everything but the kitchen sink

i was looking for my lotion in my bag at work yesterday and i realized, as it took me twenty minutes to find it, that i have quite a collection of things in there that don’t really belong in there. i should probably take a minute to clean it out, but first i’m going to go through and list for you what’s in there. because i know you’re just dying to know.

here we go.

• my gps. i’ve been using it recently because my internship is in hamden, which is 50 minutes away, and i feel like i need to have it in case i get lost. but i haven’t been to my internship in three days, so i’m not sure why it’s still in my bag.
• a scarf. it’s been pretty warm out these past few days, which is why it’s in my bag and not around my neck, but that still doesn’t explain what it’s still doing in my bag.
• a pair of gloves. if i don’t need a scarf, i certainly don’t need a pair of gloves. it’s just one of those “just in case” things. i always keep a pair in my bag in the winter.
• a graphing calculator. i’m taking audience analysis, which involves a little bit of math, so i need a calculator. but i only need it for simple multiplication and division problems, so a calculator like the one on my phone would work. however, i insist on using a graphing calculator because i like the big screen and being able to see all the numbers. (nerd.) it has become one of those things that i permanently keep in my bag so i don’t forget it.
• a bottle of cough medicine. okay, i haven’t been sick for about a week and a half now. why is this still in my bag?
• a full bag of cough drops. i haven’t needed a cough drop since before i bought the cough medicine. WHY IS THIS STILL IN MY BAG?
• a large wad of (clean) tissues. again, from when i was sick, in case i needed one. and, clearly, i didn’t.
• a pair of socks. i honestly have no idea why i have an extra pair of socks in my bag.
• an ipod charger. i have a few extra of these, so i keep one in my bag just in case i’m ever at school and i need to charge my ipod. ( although, this never happens.)
• a mini calendar. my church hands these calendars that have a number of scriptures written in for each day so that, if you followed along and read them, you’d finish the whole bible in a year. they hand these out in like, december so that you can start in january. …and mine’s still sitting in my bag.
• my name badge for youth group. corey left last week before i remembered to put it back in the bin, so it’s been floating around in my bag for a week.
• youth group schedule printouts from the past five weeks. these just keep getting put into my bag and never get taken out.
• an assortment of receipts and gum wrappers. multipurpose bag. it carries my things and also serves as a trash can.

and then there are things that can typically be found in my bag, but they’re not really necessary to carry around all the time. i just like to because what if i happen to need them? these are things like:

• a mini flashlight.
• a headband and a handful of bobby pins.
• an extra set of earphones.
• five or six pens, all different colors.
• hand sanitizer.
• deodorant.
• lotion.
• a small notebook that says “note to self” in the front.
• makeup.

all of this, of course, in addition to the normal things people carry around like my wallet and keys and such.

and i wonder why my bag is always so heavy…