BUCKLE UP!

I want one of these!

I bet this is a purse that even I could not destroy. I hate spending hundreds of dollars on a bag that will very soon be dragged on the floor, dropped in water, stuffed to the point of bursting. I've tried going to a smaller purse, thinking that I would carry less stuff out of necessity, but no, it just overflowed the top. On any given day my handbag can be used as a traction device. And I use everything that I carry. The latest addition to all the stuff I need is a ziploc baggie that has my migraine medication, claritin, lactaid, tums, excedrin, band aids and safety pins. Yes, I am turning into my Nana although I do not carry re-cycled kleenex. Yet.

I don't know what I would do if I was a guy. Probably carry a man-purse. My dad used to have one of those and it was always overflowing. There is a room in my house that is a lot like my purse - it overflows with stuff that I "need". I was talking with my friend, the Divine Ms. A the other day about how keeping stuff could be considered, and in fact, is considered to be compulsive behavior. I'd never really thought about it before but you know I do have like seven bankers boxes filled with every issue of Vanity Fair magazine from the last 5 years. I also have National Geographic for the same time period.

Now unlike the items in my purse, I never look at these magazines or use them, yet I am loathe to throw them away. They're so glossy and pretty and one day I might use an article in one of them. You never know. But that room is my office/guest room and it's getting a bit chaotic, not at all conducive to doing good work or getting good rest.

So what I'm going to do is this. I'm going to toss the Vanity Fair magazines and I'm going to find shelf space for the National Geographics. I love the uniformity of those yellow spines with the crisp black print. My dad had shelves and shelves of them in his office (which looked a lot like mine does) when I was growing up.

But first I'm going to clean out my purse.