What’s in my bag?

The past few weeks I’ve seen a few ‘What’s in my bag?’-posts coming by. They it inspired me to do one myself! The things that are in my bag are very important when you try to live a zero waste lifestyle. It can make it or break it. And so I’ll tell you today what is in my bag.

No Snapshot

This is not a snapshot like is usually the case when people post a ‘What’s in my bag?’. If I’d do a snapshot of my bag right now there would be nothing in it. Why? Since I read the books of Marie Kondo I have partly implemented her method for cleaning up. I am a huge fan! The method describes that you clean up all the items in your bag when you get home and put them back to their own spot (yes, every item you own then has a ‘home’). And so every time I leave I pack my bag and every time I get home I unpack it. I can really recommend it!

What’s in my Bag?

Today I want to share a list of what I pack in my bag when I leave the house. The essentials, so to say! I sometimes forget something and it’s always a work in progress.

1 | My reusable drinking bottle. To be honest, I never buy single-use plastic bottles anymore. You don’t need to when you bring your own. The drinking bottle is quite multifunctional and it’s a hand-me-down as well (I got it from my mom, who doesn’t use it). It’s multifunctional because I can also use it to store leftovers (it is very wide). In a restaurant for example. You throw out the water, dry it and put in the food. You can also put in food scraps to compost at home.

2 | My reusable handkerchiefs. No more single-use tissues for me! You use those tissues only once, same goes for the packaging (plastic). And so I bring a reusable one with me all the time. You never know when you’ll get a runny nose or when you spill a drink. It literally always comes in hand and takes up very little space. Bye waste!

3 |  My reusable cutlery. Always useful! If you bring your own food to school or work. But the cutlery is also a back-up. You never know when you get served food unexpectedly. If someone celebrates their birthday at work for example. You don’t want to need single-use cutlery! A while back for example, all students brought a dish to school. I ate soup in my reusable drinking bottle and with my reusable spoon.

4 |  My extra bag. Yes, I have a bag inside of my bag. You never know when you need it! A random shopping spree for example, you don’t want to take that cute secondhand skirt you bought with you in a plastic bag. A reusable bag is very easy to take with you and it takes up little space. But at the same time it can prevent a lot of waste! I’ve had mine for years.

5 |  My small produce bag. Produce bag, small bag, whatever you call it. It is basically the small version of the bag I described one point above. This smaller one is more for unexpected groceries. Sometimes I haven’t brought enough food for myself and so I need to buy some extra. If I have my produce bag I can buy zero waste fruit or bread at the supermarket. But the bag can be used for anything! I have even used it to buy zero waste soap at Lush.

6 |  My reusable lunch box. Most places I go I bring food. And so then I always have my lunchbox with me. It saves me money and waste! But this lunch box can be crucial for unexpected leftovers too. Bye food waste! I described such a situation in my last weekly diary. There were risotto leftovers at a party and you don’t want to throw that away. Think a lunch box is too big and takes up too much space? You also have reusable lunch bags these days!

My Bags

The bag I use differs every day. In total I own 4 bags, quite a lot for someone who considers herself as a minimalist haha. Two cotton bags, a big one a small one (I don’t mean the produce bag by this). I have had them for a very long time, one of them was a gift and from the other one I don’t even remember where I got it. I also have two backpacks. A small one and a big one. Both were gifted to me. I use all of them and I like the mix I have right now. The only thing I don’t have is a small purse for when I go out for example. Maybe that’s something for the future.

Okay, that’s it! These are the things that I try to always have in my bag. I have more things which I almost always take with me. My earplugs, lip balm and my laptop for example. But those are not really related to my zero waste lifestyle.

Yours sincerely,
Romee