h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Following the kitchen cupboard and car kit threads I thought I would ask the community what they carry on their person, in their pockets, handbags, rucksacks etc.

mini

In my trouser pockets, a mobile phone, keys, purse, a cloth to clean glasses.

In my coat, paper handkerchiefs, driving license, passport, agenda, pen, credit card.

I'm not a handbag girl but I keep a haversack type thing in the car with mobile phone if I remember to pick it up, a half mangled lipstick, several 6 month old receipts, my camera, a purse which never has any cash but lots of supermarket bonus cards, a huge amount of fluff and a non-working pen!

And I now always carry my shiny, lovely Kindle which has a special, clean pocket in said bag!

My work bag which is larger than a handbag usually has keys, purse, mobile phone, lunch box, some painkillers, an old phone number book hand lotion and a hairbrush.

In my handbag, I carry:

a folding umbrella
a large notebook for research
a small notebook for research
a diary (two at the moment as I have 2010 and 2011)
a cheque book
10 biros
a pencil
a special cloth for cleaning my glasses
my wallet
my security card for getting into work, along with a USB key for work
two Swiss Army knives
a magnifying glass
various pieces of paper with interesting stuff on them that should really be filed away but I haven't got around to doing it yet
a pencil torch
a bunch of keys

My *huge* handbag usually has me 'shopping bags' in and a book (at the mo it's 'And Another Thing...') I also have CDs in there (don't ask)

. Right Trouser: club keys, car keys, knife (rather a nice made-in-china one ... but the blade doesn't hold an edge)

. Left trouser: 3 or 4 half kitchen-roll leaves in case of sniffles, coins, maybe chewing gum.

. Right hip: money - paper. Usually that but occasionally (v) with a capital M.

. Left hip: cards, a minimum thereof (driver license, AA,library, 100 or so loyalty cards - FlyBuys, assorted recent receipts & the important one hiding somewhere in there - the eftpos card).

Often (for the long sleeves) it's a thin, safari-type shirt. Expensive it was, but nice to wear and outlasting normal shirts by a factor of 3 or 4 - so far. The breast pockets then carry money/cards.

I rarely wear a jacket and when I do I forget & lose several of the above items in the pockets for one or two occasions needing their use.

I didn't carry a handbag because I had a car and just used that, but since I've been self employed I've had to start. Usually at least one purse if not two (one if mine, one belongs to the business), any money that needs to be paid into the bank (the reason I've gone out with a handbag normaly), my phone, inhalor maybe some lippy (see Susannah I *did* listen) a pen, car keys and my work diary.

Pockets, normally dog treats, a few quality streets for me, poo bags, car keys, phone, gloves at this time for year, and between £2 & £10 in cash depending on where I've gone.

My work back has the same two purses, diary, pen etc, along with scrap paper for making notes during phone calls or working out how the hell I'm going to get round to 18 dogs in one day, a plastic file of bits and pieces, few bits and pieces that might be needed such as hand cream, alcohol gel, hand wipes, tape measure (you just never know) calculator, dog treats, tissues, poo bags, clickers and other dog training bits and bobs and usually around 18 sets of keys.

In my rucksack I've got:

*lots* of pens, some ID, various bus and train tickets, work and house keys, my waterproof jacket, various kids permission slips for school trips, water and god knows what in the front pocket - it gets emptied every 6 months or so once it's been filled by random detritus.

Money, bank cards and mobile all live in one of my trouser pockets.

Keys + remote control thingy for garage door
Work pass
Emergency mints
A pair of calico shopping bags
Small umbrella
Camera
A couple of books
Specs
Address book
List of medications I'm not supposed to have
Several medications I can have (codeine and so forth)
Elastoplast
Throat lozenges
Bus timetables
Itineraries of any forthcoming interstate travel (there's usually at least one trip in the offing)
Passport (it's my only photo ID)
Birth certificate (it has to be somewhere)
Pens (at least five, last time I looked)
Small notebook
Chequebook
Rubber bands
Old receipts
Lolly wrappers
Lint

So, only the essentials. Where does everyone else keep their lint?

