I hear you on the importance of protecting our prescription shades, Diana! I'm always switching back & forth between my sunglasses & my regular glasses (they have Transitions lenses so they double as sunglasses except they don't darken behind car windshields so I have to switch to sunglasses) & I'm glad I have a hardshell glasses case too.

Megan

So how do men who wear glasses and take meds do it ? I LOVE Amy's assessment : maybe these men are all married, hahaaaa. Because it is true, I carry everything for all of us when we are together. And my husband does take a briefcase to work. Mu husband all has more of the attitude that if he needs something he will buy it . But I do carry his meds for him...hmmmmmmm.

My kids are 9 and 11, and I carry sunblock, tissues, headache meds for my son, hats, gloves/mittens, band aids, bug bite spray..... I need to just STOP ! LOL. My mom carried a wallet, tissues, a small rosary, and a lipstick in her bag. My God, how did we live ??????

Isabel, J leaves his Rx sunglasses in the car or at home all the time and then complains about it when he's out. =P He does carry a briefcase to work too, and often uses a messenger bag if he is going to be running around (especially w/o his car) all day.

Yes I sometimes do this but can not get rid of the feeling I have left something behind...

Elizabeth, you and I are bagless twins! My system is exactly like yours for the same reasons. And I don't worry about stuff falling out because most of my outwear has a zippered or deep pockets.

When I'm not wearing outwear with pockets, I have a couple of small, flat leather crossbody bags that just fit my credit-card sized wallet, keys, lipbalm, iPhone, nylon shopping sac, and a few tissues. If it looks like rain, I can hook the strap of my umbrella to the strap or, if it's sunny, clip on my sunglass case.

I do use handbags occasionally, but, more and more I like feeling like toting less around with me and having my hands free.

I used to be on team bag less until my DD wuss born. She is 14 months, so yes, I still carry a bunch of stuff for her.

I miss the freedom of being bag less!

Doesn't Emanuelle Alt go bagless? If so, you are in very good company (besides Gaylene and the others here).

I went bagless for a few years. I would often be stopped stores and asked for assistance (people thought I worked there because I had no purse).

I like the hands free feeling, too. So I've gone with cross body bags. They hold the essentials, but 1) leave my hands free and 2) don't allow DH and DS to use me as their pack mule. DS is 9, so anything he wants to bring he has to carry. Surprisingly he can get by with very little if I don't carry it for him.

For work, I leave a lot of "stuff" (lotion, advil, cell phone chargers, etc.) in my desk so I'm not toting them back and forth everyday. And other things that I need to carry (disposable shopping bags, coupons) could probably stay in the car. But then I forget them when I go into the stores.

All my sunglasses have big hard cases. I have an ancient iphone with a big bulky Otter case. Plus I'm often on public transit. So I can't go bagless.

I realized recently that one reason why my DH can carry so much stuff without a bag is that men's coats and jackets generally have more pockets. I have only seen one women's coat with an inside pocket, but the suit jacket he wears to work most days has four (!) small internal pockets, so he can easily carry most of the same things that I would carry in a clutch bag.

Many of my jackets and sweaters don't have pockets suitable for my cell phone, and when it is in a pocket, it tends to make calls. And I worry about it falling in the toilet. I now use a second pair of glasses to read/use the computer, and that pair is a big deterrent to having a smaller bag. I think I can get buy with toting around less stuff, since I generally don't use that small container of lotion, the small one of Vaseline/Aquaphor, and the two tubes of lipstick. I don't dare remove all the keys, but I'm not sure what some of them are for. . .

Janet -- ah yes. Feminine supplies. I don't need those any more. It's only been a year, and I'd forgotten about them! Bonus side effect of no uterus. Ha ha.

Isabel -- your kids can put their gloves/sunblock/other stuff in their OWN backpacks! Problem solved!

Julie -- I know the feeling. I keep feeling like I've forgotten my bag. And then I think, no I haven't! I'm FREE! After years of toting a school bag, then schlepping all the toddler junk, it's kind of refreshing to not need a bag every day. Hopefully I'll get used to it and stop feeling like I've left something important behind.

Claire -- hee hee -- that's never happened to me. I must look more disreputable than you do!

Henley -- I've got really, really good about remembering to take my canvas shopping bags out of the back of the car. There's this tongue-in-cheek Tim Minchin song called "Canvas Bags", where he implores us to remember to bring them when we go shopping, and my kids know all the words. They would sing it whenever I forgot my bags, so then I'd have to go back to the car and get them or else feel guilty about setting a bad example, environmentally speaking.

Mander -- you're RIGHT! Women's coats need more inside pockets. Seriously, my husband never, ever asks me to put anything in my handbag for him. He always has enough pockets for his stuff.

I have a husband that keeps wanting me to carry stuff because he likes to go bagless too! :-/ (Outerwear is rare for our weather)

But turnabout is fair play, right? For short trips out, I leave my wallet and keys, sometimes even my phone, at home. Anyone needing to reach me who is a friend or family member knows to call him; a colleague will escalate to the next senior person --- him! --- or know to ask him about reaching me; shared finances mean it doesn't matter who's using the card except for a big purchase that makes a good-sized dent in the credit limit; my sunglasses can be carried as Elly does.

Funny thing about my normal 'just in case' bag stuffers --- I have a stuffed cosmetics case in there, but I hardly ever touch up my lipstick. Once eaten, it stays eaten! It *is* strictly for emergencies.

Emmanuel Alt does not wear a bag on most days

Personally, leaving out the bag is like leaving off my shoes because I love bags SO MUCH. I am into much smaller bags these days those.

I am all for bagless freedom! I did it for years but with a 2 yr old and 4 yr old with me at most times, and the accompanying stuff, I am not at the time I can do it much now. I still do enjoy the bagless late night grocery trip though!