My handbag weighed 7.5 pounds. I bought it a few years ago because it was large enough to hold everything I needed (first mistake) and because I could wear it cross body (second mistake). I use a rolling briefcase for work to carry my laptop and ipad, and the purses I used before always slid down my shoulders. I thought wearing a large cross body purse was a good way to avoid tangling my purse with my briefcase. I was wrong. It was far too heavy and hung across my body in an unflattering way.
I told myself in April I would clean out my purse and find a lighter bag over the summer. April was a really busy time for me. Lots of deadlines, lots of homework related projects, lots of performances and extra curricular activities. I was done and when I’m done, a tangled piece of lint is all the distraction I need to stop what I really should be doing to procrastinate on something less pressing. If you are like me and get caught up thinking about everything on your plate, real or imagined, try scheduling a time in the future to handle each of the tasks taking up room in your mind. In the past, I convinced myself that every problem needed a solution right then. They don’t, but making a plan to come up with a solution is sometimes all your brain needs to feel accomplished. Even better–sometimes by waiting you discover the problem wasn’t a problem after all.
My handbag was a problem. It was big enough to hold everything important, especially Nico’s epi-pens, but it was also big enough to hold everything. I carried far more than I ever needed to carry, including three rosaries, 9 lipsticks/glosses, two packs of post-its, multiple pens and highlighters, an empty bottle of perfume, two bottles of hand sanitizer, motrin, cold medication, and 4 copies of programs for two graduations, two plays, two summer camps, and one graduation dinner.
I wanted to avoid buying something new, but I didn’t think I had something that could work. Nico’s epi-pens, for whatever reason, take up more space and weigh more than I expected. I only noticed this on a day I forgot to put them in my bag. The difference in weight was striking!
The average woman owns seven handbags. I owned far more than that, but after going through everything, I am down to three: a floral LeSportsac tote, a straw clutch, and a black beaded clutch. (Edit: A comment reminded me that I have one more purse, a nylon Longhamp tote.) My mom gave me two small handbags when I told her I was looking to size down, but I might give them back. They’re leather and I’ve discovered that most leather handbags weigh at least two pounds when empty.
The ideal handbag should weigh two pounds total.
Yeah, right. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get my bag down to two pounds, but I was willing to try. The first thing to go was all the trash and paper. I got rid of five lipglosses, four pens, two rosaries, two eyeglass cases, and an entire pouch of nothing important. I switched out one pouch for one that was far lighter to hold my receipts. Then, I washed my old Lesportsactote (similar), loaded it up, and weighed it.
My handbag now weighs 6 pounds, not including my phone and that bundle of papers I need to deliver to Mikey’s school tomorrow. That’s average!*
From left to right is the above mentioned paperwork, my wallet, Nico’s epi-pens, my makeup/beauty/medication bag, a pouch to hold my checkbook and paper receipts, my eyeglass case, and mints. I was expecting a dramatic improvement, but the biggest change in weight only happened when I switched from leather to fabric. I’m curious to see how much everyone else’s bags weigh, especially if you cleaned our your purses this week.
*I read a few posts online about handbags, and while everyone keeps citing the average weight, number, size, and color of a woman’s handbags, no one has bothered to link to the original source. Was there an actual study of woman’s handbags? Who knows! It made for entertaining reading, nonetheless.
The average woman owns 7 handbags.
The ideal weight of a handbag, according to a chiropractor.
Here’s what happened when we weighed woman’s purses.
How to be organized: what the average purse weighs and how to organize it.
Purses are a struggle, especially on a family vacation where i end up being a pack mule somehow. My everyday purse is a medium sized leather? crossbody bag by the Sak. Crossbody is non negotiable for me or I constantly feel like I will be robbed (quirk leftover from living in a less than stellar Chicago neiborhood in college?). In it right now: wallet, pouch of extra loyalty/credit cards, travel sized Advil, assorted tampons and lip balm and a pen. I don’t carry a checkbook anymore. My phone is sometimes in the outside pocket, but i prefer to keep it in a pocket on my person is possible. Sunglasses if tgey aren’t on my head. Mine gets heaviest when the change accumulates. I feel like i use a card for 90% of purchases tgese days so where does all the change come from?!?
Purses are a struggle! I have an irrational need to be prepared for every possible event, especially sickness or injury. I carry enough pads to stop a full on hemorrhage. One of the articles I read said that we should take advantage of our cars and workplaces. I need to set up an area in my closet at work that holds all the things I’m so afraid to be without, like motrin, pads, perfume, deodorant, and a hairbrush.
One change I made was to ditch my wallet, which was surprisingly heavy. Now I use a small pouch which holds my essential IDs and cards and a little change purse. It’s easier for me to find things and weighs a lot less. But I don’t carry much cash, so it works for me. Thanks for sharing your methods. Think I’m going to add a little pouch for receipts too. They usually just disappear into the purse abyss.