My lint's in me belly button.

Two oddly shaped balls Some one had to lower the tone

A whole pile of cerepe. And since I've about 3 handbags on rotation at the minute that's a lot of crepe that I really ought to be sorting through.

Depends on where I'm going and what I'm doing.

At w*rk, I usually have a walkie-talkie on my belt next to a big bunch of keys, and the pocket of my work fleece has some tissues, a pocket knife, a torch, a roll of mints, and some pencils. (No biros allowed in the mansion house, so the knife helps sharpen the pencils in between.) If I'm out in the gardens, my work trousers also have sticking plasters and gripper gloves in the big pocket on the side of the leg.

I also have various bags/backpacks for when I'm going out somewhere.

The four minimum items transferred between them are my wallet (falling apart, with various cards, receipts, money, ID card, driving licence), mobile, keys, and a small notebook with "Don't Panic" on the front in large, friendly letters and a fountain pen clipped to the spiral binding. It serves as a sketchbook, address book, diary, notebook, repository for various people's cards, etc.

Most of my bags have an inside pocket with a stash of paracetamols, a small sewing kit, and a few tampons. At the moment, I also tend to carry sugar-free chewing gum, because one of my teeth is very sensitive to cold air and it helps to seal it off.

My usual shoulder bag (a rather strange felt one) is about A5 size and has room for those plus my camera, a shopping bag or two, sometimes a book, a few pens, train timetable, and whatever detritus accumulates in the bottom.

The laptop bag has various spare cables, the neoprene bag for the laptop, a sketchbook, pencils, and several copies of my CV (in German and English)in a cardboard file so they don't get creased. You never know when opportunity might strike.

The small backpack has my chaps, a spare pair of socks, a bit of money, a few spare shopping bags, a handful of hair bands, some rather squashed cereal bars and a roll of mints - I usually take that one to go horse riding, and do the shopping on the way back.

I also have a black bag just big enough to hold a clipboard that always contains a printout of my Antrim coast notes in three languages, a few guide books, some throat lozenges and various leaflets, for my tour guiding job.

Saves me packing a different bag every time!

I carry a backpack to and from work, and switch to a handbag on weekends when I need less stuff.

In my handbag, I carry cell phone, house keys, asthma inhaler, ballpoint pen, lip balm, hand sanitizer, and my wallet, which holds cash/loose change, identification, library card, debit card, medical and dental insurance cards, and a few membership "rewards" cards used for discounts at some shops.

In my backpack I'll also have my mp3 player, an umbrella, appointment calendar, USB cell phone charger, a can of pepper spray, my ID badge, key card and keys for the office, a reusable carrier bag that folds up into itself in case I need to stop for groceries or anything on the way home, whatever book I'm reading at the moment, packet of tissues, train schedule, small first aid and sewing kit, migraine tablets, sunglasses, and a bottle of water.

In order of "oh "ness, if it turns out it or they are missing:

Keys - including a mini taorch
Purse with cash, cards and driving licence
Drugs - sumatriptanes and asprins to deal with migraines
Phones - mine and work's
Season ticket for the train
Work ID

After that it's anyone's guess what's in there, though it's likely there'll be goves in the winter, a book if the bag is big enough (this one isn't) and any number of till receipts a!nd brochures for exhibitions and plays, none of which I'll go to....

No sweeties.

I've got a pencil case which should have pens in it and my reading glases, but they have rich and complicated private lives all of their own.

Mala, I won't ask about the mansion house (won't even mention it), but - no s - why not?

Oh, right Sorry about that.

I work for the National Trust, hence the mansion house. We have to go through and document all kinds of things regularly - temperature, humidity, number of insects in the traps, light levels, how often we re-wind the clocks, damage to furniture, that kind of thing. But we have to use pencils rather than biros, because they're less likely to leave marks on things, and the marks are easier to remove if we do accidentally mark something. (They also can't be too sharp so they don't snag on fabrics.)