It’s in the Bags

  • By Karen Wilson
  • May 18, 2011
  • 256
                        
My motto: a bag for everything and everything in its bag. I love going places and living an active life, but I really dislike excess preparation. However, I like being prepared. Confused yet? Years ago I happened on the bag strategy. Instead of packing a bag for each outing, trip, or activity, I simply keep specialized bags packed. Here’s how it works. Since our sons take weekly swim classes, we have a bag prepared with their goggles, extra goggles, swim trunks, and towels. As soon as the swim trunks and towels are washed, they go right back in the bag. While the boys swim, I like to get some time in on the stationary bike. Thus, I usually need a quick shower. So, I have a bag for that. It has all my basic toiletries in miniature size, make up, and a change of clothes. When I take the dirty clothes out, I replace them with clean ones for the next week. When swim class rolls around, we can just toss the bags in the car and go. The same idea holds true for piano class. All the books we need for piano have their own bag. The bag spends the week by the piano. As each boy finishes daily practice, the books go back in the bag so it’s ready to go to class. As we finish with library items, they go directly into the purple library bag. The next time we’re headed for town, it’s easy to return everything. To avoid having to buy food on the run, we often bring along a soft-sided cooler with snacks. It has a handy front pocket that I keep stocked with plastic forks, napkins, a small knife, and a can opener. Quick snacks have particular spots in our refrigerator and pantry, so we have easy refreshments ready to go in a hurry. For personal organization, I have a three bag system. I carry a small purse for just the essentials like my phone, wallet, keys, sunglasses, and lipstick. I have an 8” x 10” size organizer for my calendar and notes. It has a pocket that easily holds a book, my journal and a bit of miscellaneous. If I’m just running quick errands, the organizer can stay in the car. But, I always bring it along as opportunities to get work done often present themselves unexpectedly. I also have a tote bag. It collects all the things I need to have along for errands or projects. On errand days, the bag has things like letters to mail, ink cartridges to return, or whatever. If I anticipate waiting time, I may throw in my yarn and knitting needles. To make getting out the door easier, I have encouraged the boys to create backpacks with the things they need or want to take along. I’d like to say their bags are always ready and packed with their books, games, phones, and art supplies. But, right now, it’s more something we are working on. When they were smaller, I used a multiple bag system to keep their necessities at hand. I had a small bag that carried immediate essentials: diapers, wipes, extra pacifiers, and small toys. Each vehicle had a larger bag with extra diapers, extra wipes, changes of clothes, snacks, books, and more toys. Every week or so, I restocked all the bags. Some gear we only use for hunting, hiking, or camping. I have a small backpack ready and waiting with a flashlight, notebook, pen, bug spray, and sun screen for day hikes. My hunting pack is similar but includes camouflage rain gear, extra hats, gloves, socks, and such. Things we use just for camping have their own bags. For small things, I like to use zippered laundry bags, the kind made for delicates. They have easy access and I can easily see what they contain. Each bag has a theme so I can grab the right bags for each trip. Going places should be fun. Getting ready to go and being prepared should be easy. Pre-packed, specialized bags can make it so.


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