The One About the Big Purse

This is my new big purse. I got it for $4.98 on clearance at Target (Originally $19.99).

It all started because I decided I needed to get a better day planner for next year. With 4 kids, work, and a husband with various obligations, I need something a little more comprehensive than my date book from the dollar store (despite the comment I put on my sister-in-law’s blog a month or so ago.) Back in my “career” days in publishing, a great Day Timer was provided for me by my employer. It was the small binder type in which you place new filler pages each year. The one the company purchased for me was real leather and had my initials on it. Since it was pretty nice and personalized, I never threw it away. So I dug it out and decided I would put in new filler pages for next year. I bought the new filler pages at Target on clearance, too. They were on clearance because they are the kind that you have to write in the calendar dates for yourself. (And, yes. I will take the time to do this. I’m already on May.)

I knew if I was going to carry around this big planner, I needed to have a purse big enough to hold it. I felt it was providential when I went to look at the purses at Target, and this giant purse was available at such a good price. So naturally, I bought it.

I brought it home and proudly showed it to Mark. I explained my great plan of carrying the planner in the new big purse. He smiled and said, “You’ll outgrow it.” Now, I admit to vascillating between tiny purses, medium purses, and larger purses all the time. But I haven’t carried a purse of this size with this carrying capacity since the 90s. There’s part of me that hates to carry a giant purse. But I much prefer carrying one big bag to carrying a fairly large purse and another bag of some sort. The new giant purse can handle my new planner, my over-stuffed fat wallet (filled with everything but money), a few cosmetic items, my prescription sunglasses, and it still has room for an extra book to take along places you have to wait. Or, you can stuff a pre-schoolers sweater or jacket in the side pocket when she doesn’t want to wear it anymore. It really is functional.

So here’s the real question: do you, like Mark, think I’ll outgrow it? I really think it will make it through the winter for sure. If it doesn’t fall apart from being over stuffed, it may make it through summer, too, as it would be handy for all those fun outdoor activities of summer. Only time will tell . . . . .

9 thoughts on “The One About the Big Purse”

  1. I don’t think you’ll outgrow it, but be careful you don’t make it so heavy it causes your shoulder to ache! That’s my problem, no matter if the purse is large or small.

  2. You really ought to consider getting a Palm Pilot (or other PDA). I’ve been using one for about eight years and don’t know how I ever got by without it. One slim 4×5 inch device has my entire address book, calendar, memos, reading material, music, calculator, camera, voice recorder, and more. Paper is nice, but it doesn’t beep at you when it’s time to leave for carpool pickup or put the roast in the crockpot. Palm Pilot reminds me of upcoming birthdays and has a floating to-do list. I probably have every bit of random data I could ever want with me all the time. I have it backed up to the desktop in case the device were lost or broken. And best of all, it will fit in a small purse (though I kind of like big purses. I always manage to fill them up even with a PDA).

  3. I think you’ll be fine. You may just have to clean it out every few weeks and discard unnecessary items. Plus, at 5 bucks, you may want to outgrow it and get a new one anyway just for fun!

  4. I think you’ll love it until the tulips start coming up, then you will look at the purse and ache for something brighter, sunnier, lighter, perkier…..you will yurn for a new purse until around mid June, then as you are running into Target to buy something for the kids, you’ll spy a summer clearance and there will be your new big beautiful bag for the rest of the summer until it starts getting cold and gloomy in late September then you will wonder why you ever gave up your lovely black bag and you will dig desperately throught your closet to find it.

  5. Mom,
    The good thing about the new big purse is it has handles for carrying by your side and a shoulder strap. So if it gets too heavy, I can always use the carry handles.

    Angie,
    I love the idea of a palm pilot. I just can’t part with the $$ at this point. Perhaps in the future. I would really like one of those blackberry things that includes the phone, too.

    Jessie,
    I can get into the idea of buying a new purse for $5 in 6 months or so.

    April,
    Yes. By summer something brighter will probably appeal to me. But this purse does have a bright pink liner that sort of cheers things up.

  6. I’m with Jessie – I don’t think you’ll outgrow it as long as you purge the contents once in a while. I like smaller purses, too – but I would like to have one a little bigger that could hold a Bible and an extra diaper, too!

  7. What a wonderful find of a purse. I think you have got yourself a great bag. I also would like to buy a purse large enough to lug around my dayplanner and hold a diaper or two for emergencies. From my history with bags, I would say you can use this for a long time to come. But I tend to stick with one when I buy it.

    This is such a relevant topic for me: I have been carrying around a Clinique bag for months now as a purse because the purse I bought when Jonathan was born finally fell apart. But…it lasted for over six years, and I used it exclusively that whole time, so not a bad value for a $25 purse. Early in the summer I was drooling over some lovely bags in TJMaxx. I really like their selection and value, but I never have made it a priority to get back and choose something; it always seems I find somewhere more needful for my monthly money to go! Perhaps you have motivated me to get myself back out and hunt for something I will enjoy a bit more than my salmon-colored Clinique bag with no closures of any kind!

    Enjoy your purse with the happy lining!

  8. What in the world does he mean by “you’ll outgrow it”? Will you become too big or mature for the purse? While assisting in a 6 year old SS class this week I noticed that one of the little charmers had a DARLING purse that looked like a stuffed lion toy. I wanted to ask her “where did you get your purse” but figured it was a present from her grandmother. Hey, I’m 51 and I’m not too big for it. It was CUTE!

  9. Stacy,

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
    I think Mark means that my stuff will outgrow even a purse of this size. Eventually, I could need a purse that is even bigger than this!

    I’ve seen those stuffed animal purses. They are CUTE!

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