What's In My Bag?

I've been carrying the same bag around for two and a half years, and I never clean it out (like, never ever). But the other day, I was looking at all the worn spots on my bag and trying to decide if I should get a new one, and I decided to empty it all out. And I was pretty surprised at the level of matching going on, which was completely unintentional when I bought or acquired all this stuff...I mean, even the Kleenex matches! It seemed like something that needed to be documented. So here's what's in my bag, minus about a billion receipts and coupons and some loose change (including foreign coins? random).

1. sunglasses. I think I got these for $10 at Old Navy. They don't block the sun that well, though, so I can't really recommend them. (In fairness, my light eyes are really sensitive to sunlight, so if you have brown eyes or just darker eyes, they'd probably be fine.)
2. tissues. I'm sick right now, and I have major allergies this time of year anyway, so yeah, tissue packs are a must. And anyway, what kind of old lady would I be without tissues in my purse?
3. a thingy to clean my glasses. This is for my actual glasses, not sunglasses, which I don't usually carry with me because I wear contacts, so I don't know why it was in there.
4. lotion. I think this has been in my bag since the last time I flew on a plane.
5. pencil case. This pretty pouch holds, ahem, lady things, and sometimes makeup, hair ties, whatever else ends up in there. It's Orla Kiely for Target if anyone's curious.
6. a tape measure keychain. I have actually used this little tape measure loads of times when we've been shopping at thrift stores or flea markets for furniture, or to measure frames, all sorts of stuff. Some company gave it to me when I was in design school.
7. car keys.
8. map of DC. I've been carrying this map around since 1999, I think. I probably don't actually need it anymore since I have an iphone, but it really is handy to look up streets quickly when you're trying to walk somewhere. Plus, I guess if my phone ever dies (or there's a zombie apocalypse), at least I won't get lost.
9. wallet. This wallet is pretty big, but I found that I need one this big to carry around the 8 million rewards cards I have to every store on the planet. It's Kate Spade.
10. spool of thread. No idea.
11. mini flashlight. I have also used this little guy a bunch of times...usually when there'd be a power outage in my apartment building and coming home from work, I'd have to find my way up 7 or 8 flights of stairs in pitch darkness. (I never lived in a building with luxuries like emergency lights or any of that jazz.) I think my dad gave me this flashlight as that's a very dad thing to do.
12. lip balm. I think this is Neutrogena naturals, pretty good stuff.
13. pencil.
14. notebook. This pretty notebook was part of my swap present from Caren. I always have a notebook with me to sketch and jot ideas...you never know when you're going to be stuck waiting on metro or in a doctor's office or wherever.
15. bumblebee. I think this little guy broke off of a pencil that a friend gave me from Germany...not sure why he was hanging out in my bag, but he's super cute.
16. Micron pen.
17. LensPen. For my camera, which is not pictured here because I used it to take this photo, obviously, but it's almost always with me too. And it takes up the most room!
18. Sharpie.
19. metro card.
20. scottie dog that holds my headphones.
21. washi tape and miscellaneous tags/cards. This stuff must have been in there from packing up things on the go at some point.
22. phone. The case is by Rifle Paper Co.
23. little Sanrio cat stickers...again probably from packing up something at the post office. Or maybe I had another crucial cat sticker mission?
24. stamps.

There's also, often, other things, like the book I'm reading at the moment, or jewelry that I get tired of wearing, or an extra lens for my camera, etc. I carry around a lot of stuff, and that's probably why I always have sore shoulders! When I was younger, I used to just leave the house with nothing but what would fit in my pockets, usually my driver's license and a few dollars, maybe some chapstick, and that was it. I didn't have a phone back then and didn't carry a camera with me often. Now, I never leave the house without my phone, even if we're just going for a walk. I don't see myself going back to those minimalist days any time soon, but I am trying to carry less stuff because I think hauling this heavy bag around for the past couple of years has not been great for my back.

Anyway, I have cleaned out a bunch of stuff since doing this post, so there's that. :)

If anyone else wants to share what's in her (or his) bag, leave me a comment. I think looking at other people's stuff is one of those things that never gets old.