Here at the ranch, I frantically start spring cleaning at the first sign of trees budding and temps hovering at 55 degrees for more than a day. It tends to snowball - first I wash a few blankets or the duvet cover. Then, I notice the build up of sheets and towels we don't use/don't fit an existing bed. Well, THESE interlopers need to go?!? The next thing I know, I have made a huge pile in the hallway that is loosely categorized into trash/animal shelter/donate.
It's a curse. Apologies to the family who may or may not find their linens stripped from the beds and keeping some foster dogs warm at the shelter instead.
One thing I have trouble parting with, even when I am minimizing in a frenzy, is bags. All kids of bags. Yes, I of COURSE have a bag of bags. What self-respecting mom doesn't?
If they were free/giveaways? Even more difficult to get rid of. Anyone out there empathize?
It started as a child with school bags. I was fortunate enough to choose a new one every fall for back to school. In the 80s, we weren't really in to backpacks til college, and then you had to have JUST the right one to drag those books and calculators around for class and the library.
After college, I could get by with a purse for daily use, but then... a work bag! 12 hour shifts mandate that you bring a lot of stuff with you, so finding the perfect work tote took some trial and error.
Fast forward to parenthood. Infants and toddlers especially just insist on having a doomsday prepper level cache of stuff on hand at any given moment. I loved the diaper bags from Lands End back then with bottle pockets and dry bags for wet disasters. Two kids means at least two different iterations of diaper bags, with some athletic equipment bags thrown in as the older kid got into soccer and baseball and could carry his own stuff.
But now, it's just me. Well, me and the husband who literally shows up everywhere with a wallet and phone and hopes that I have packed snacks.
And I still have bags. I try to cull the herd. I have a few cooler bags that I use on day trips or my kids abscond with when they go camping. Three of them were either gifts or giveaways. Those are REALLY hard to purge, because my use vs. cost analysis is always favorable.
I have multiple work bags. For some reason, I am always on a quest for the perfect one. It has to have water bottle pockets, key clip, multiple inside pockets, but not TOO many because I won't remember where stuff is. I like the ones with two sets of handles, one short and one for over the shoulder, because I am in an out of the car and the shorter ones are better for that. I should really jettison the ones I don't use anymore.
And what about travel bags? I have talked about my favorite on a previous post and linked the Lululemon site to it. I still am open to other options, but I try to avoid getting carried away with those too. "Personal item" bags for flying need to have a secure place for my laptop, a strap thing to slide over the handle of my suitcase, and also a water bottle sleeve. But don't hit me with a ton of pockets there either, because I'll be digging around in my airplane seat for some gum and there ain't much room for that.
Clearly, I love bags. I am trying to spring clean the ones I don't use or like much. Sunk cost and all... While we are here, drop your favorites in the comments. Maybe we could do a swap?
