Tuesday, February 18, 2014

This Is Purse-onal

Several months ago, I was sitting with a friend at a basketball game and we were comparing the messes contained (somewhat) within our purses. You would think that since I was embarrassed with all the junk I had in my purse that I would have gone right home and cleaned it out. But nope. I continued to amass a junkyard within my trusty little handbag-- until today, when I decided that instead of writing a blog post, I should clean out my purse. So ... sorry friends, no post this week: I've got more important things to do.



Ha ha. Just a jokin'.

I am going to clean out my purse AND tell you about it. Exciting, right? (Yes, it has come to this. After two hundred blog posts, what else do you expect me to blog about?)

The first thing you need to know is that my purse is mid-sized, like a Camry: not gigantic like a Hummer, but not tiny like a Smart car either. It's just right. (Goldilocks has one this size too!) The second thing you need to know is that once something goes in my purse, it disappears into a black hole. (Doesn't Mrs. Weasley have a purse like that?) It seems nearly impossible to find something once it goes inside. I'm thinking I should design clear purses to aid women in finding their treasures. It would also save time at the metal detector stations. (Update: Google has informed me that I'm too late inventing these. Prada beat me to it. Rats!)

(Just wondering: how would you hide embarrassing items (like dog biscuits) in a clear purse?)


So ... in my purse, I found:

essentials like:
4 tubes of lipgloss
3 packages of gum (2 were empty; the other flavor is gross and smells like moldy citrus.)
6 pens (yet I can never find one when I need one.)
2 lotions (one smells like moldy citrus)
1 hand sanitizer (I thought I was out, hence the cold I'm currently developing)
2 tiny bottles of ibuprofen (because they are easier to carry than a Coke)

garbage like:
6 crumpled tissues (not used!)
2 grocery lists (used)
25 (yes, 25!) gum wrappers

in case of starvation: 
3 granola bars
1 pouch fruit snacks (no one in my family even likes those!)

things I didn't know were in there: 
1 toothbrush
3 bouncy balls
gloves
Oreo dangle earrings (remember I have a daughter)

loose change: 
97 cents (I'm rich!)

one item no one else will have in their purse:
a tube of frosting

(I should just leave it at that so you think I either I'm super weird or auditioning for the next Cake Boss, but since I never like to mislead you, I'll come clean: it's for my daughter in case she has a low blood sugar.)


(Ha ha, find this purse for your pooch here.) 

Your mission today, should you chose to accept it: dump out the contents of your purse and tell me what's in there. Also, how big is your purse? Do you carry a puppy in it? Do you change purses to match outfits? (Really, who has time for that? I simply don't understand. I change socks to match outfits and that maxes me out.) What's in there? Lump it by: essentials, garbage, foodstuff, odd stuff, and tell us what item is in your purse that no one else is carrying. Can you also tell us what item is NEVER in your purse when you need it? Mine would be band-aids. And safety pins. And money. Booyah!

AND: this is the last post of the month. The winner will be posted next week. What will you win? I'm thinking I'm just going to box up all the junk I didn't need from my purse and mail it to one lucky person! Score! You're definitely going to want to comment on this one!

11 comments:

Nicole Jessop said...

You're thinking of Hermione's bag :)

My purse never has cash or change! I take all of my change out and put it in Braelynn's piggy bank and I rarely carry cash.

My purse has gotten a little bigger in size, but It still holds all of the same content as my other one did with the exception of an emergency diaper & wipes. This one was just easier to keep things separated in than my other one and easier to carry with the diaper bag, but I rarely take it in the store anymore. And on the weekend, I just throw my wallet in the diaper bag and leave my purse home. In my purse I have:

Essentials:
lotion
kleenex
two chapsticks
mascara
eyeliner
3 eye drops
4 pens
a nail file
a copy of my contact prescription (after our trip to Texas- an essential)
wet wipes
a diaper (clean, not used)
checkbook
wallet
extra set of contacts
aleve
tylenol
midol
tampons
prescription migraine meds (expired)
dramamine

Garbage:
10 receipts
shopping list

Food stuff:
4 drink mixes

Odd Stuff (is this like odd & ends or weird things?)
headphones
perfume
3 lipsticks/lip glosses
gift certificate for spa services
a coupon
1 glasses cleaner spray, 2 wipes, & glasses screw driver
flash drive
bluetooth

No one else has…
My kubaton (spelling?)
A magic 8 ball keychain

Lori Folkman said...

Nicole: leave it to you to correct my Harry Potter ineptness. :) How do you remember all that stuff? I can hardly even remember my name sometimes. Clarification on your essentials: 3 individual eye drops? How did they not get absorbed by the diaper? Or the tampon. lolololol. (I'm trying too hard for laughs, aren't I?) Yes odd stuff means odds and ends. I'm the odd stuff on the blog today. You seriously have a screw driver for glasses? You must have been a boy scout. Um ... why haven't you used your spa certificate? And a kubaton? Whoa girl. I've never heard of those. I should get one. Do you think I could use it on a bear?

Livingstonslifeinmontana said...

I am so boring....I have a small purse and it usually has my phone, wallet, kindle, 1 pen, some chapstick and my grocery list. If I can fit my phone and wallet in my pocket I ditch the purse. I don't like carrying a purse because I just usually leave it somewhere and have to retrace my shopping to find it. Now my church bag....that's a different story all together :)

Jennifer Lovell said...

