pursepous

a few weeks ago, i decided to pare down my everyday carryall from a large backpack to a purse. "grow up" i said to myself. so i took my backpack stuff and stuffed it in my purse. uh. oh em gee? how much freaking stuff do i freaking carry around??

obvs i need to go back to the backpack.

just kidding.

obvs i need to get rid of some of this shit.

right? i mean, that's the right choice, right? right. of course, right. right.

so, okay, i need to get rid of some stuff. how hard could that be? just take some stuff out and don't put it back in. easy.... easy. hm. this? nope. that? nope. i 100% absolutely need every single thing i am carry around. i mean, not like "every day" per se, but like in case.

.....i need three pens in case the first two don't work.
.....i need multiple packs of kleenex in case of a nose-running emergency.
.....i need a tape measure in case something in the world is unmeasured.
.....i need a watch in case the unmeasured quantity is time.
.....i need a plastic fork, knife, and spoon in case i have food but no way to eat it.
.....i need barrettes and wet wipes and a groceries bag and cough drops and... and... and...

i need it all!!

what to do. what to do. i considered again returning to big ol' backpack. sweet big ol' backpack. backpack didn't ask me to make choices. backpack held all my stuff in all its many interior pockets. backpack didn't judge. backpack just loved -- loved all my stuff. backpack was inclusive.

being still unsure, i talked it over with a trusted advisor, and she in all her wisdom said, "just take out one thing each week." oh, hey now. even i can do that! the first week, i took out the extra pad of paper and a couple of pens. then i took out the watch. then the extra kleenex. and, so on, but pretty soon it got down to the difficult stuff. i mean, who does NOT need a plastic fork, knife, and spoon?? you know you do, so shut up.

sigh.

i needed my wallet more. i needed my burts bees more. i needed my actual journal of paper more. i needed some things more than others and so i made lots of choices and this picture shows what didn't make the cut.

so, i did it!

well, sort of.

thing is....

honestly? i still feel like i have too much stuff. that said, i also feel like i need all the stuff. i can't figure out anything else to take out. the iron pills? my phone charger? sure, some people don't carry around a journal, but damn, what the hell is the purse's purpose if not to carry a journal? and reading glasses? and hand sanitizer? and a tiny screwdriver?

i mean, what? what else could be the pursepose?