YOu’re welcome! :) I got the idea to stuff receipts in a pouch from somewhere (MIL? Stranger?) but they kept them in a simple ziploc bag. It’s the receipts and random bits of paper that really turn a purse into a trash bin.
I have theee handbags too. A straw tote for summer/beach/vacation, a small gold leather wristlet/clutch, and a HUGE gold leather hobo bag that’s old school diaper bag sized. In it I carry my wallet, my epipen/steroid/allergy med pouch, my phone, my keys, and my sunglasses. It probably weighs at least 5 lbs on its own, but I can throw my library books or iPad in when needed, and that’s briefly. I used to always carry my bullet journal and a pen pouch, but that gets heavy so most times I don’t throw it in my bag. I’m finding that a bag large enough to carry everything I want is simply too heav and I’m trying to change what I want. What I really miss is my early 20’s, when I just used my trusty college backpack and never carried a bag – it was damn handy.)
Those were the days. After college I would just take the wallet out of the backpack and carry it into stores like a clutch. I didn’t even have a phone, since at that time they were still installed in cars.
I need to weigh my purse when I get home. I have done it before- my husband was concerned that my work bag weight was exceeded my post surgery limit, but he was wrong. It is still probably heavier that should be. I prefer nylon to leather also, but I am the dinosaur who still keeps coins in her wallet, and that adds weight quickly.
My issue is that my “purse” is really luggage because I am a train commuter and use it to carry things other people put in their car or don’t need because they are driving. (Work shoes, water bottle, book)
I did downsize when my Longchamp fell apart, but then I started carrying a cotton tote (the free kind ) for things that didn’t fit and left it (along with shoes and a stainless steel water bottle) on a train. Purses really are the enemy.
I think I have the same Longchamp! I have to update the post as that purse and the floral are the only true purses I kept. In one of the articles I read they mentioned that commuters have to bring what those of us with cars should leave behind. I’m already a hoarder when it comes to what I put in my bag. I can’t imagine how I would be if I had to walk from a station. I’d have an umbrella, light jacket, first aid…I’d be ridiculous, I know it.
This post really appealed to the nerd in me. Weighed my purse when I got home, it’s 4.6 lbs. Not awful, but I’ve never been one to carry a huge purse and it’s just me, no kiddos to worry about. My wallet alone (and the change it holds) is .6 lbs. I prefer a crossbody though because I hate having to hold things, even with my shoulder. But I hear you on the unflattering angle.
Hilarious! I delighted my inner nerd by weighing my purses and then the contents until I got the weight down as low as it could go.
I absolutely had to go and weigh my handbag after reading this. It tipped the scales at 1.4 kg, which I think is about 3 lbs. BUT it is a very small bag and I don’t have children, which I suspect makes a big difference. I do carry a second bag to work for things like my planner, umbrella (depending on the forecast), lunch (if I’m bringing it from home), reading material, etc. I don’t usually want to carry all that on the weekends or days off, so I prefer to keep it separate.
Having “essentials” stashed at work or in the car does help. I have a desk drawer at work dedicated to hand cream, pain killers, sunscreen, and perfume.
I’ve had so many people tell me they had to weigh their purses! I did too, once I read those posts. I am definitely going to be smarter about storing essentials in my car and at work. I have no good reason for not doing so already. I even have a locker at work that I have never used.
I carry my wallet, keys, and phone. That’s it. I will pack a bag if I’m doing a day trip with the kids but otherwise I keep a makeup bag in the car, baby wipes and spare clothes in the car and snacks. So fine the van is one giant messy purse but I can probably get by with that 2 pounds for a purse thing.
I love it.
I weighed my purse and was stunned to find it on the low end at 4.4 lbs, as it feels like a million lbs on my weak little neck. This year I outsourced all the epipens/benadryl/inhalers/steroids to 10-yr old Henry, who now carries them himself in a fanny pack (even at school). That seriously lightened my burden. Also, since I broke my neck last year, carrying even a 4 lb purse really puts a strain on my neck, so I tend to either leave it in the car and bring a credit card/phone/keys in my pocket, or I ask one of my kids or husband carry it. (I am happy to report that if I say “somebody please carry this purse for me” all three kids (two boys!) will put out a hand. I am not the best parent but I’ve made three humans that are kind, thoughtful, non-complaining helpers, so yay me.) I’ve also stopped shopping just about anywhere but Target or the grocery store, so, toss it in the cart.
I have one purse. Always have. I tend to buy a modestly expensive purse and wear it into the ground for five years or more. My current model is a navy blue Coach medium size bucket purse (bought four years ago at the Lake Arrowhead outlet on clearance for $75). It is getting holes in the bottom and is getting close to retirement.
