backpack

the "what's in my bag" of a city dweller who does not have a car and often takes the train to explore places far from home.

i have been resisting switching to a large bag for a while, and have really wanted to be as minimal as possible (because i am a weak person and it hurts my back if my bag is too heavy). but i've realized that there are a few essential items that require me to have a larger bag to fit them (the current book i'm reading, my water bottle, and noise cancelling headphones).

so i've given up on being minimal and decided to make my backpack my main bag that i carry around. this also means that there so much space for other things, so i thought i would share my list that i've spend way too much time thinking about. my bag is from amazon - i bought it like 8 years ago for only $20 or so.

umbrella: only when necessary, but it's nice to have a bag with enough space for it
gardening/utility gloves: only when necessary, mainly for when i'm doing any volunteering for the environment, and can also be useful when i'm geocaching and i have to stick my hand in weird places
noise cancelling headphones: i have gotten so much more sensitive to noise over the past year, so these are really helpful to have on the subway/in the city
current book i'm reading: i have always loved reading but it has been harder to have the attention span for it lately; the subway is a great place for reading for me since there's no service
planner: right now i'm using the MD notebook A6 grid; i put a sticker on it that i got from an artist at flamecon
water bottle: for some reason a lot of water bottles i've had in the past did not seal well and leaked, but this one doesn't, which is great
keys: featuring my dashcon ballpit keychain and marshal from animal crossing as a tamagotchi keychain
sunglasses: from francesca's
hand sanitizer: i enjoy this spray version but it is unnecessarily large
wallet: if i could, all of my possessions would be bt21-branded
wipes: mainly use when i go to the library or coffee shops to do work sometimes
pads: can you tell lavender is my favorite color
hand warmers: i get cold easily, these are nice for i'm outside for extended periods of time in the winter
portable charger: from anker, can get ~3-4 charges out of it; mainly bought this for concerts, but i've also had multiple instances when a friend needed to charge their phone and i didn't have this on me, so i try to carry this around with me now
a snack: handy to have esp when volunteering for many hours
plastic utensils: was suggested by a friend and it has actually come in handy already
pouch: see below for contents
extra masks: many instasnces in the past where a friend forgot, lost, or broke theirs

jewelry: i always forget to wear jewelry, and i want to, so trying to see if having them in my bag will make me wear it more
cough drops: there were a few times in the past when i was traveling and my throat randomly started feeling sore, so ever since then i've made sure to have some on hand
alcohol wipes: have not needed to use this yet but not a hassle to include and maybe it'll be useful someday
lactaid: sadly i did not escape the lactose intolerance
hair ties and bobby pins: many instances in the past where i forgot to bring one
bandaids: there was a period of time when i injured myself frequently for some reason?? (prob lack of sleep) so i make sure to have these on hand
tylenol: just in case; yes this is the powder kind. i don't know how to swallow pills
floss: i have never needed floss when i'm out and about in my life, but there was ONE TIME a friend asked me for some and i didn't have any with me, and i've been carrying it in my bag ever since. this friend doesn't even live in the same city as me. i have no explanation
concert ear plugs: in the past i only really used these for concerts but now that i am becoming more sensitive to noise i've been using these all the time
mints: super necessary when wearing a mask
lotion: still looking for a product that doesn't leave my hands oily
lip crayon: i like this product because you don't have to be super precise with the application, but now that i carry a mirror with me i could prob expand my options
lip balm: the burt's bees pomegranate one; i've been using this for many years, i like how it has a slight tint
wired earbuds: as backup in case my wireless ones run out of battery
compact: i only use this for the mirror and it's pretty large... but i think the constellation design is pretty and i don't want to buy a separate mirror
pens: micron pens are my favorite, and their waterproof qualities are super useful for geocaching
oil blotting sheets: also super necessary when wearing a mask; i like these ones from muji
tissues: from daiso

that is all, thanks for reading and hope you were inspired by something