The dreaded computer bag...

For Christmas my parents gave me a wheeled computer bag. I'd been working from home often enough before Christmas that it was a pain getting all my stuff to and from the car. Not only did I have to lug my lunch, my purse, my computer bag, and a bag will my notes, notebook, and assorted files, I had to drag J's daycare bag, lunch, and assorted pieces of outside clothing too. My mom figured this bag was perfect.

And it is...It has lots of room and my yoga stuff AND my runners fit in it. And because everything except my lunch fits in the bag, my hands are free for J's stuff. And because she LOVES pulling it behind her, I don't actually have to carry my stuff, just hers.


But. Because it has lots of room, it collects lots of stuff. Extra stuff that I don't need. Stuff that I mean to take home (or to work) that I never remember to take out when I get there.


So, my bag has three compartments: a front one with pouches and pockets and slots for things like pens, cell phones, small stuff; a middle one for the computer; a big one at the back for overnight stuff (that's were my runners and yoga stuff go).

When I cleaned it out the pouches this is what I discovered.

Front compartment:
Empty case that came with the case
A stack of receipts
Two cheque books
Some (paid) bills
A spoon
A handful of pens
A toque
An MP3 player
Blackberry
Blackberry computer cable
A cell phone
A camera
A thermometer that needs a new battery
A bottle of special mouthwash for my dental surgery
A Vicks nasal thing
An address book
Two CDs
Napkins
Plastic bags
Cloth bag
USB adapter for the SD card for my phone
One lone mitten belonging to a small child who lives at my house
One wet wipe
Wallet

Middle compartment:
Computer
Computer power cord
Strap for bag
Random stack of paper

Back compartment:
More receipts
Day planner
Journal
Note pad
Notebook
Book to read
Pictures for grandparents
A tin with stationery and birthday cards
Labels

I reduced it down to this:

I got rid of tons of receipts...as in I spent half an hour shredding them there were so many of them. I put the power cable in the case that came with the bag. I didn't really move much around, just got rid of a bunch of stuff that needed a real home. Like the mouthwash moved to the bathroom and the spoon went in the dishwasher...

And all those pens...there are slots for three, so that's all I get to keep in there...The handful of extra pens is now in my desk at work. I kept running out of pens and couldn't figure out where they were going since there are only two of us in our department, we don't share an office, and we have different, very particular, pen preferences. Mystery solved. I think when I head home at the end of the day I must toss my pen in my bag before I leave...

Now I just need to remember to go through it once a week and put stuff away...I'm thinking Friday at home and Monday at work....we'll see how that goes.