Inside my purse: a million tampons and pantyliners. One giant electric pink wallet. An inhaler. Four thousand receipts, even though I tossed them all out two days ago. Five pens, a pencil, a tiny measuring tape. Usually some kind of chocolate. A lipstick I bought three years ago and have never worn, but if I ever am seized by the urge to put on lipstick, I know where it is at.
I’m still so amazed you broke your neck and survived to tell the tale. I love your description of your purse contents. I, too, carry enough sanitary napkins to treat gunshot victims. I’m not sure why that is, but clearly I have fears.
I’ve always considered myself a bag lady — I LOVE bags of all sorts and styles and I’m often on a quest for the “perfect” bag. That said, as I’ve gotten older and my kids are adults, my desire for downsizing has superseded my desire for bags. Now I’m all about how few bags I can really get away with. My daily backpack for work is just under 10lbs loaded and my daily convertible leather wristlet/cross-body is just under two lbs (and is included in the backpack weight). On weekends, I toss my wristlet into a French Market Basket and on vacation, I toss it into a fold-up backpack. My remaining two purses are currently in purgatory waiting for me to decide whether they’re keepers — a satchel that I have used several years during fall and winter months when I want to carry a scarf/gloves/hat and a clutch that I have used several years on cruises and for nights out. I noticed that I didn’t use the satchel last winter and I didn’t take the clutch on my last cruise. Thanks for the fun exercise that can really be appreciated by this nerd :)
Nerds unite! I love the idea of a purse purgatory. :)
I have two messenger-type bags that I adore but are too heavy for my bad back to carry on a regular basis. So I keep my necessities in a small purse which I have in a small tote bag with other things I’d like to have with me. If it’s a quick in-and-out trip I’ll usually take the entire thing with me, then leave the tote in the car while I carry the purse inside with me. Unless I’m going to the grocery store, then I’d need the entire thing.
Inside the purse — weighing two pounds with everything inside:
·med bag with EpiPen, inhaler, vial of things like Tylenol & Advil, spray hand sanitiser, and a LBL liner [I used to keep a couple of disposable vinyl gloves in there, but they leeched color from the bag; I’m on the lookout for individual packs of gloves] — this all weighs half a pound
·pen
·lipstick, or whatever I’m wearing on my lips that day
·small blotting powder compact
·Larabar [PB&J being my go-to flavor]
·small pouch of lemon Jolly Ranchers [I’ve medication-induced xerostomia, so these are to tide me over until I can get a drink]
·phone [only if my outfit doesn’t have pockets]
The purse came with [as attachments/detachables]:
·mirror [it attaches to the inner lining with velcro and I love it]
·tiny wallet [has a strap with a hook], holding my license, most important cards, a few dollars in cash, a small plastic mirror, and a Victorinox Swiss Card [like a Swiss army knife, but in card form: SO useful]
·larger wallet [sewn onto the side], holding my other cards, blotting papers, a spare medical masque, a cloth handkerchief, a few more small makeup items, a pen/pencil combo, a couple of straight pins, a few bandages, and a couple of moist towelette packets
Inside the tote — weighing four pounds including the purse:
·coupon organiser
·sunglasses
·small makeup bag
·change purse
·spare headscarf [folded into a tiny pouch where I also keep my movie tickets until I remember to transfer them to the album I keep them in]
·folding hand fan [my *goodness* my face gets hot]
·folded-up tote bag
·another Larabar
·packages of disposable straws, both straight paper ones and bendy plastic ones [FYI, the new plastic straw bans are horrid for disabled people]
·a small pouch with things like a plastic travel toothpick, more pins and accessories for my scarf, more bandages, folded-up plastic bags [both dog waste bags and grocery bags], napkins, a tiny retractable box cutter, a handful of hard candy, and a larger LBL pad [I don’t tend to be away from home long enough to need a spare menstrual pad; if so, I have another small pouch with pads and liners and a SoftCup that I can throw in there if I need it]
This is my spring/summer/autumn bag; in the winter I don’t need to carry my EpiPen, so most of the things in the purse and some of the things in the tote get transferred to my coat since I have a SCOTTeVEST trench coat with *loads* of pockets. And if I’m going to a festival or something I have other totes that are more useful and/or spacious [e.g. one is insulated so we can bring cold water, and one has a built-in wallet like my purse]. I have other purses as well — more elegant ones for holiday parties and such, and a couple that I still like but are no longer practical for everyday use. None of them were expensive; I just buy what I like and is functional for me. This purse I have now is E.T.A. by Rosetti, which I’m told is a “fancier” brand [though definitely not high-end], but I got it on sale for $20, and I have two Harveys Seatbelt Bags, purchased from eBay for $40 each — I don’t think I’d ever spend more than that for any bag — and I had to “force” myself to spend that much, but I wanted them because they’re durable [I had no idea they’d be so heavy!]. I feel like I’m rambling now because of brain fog, so I guess I’ll stop typing, lol.
I love your detailed comments! :)