Mommy Monday: my working mom purse essentials

Today I'm sharing the items that I always keep in my purse. These are the items I want to have with me at all times as a elementary teacher and single mother to twin preschoolers. And I want to hear what you keep in your purse too! I've included instructions to link up at the end of this post- I can't wait to see what you carry around with you! :)

So let's be clear: I am not by any means claiming that this is everything I keep in my purse. I can tell you for sure that I have plenty of other things in my purse right now, including lots of stuff that should be in a trash can, not a purse, and things that I have been meaning to take one time and take out, but have been riding around in my purse for weeks instead. No, this is not my purse dumped out on the floor, but these are the things that I permanently keep in my purse.

Some things you just have to have on hand as a mom (although that list has been shrinking as the girls have gotten older): wet wipes, tissues, and some medicine for scrapes, bug bites, burns, and anything else you can think of (this is the one I have- it's pretty awesome). Then there are the things that I have kept in my purse for myself long before I ever had children: oil removing sheets, gum, and body spray. I always keep a black ink pen for filling out forms, signing checks, and all those times you need a pen and nobody else seems to have one, and I keep a spare cell phone charger in my purse too. Because yes, it's true, I really can't survive too long without my phone. I also keep a small umbrella in there, a small box full of inspirational quotes and pictures (see how I made it here), and of course, my teacher / home / life planner (get a complete tour of mine here and see how I printed and set it up here). Because yeah, I am lost without that thing.

My newest additions to my purse mainstays are the two folders. At the beginning of the school year I got a big packet of information from each of the girls' teachers sent home in those folders, labeled with their names on the front. I've found it helpful to keep the most important information from each classroom (like contact info, school holidays, procedures and policies for when they are sick etc) in my purse so I can quickly pull it out and reference it when I need to. When I get something that I can't simply add to my planner or that I need to keep on hand for more than a few days, I put it in the folder so I don't lose track of the information. This way I don't have a bunch of loose papers getting crumpled up in the bottom of my purse either!

The one thing not pictured, of course, is my wallet. In my wallet I keep my credit/debit cards, my checkbook, medical insurance cards, and a few other odds and ends. And of course when I'm out and about my phone is with me too.

OK, now it's your turn! What are the things you always keep in your purse? Use the image below somewhere in your blog post, and add the link to your post to the linky below. It will be open for a week (until the end of the day November 1st). I can't wait to see your purse essentials!!

An InLinkz Link-up