Today, we are going to focus on the excess stuff you carry around with you on a daily basis.  Think about what you carry to and from work and around town in your purse, work and/or gym bag.  How much extra are you carrying around on a daily basis that is completely unnecessary?  How much of it do you carry “just in case” you or someone in your family needs it?

So today, I am going to teach you how to eliminate excess stuff by doing a little experiment.  Come on, you can do it don’t give me that look!  What I want you to do is to empty your bag(s).  Empty it and evaluate the contents.  How much of the contents do you use on a daily/regular basis?  Pull those items out and put them to the side.  Now, when you look at the rest of what is in there, why do you have it and when was the last time you used it?  For those work bags, do you REALLY work on ALL of that stuff when you get home?  If you are honest with yourself, you probably work on one part of it, but the other is “just in case” or are forgotten items.  For those purses, do you really need your entire makeup counter in your purse?  What about the twenty pens, or three bottles of sanitizer?

Oh wait a second, what did you say Ms. new mom?  Oh, yes this applies to you too.  I know as a new mom you are scared of not having something you need, but seriously…how many diapers do you go through in a one hour period of time?  Yes, that bundle of joy may poop,  but you only need one diaper to replace it.  So technically you don’t need more than two MAYBE three diapers, a small case of wipes, a bottle, pacifier - if applicable and a change of clothes.  Now, I get it…this gets harder the longer you are going to be out…but I have seen so much stuff in diaper bags it is unbelievable.  You don’t have to have a portable room in there.  Think ahead and you will be fine.  How long will you be out, and what does that mean from a feeding and pooping standpoint.   It’s that simple.  (I’m sure this one will get a lot of side-eyes and what if’s, but please send your questions so I can assure you…I’ve been there and done it, it can be done.)

I want you to challenge yourself by removing all of the JIC items from your bags, and consolidate where you can.  Try to live with only your 20% for a week.  See how it feels to just carry what you truly need.  One thing that I did when I first did this exercise is I put the JIC items in a bag in the trunk of my car (no makeup won’t work here, but you don’t need all that stuff you are beautiful without it!).  I found that I never had to go and retrieve anything from the bag.  Now, I still put a JIC bag in the trunk on occasion, but that is definitely situational to what we will be doing for the day.

Now, for those who love their big bags, I’m not saying you have to get rid of them, I’m just saying live lighter.  What I find is people tend to cram their bags full of stuff just because there is room for it.  Over time, you don’t realize how much stuff you are carrying around on a daily basis.  I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked to carry someone’s purse and I’m shocked at how hard it is to just lift.  I truly believe that is why so many have shoulder and back pain.

So the overall point is that we carry way too much stuff around in our lives (this is both literally and figuratively.  Begin removing the excess and get to your 20% today.

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