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Dawn
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| Posted: Feb 08 2007 at 11:49am | IP Logged
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What do you carry for a pocketbook/tote? Do you have one certain bag, or do you use several? Are you a leather or canvas kind of gal?
What do you keep in there? Any tips for keeping it organized? 
I was cleaning out my bag today and thought I might take pictures and post them, just for fun. It is amazing what turns up in there!  
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Dawn, mum to 3 boys 
By Sun and Candlelight
The Nature Corner
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J.Anne
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Ha,ha! My priest found my purse on Christmas Eve on year. Oh THAT was humiliating. My purse is probably the last place I ever clean. He had to go through it to figure out that it was mine, and I'm sure noticed all manner of goldfish crumbs, old coupons, grocery lists, and umm, feminine items. It was a priest I knew VERY well, who had taught me in high school and teased me endlessly. It was awful!
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Jennifer
http://ascozyasspring.typepad.com
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Dawn
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, Jennifer! I've had that happen to me - though I can't remember who it was that had to look inside now. I just remember being very embarrassed that someone saw all the crumbs, the half empty raisin boxes and straw wrappers!! (Kind of like when it gets sprung upon me that I need to give someone a ride in my van. )
(And yet, how is it I never have a tissue for my kids' noses at church? )
Well, I will answer my own question to start! I am terrible with leather so I only use quilted and canvas bags. I like them on the roomy side with all kinds of pockets and a key fob.
I *try* to clean it out on Fridays (so it is in good shape for my errands on Saturday) but that almost never happens.
I have one smaller black "leather-ish" bag that I use for things like showers or dinners out. I also have a small black purse I can use for a wedding.
But I like my everyday bag to be big enough for my "stuff" (and some of my boys' stuff) to come with me. 
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Dawn, mum to 3 boys
By Sun and Candlelight
The Nature Corner
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Caroline
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I carry a backpack. Actually, I think it's a tennis backpack. I have two littles and it's just easier to wear my bag on my back so that I can have my arms free. It's a mess, though. I'm looking forward to you blog entry (as always).
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Devoted Wife to  and Mama to three beautiful boys and another little boy due in September, and two beautiful souls in heaven
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Philothea
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I have quite a few nice handbags, mostly from my pre-baby working days when I had money to burn (how I wish I'd saved it or given more to God instead!). Old habits die hard, and I still like to change things up every so often, but I do it at Target or TJ Maxx now so it's like a $20 treat instead of $200. I also try to donate an old one if I buy a new one because my closet is way too cluttered and really, what stay at home mom needs 20 handbags?
I prefer medium-to-large leather bags in a slouchy, unstructured style with exterior pockets for the stuff I use constantly (cell phone, wallet, camera, keys, lip gloss). Usually in neutral colors, but every so often I go with a trendier color now that I'm not spending a lot on each bag. The larger, mushier bags look good on me, and I carry a lot of stuff, so a tiny little cutesy bag would never work for me.
Even my most expensive bags are never clean or organized -- goldfish crumbs, loose Advil, used kleenex, and half-used lipsticks are crammed everywhere. When I do clean out bags, I use my vacuum to do it, that's how bad they get. I can never find anything when I need it, but once I took out a bag I hadn't used in a year or so and found a hundred bucks! That was neat.
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chicken lady
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Dawn I hoard handbags, unfortunatly I like the ones I cannot afford. Prada, Coach etc. I like leather ones, classic, always in style that type of thing, They cannot be to small or to big! To big and I fill them up to overflowing and I literally have to go to the Chiropractor for an adjustment I'm considering the healthy back bag from LL Bean in black leather. Again I cannot afford it but I WANT it! I'm attempting to justify it with not needing to pay for adjustments to me neck and back. Need to convince dh 
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lapazfarm
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I have a leather purse with lots-o-pockets. It is so crammed full of junk that if I didn't at least know which pocket something is *supposed* to be in I would never find it. Why do I even bother keeping those grocery store coupons, anyway if I never use them?
I also have a backpack for outings (with nature study gear) and a backpack for a baby bag. I keep it always packed so I can grab and go. The backpack style makes the kids more willing to carry it for me.
I also have a tummy pack for walking around town so I can look like a tourist, and a tiny black leather purse for when I only need a credit card and an ID. 
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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mary
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my sweetheart of a hubby got me this fabulous leather backpack/purse for my birthday. i love the thing. it has pockets for everything - diapers, cell phone, teether, snacks, hook for my keys, etc etc. i like the feel of the leather and it's easy to keep looking nice. i especially love that i keep the bag on one shoulder and the sling on the other. maybe it balances me out! inside the bag, i use little colored mesh bags i got from target to hold credit cards or money or matching games for killing time at a restaurant.
my only tip for keep it organized is to clean it once a week. since i sometimes have a dirty diaper in my bag, this rule is a must!
