Haha, but it seems that I have a lot more stuff than most people! I have pens, pencils, a highlighter, an eraser, my wallet, cellphone, a bottle of lotion, an extra handkerchief, a pill bottle, pocketknife, cough drops, hand sanitizer, and usually a book of at least 150 pages. And sometimes a CD player as well. I wonder why my shoulders don’t hurt!

I think I’d add a number 11: don’t carry personal pictures (especially not in your wallet, where anybody can get a good long look whenever you pull it out in a line to pay). The goal is to keep the private information you share inadvertently to a minimum. So if you absolutely need to have pictures of kids/spouse/whoever with you, I think it may be smarter safety-wise to keep them in one of those ‘brag-book’ thingies or a separate envelope, where you can easily pull them out to look at or show off whenever you like –without giving out the information that you have kids, that you’re attached, etc. Or there’s the modern options like using the picture-storing capabilities of an electronic gadget such as some cellphones and PDAs or many music players. Neither solution helps in case you lose your purse or get it stolen, but at least you skip the next-person-inline scenario!

Also: carry a small purse! It makes it much easier to hold onto it at all times if it’s small and light, as well as it being harder to get stolen off of you. If you have a really regular routine (ie you work at a specific place with stable hours, use your car everyday, etc), you’re in luck, because you only need to carry the very basics; no need to tote makeup and food and all the rest of it, ’cause you can just leave these items in the car/work drawer and use them before leaving! (It’s if you’re very mobile that you need to carry more items, but there’s still a lot of ways to keep the bag real small without sacrificing your creature comforts!)

Nice blog!

My 5 pocket jeans carry enough – wallet, comb, lipstick and gloss on a stick, keys, small tape measure (house under going construction for past year), and pocket knife. Also occasional other items as needed. All the ‘extras’ I carry in the car – spare glasses, meds, etc.

Nicole: The lip gloss is indeed laughable. So are the tampons (you wouldn’t believe the email I get about tampons). Anyhoo, since the gloss was all buried under my bills, I had no idea it was there. Also, most of lippy containers are empty. I bet I’m not the only gal with gloss issues though.