Downsizing

When I was in college I had this little plastic ID holder the size of a credit card attached to a key ring.  It held my license, my Visa, a couple of bucks, my house key, and my car key.  I’d put it safely in the back of my jeans pocket and I was off.

To hear James reminisce about it, this is the number one reason he even considered asking me out.

Well sir, things change.

This morning I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about the new trend away from large handbags toward smaller “more glamorous” purses.  Honestly, it was the WSJ.  If you dig deep enough they do have articles that don’t involve the latest internal government investigation, health reform study or complex financial instrument threatening to collapse the system all over again.

So the gist of the story was that designers are luring us back toward a world of small purses where we will feel freer, more streamlined, and less weighed down by all our… possessions (you thought I was going to say something else, didn’t you?).  British accessories designer Lulu Guinness is quoted as saying a small bag is a “badge of being organized.”

The article opens with Ms. Wagner of Oklahoma:

Referring to her new sapphire-blue leather clutch, “I told the kids they were in charge of their own junk and started carrying it around full time,” Ms. Wagner, a freelance writer, said.

I want to be Ms. Wagner (well, except for that part about Oklahoma).  But I’ve got a lot of work to do to get within spitting distance of this bandwagon.  So here’s my plan:

Nate’s in charge of carrying his extra diapers and the wipes (we may all benefit from those wipes but look… you know what they say about possessions rolling downhill.)  Maybe some extra baggage will increase his interest in the commode.

And Jake’s in charge of the sunscreen, snacks, swim towels, change of clothes, and swim diaper.  I think the key is dressing him only in cargo pants.  The surprise benefit is that the towels muffle the whining.

The article goes on to evangelize the latest aspiration for all American women: “Monday to Friday, I’m surrounded by stuff.  Let me be a minimalist on the weekends.”

Amen.

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 You’re in charge of your own junk now.  I’m too glamorous for this. 

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