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Paula in MN
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I don't carry a purse anymore. I carry a beat-up purple leather coin-purse, for lack of a better word. It fits into the front pocket of my jeans. There is a zippered front pouch for bills and coins (not that I ever have any) and then an open pocket with room for drivers license, insurance cards, etc.
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Paula
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Maryan
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I have a variety of different bags, but I'm currently using a present from my single sister -- a Vera Bradley diaper bag (with changing pad and all)! Of course, then she had to tell me who Vera Bradley was (because I'm out of the loop -- wonder why??) But it's my favorite color -- red.
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
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Maryan
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Oh... and trust me, you don't want to know what's in my bag.
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
A Lee in the Woudes
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ChristinaK
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I have a black nylon Pink Ribbon purse that my aunt and cousin gave me for my birthday. It always has way too many receipts, snack wrappers, etc in it. Of course, most of the time the baby's diaper bag doubles as my purse and it's a mess too.
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mellyrose
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I have a few different bags that I carry. One of my favorites right now is the LLBean Healthy Bag in the small size. I picked up a small and a regular through their clearance section a year or so ago and really like them! Lots of interior pockets, and a clip for my keys!
I also have a smallish leather backpack that I like that has lots of pockets, and a denim tote that I love the look of (but it has no pockets and no top closing mechanism -- so I don't carry much in it
I carried a backpack for a long time when I had lots to carry for the boys, but picked up a girlie diaper bag for all the new babe's things I'll need to carry.
Melanie
Mom to 2 boys and a girl on the way
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marihalojen
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I have a small brown leather (fake leather I'm sure as it's not molded yet!) hobo purse right now that just fits my wallet and cell phone. I do like it as it has big brass rings attaching the handle and tiny brass grommets all over it - oh! and very discreet black sparkly beads on the sides that I forget about all the time but were the selling point for me
I have one other that I switch out every now and then that is a tiny teal leathery handbag that has fairly useless outer pockets and two stiff handles that barely fit over the arm. It too fits my wallet and cell and not much else but looks very retro in a 1950's sort of way.
I always choose small, small bags as I discovered long ago that the larger the bag the more stuff your significant other will give you to carry. I am adamantly opposed to carrying deck fittings and shaft zincs in my purse. I am actually contemplating a clutch for spring but that will entail a new wallet!
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The Mari Hal-O-Jen
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PDyer
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I have a black leather backpack bag I've had for years, but I'm currently carrying a bag I affectionately refer to as my dotty bag. It's this fabric, in a slightly taller, slightly narrower shape. It's the perfect size to carry bigger items (like books) but not so big that I lose things in it. Well, maybe it would be more accurate to say I don't lose things in it *often.
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Patty
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benedicta
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Fun question, Dawn!
I have a brown, fake leather backpack (easier to carry when we have little people), with pockets----back pocket, cell phone pocket, other pockets----to help me keep my disorganized self (somewhat) organized. Still....it's a mess, usually
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almamater
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I have a couple of different style medium size purse/bags. There are the usual items...wallet, pen, checkbook, lipstick, hairbrush as well as a small sketchbook and sketch pencils and an array of receipts (though when I make a purchase, I usually try to put the receipt in the bag with the purchased items). Sometimes there is a book in there, also. Right now I am reading Home Economics by Wendell Berry and will stick it in if I there might be a quiet reading moment.
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~jennifer in tx
mommy of ds(11),dd(8),dd(6), dd(3),& ds (6/08)
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Mary G
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I finally got tired of trying to find the right size bag so I knitted-then-felted one that is a perfect length shoulder bag for me and is the right size. I sewed a simple zippered liner for it.
But ... I was still losing stuff in it all the time -- my solution? ziploc quart baggies for each "category" of things -- pens/pencils/glasses in one, aspirin/allergy stuff/eye drops in another, etc.....
Works for me
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MaryG
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my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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chicken lady
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Mary I felted one that I knit also, only the straps did'nt felt short enough. Can I remove them from the bag and refelt them?
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Cheryl
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I don't have any hand bags or pocketbooks. I use a black leather planner binder (around 5 x 8in). It holds all my cards, money, monthly calendar and addresses & phone numbers. When I go to a wedding, I use my dh's pockets.
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Cheryl
Wife to Bob ('97)
Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: What’s your bag?