Do I have to actually dump out the contents? I don't want to deal with that kind of mess right now. My house is a big fat mess (okay wait, looking around, I've seen worse, but still...), and I don't want to add to it. I'll just rummage through.

Up front--the makeup pocket ('cause on Sundays my makeup doesn't go on until I'm in the car...gotta use that 20-minute drive for something useful!):
-3 lipsticks
-1 lip stick applicator (helps dig the last 50 uses out of your tubes)
-1 toothbrush
-1 mini tube of toothpaste
-fingernail clippers
-1 chapstick
-1 eyeliner pencil sharpener
-2 eyliner pencils that are each now only about 1" long
-1 lip gloss
-1 regular pencil
-2 metal splints for my crooked finger (the one I injured last summer. I still wear the splints sometimes when I'm tired of it being so crooked and it will straighten out, at least temporarily)
-a quarter, which is used as a token to unlock the grocery carts at Aldi (grocery store) until you return your cart
-blush and eyeshadow

Other essentials:
-2 pens
-2 pkgs gum
-5 more pkgs gum still in the big wrapper
-unused tissues
-my camera (I don't carry around a "mobile device" that takes pictures, so I carry my little digital camera with me. I know, I'm ancient.)
-4 cough drops (not needed right now, thank heavens!)
-my wallet
-1 tampon
-about 800 mg ibuprofin wrapped in tin foil
-nail file
-change purse that I bought when I was in high school on a zoo field trip :)



Odds & ends and weird things:
-1 colored pencil
-our van key remote thing that broke off
-a blue glass marble (I just really like clear marbles!)
-4 invitations to our missionary movie night at the church for this Friday (who should I invite to go see the Joseph Smith story?)
-2 grocery receipts
-4 used tissues (sorry)
-2 empty half-stick of gum wrappers
-a post-it note that we wrote Clark's basketball game stats on
-an empty envelope that once held cash :(...wish the cash were still there ;)
-1 random scripture mastery card (how did that get there? I don't even have any seminary students yet!)
-1 very tiny phone book with almost all our ward numbers in there
-our health insurance cards
-roll-on perfume
-checkbook
-my GPS
-1 blank hand-stamped card and envelope in case of emergency (you never know when you're going to need to give a thank you card, a get well card, or a birthday card! I keep these stocked and use these all the time!)

One thing no one else carries:
-2 little half-sheet flyers that I give to people like a business card if they're looking for a music teacher :)

What do I wish were in my purse?
A charged iPod with all kinds of fun stuff to read :)

Nicole Jessop said...

3 bottles of eye drops (better?) :)
I have used the hair cut on my spa services and then my sister and I are using the mani-pedi this weekend for a girls day. She's in a happiness class and she's supposed to spend a pamper day, so we are doing it together :)
And I do have a screwdriver for my glasses, but it was part of a kit I got from the eye dr, so it has the cleaning wipe, spray, and glasses in one. It's been more handy on my sunglasses than glasses though.

Lori Folkman said...

LivingstonslifeinMT: I love your simplicity! You're the only one of us not weighed down by baggage! :0 But I disagree,: you wouldn't lose your purse. You've never forgotten a child somewhere and that right there shows that you are Ms. Responsibility! BTW, how did you train yourself to call it a church bag? I still call it a diaper bag even though I haven't had a baby in nearly 9 years!

Jenna: I'm impressed with your rummaging skills! How did you find all that by rummaging? Your purse must have endless pockets and pouches or you must have Hermione's magic wand. I'm really concerned that you have used tissues in there and no hand sanitizer. You need to rectify this situation immediately! JK. I love your blank card idea. I just got a card the other day that said "a smile is curve that sets everything straight." Isn't that the best?

Lori Folkman said...

Nicole: better. Yes, I was being a total nerd to tease your for your wording. If everyone teased me for my wording, I'd be getting teased every second of the day! Tell me more about this happiness class? If it makes you take a mandatory pamper day, it's definitely something I should be doing. I will remember you can fix my broken sunglasses should the need ever arrive, and should I ever find all my missing sunglasses!

Nicole Jessop said...

I don't know a lot about it. I think they talk a lot about meditation and not sweating the small stuff?

bigskyboys said...

I am no fun at all. I just cleaned out my purse last week. So there is nothing gross left, but like Livingston the church bag is where the real disgust lies.

Lori Folkman said...

Nicole: my trick for not sweating the small stuff? Buy stronger deodorant. Ah ha.

Bigskyboys: Should I have asked: what's in your ski bag? Or what's in your hiking back pack from last summer? Or are those sparkling clean as well? I bet I couldn't even ask what's in your junk drawer because you probably don't have one. I'm going to inspect your church bag on Sunday because I'm positive it's not disgusting. I don't think disgusting is part of your family mission statement. ;)

bigskyboys said...

The ski bag would be interesting right now. I predict there would be approximately 10 empty hand warmer packages (which btw is hopeless I suck the life out of them within 30mins, an extra 2 or 3 pairs of googles because you never know when you'll need a spare pair and I'm sure there are some crushed completely unedible granola bars. The church bag breeds crumbs. I've even found week or two old moldy bread. ooowww!