Deep Inside My Bag...

I have delayed deep-diving into my main bag for approximately 18 months as I cannot face the task of seeing what's in there.

Everything sits in my bag and I carry it round like a lump of concrete, rarely finding anything that I actually want/need but I always come across junk that I had forgotten about. I think "why I have still got this?" but instead of keeping it out, I put it back in the bag - it's madness! I convince myself I may need it - just in case....

So I decided this weekend enough was enough and I tipped it all out to see the extent of my hoarding.

Hospital outpatient appointment letters, Pret A Manger napkins, free pens I'd picked up at conference events, a Halls Soother lozenge stuck to the lining of my bag, mints that had gone soft, a charger cable from three phones ago, random leaflets, car park tickets, a urine specimen bottle my GP gave me in case I needed UTI testing and a tin of Vaseline lip balm which is dented and scuffed beyond recognition. That was just the tip of the iceberg.

I'm embarrassed. That's all I can say. However, I need to be ruthless and I need to throw most of it away now. But I'm not the only one, I know I'm not. I was with a work contact (who is also a friend) recently for lunch and she had a mini-panic when she couldn't find her car keys in her bag. So she emptied it onto the table and I said - "omg - you're exactly like me!"

It's not too late to make a new year's resolution, so here's mine - no more bag junk. Essential items only. No more shoulder ache from the weight of my bag, no more sticky lozenges covered in tissue fluff and no more worrying where my purse is.

Easier said than done with my hoarding habits, so wish me luck!