contact with body fluids.  Enough said.

I used a smaller one for everyday.  The problem was it was strictly a shoulder bag, which meant it was always flying into my face when I was trying to help Mom with something, and I could never get it to stay on my shoulders, even while walking through a grocery store.  This latest bout with bronchitis clinched it, I had a bunch of medications to haul with me wherever I went, and no space to put them in.  Plus, there was no space for my iPad, which I also take with me for reading, writing and sometimes just for my sanity while I am taking Mom to doctor's appointments.  There needed to be a change.

I thought a lot about what I wanted in a purse.

The first and foremost was that it had to be a cross-body strap.  It isn't going to fall all over the place while I'm taking care of Mom.

The second, it had to hold stuff.  Now this did mean that I had to change what I carried in my purse.  I scaled it down to the essentials so I could see how much storage space I would need.  This meant that it also had to be designed to carry an iPad.

There are a lot of great products out there, but the one I found for the best price came from REI.  It's called the Endolyne bag and is designed for a woman's body contours.  Plus, it had the storage I needed, with built in organization.

I would next need an overnight bag, something that was easy to carry, but had a lot of space and organization to it.  I love the Eagle Creek bags for the inventive use of storage, so I went with the Emersen bag from Eagle Creek.

I also have specific bags assigned for different purposes.  This Time Out For Women bag I use for Church.

The Harry Potter bag is one of my preferred tote bags, and I use it for when I have to carry electronics to Mom's home or to Church.

I have also included, inside this bag, an additional bag insert known as the in.bag to help organize some of the electronics. The round object I am using to store the HDMI cord is a Cord Turtle.  Both of these organizers can be found at The Container Store.