Different Ways to Stay Organized for Career Women on the Go

As my career consists of Home Staging/Interior Decorating, Sponsoring my Craft Business, hosting workshops, distributing my flyers/brochures, freelance writing and my family life consisting of my daughter’s school/sports activities & dance recitals, I make certain I keep my makeup in my car and extra clothes in my gym bag stored away in my trunk. It’s very important to be ready for anything that may arise unexpectedly. A gym bag?, you ask? Well, I only keep an extra set of workout clothes in my small gym bag, as well as, my yoga gear just in-case I decide to be spontaneous to do a quick workout at the gym or at the park on my way back home; or whenever I have some free time on my schedule. Since I’m usually on the road, I like to take advantage of cruising in my car listening to my favorite tunes or motivational speeches directly downloaded from my I-Pod. This actually helps me clear my head before I attend a meeting with one of my clients or before I host a workshop. I suppose you can say my car is my own mobile office. I also utilize my blue-tooth to help me answer my hands-free calls safely without having to worry about driving with only one hand on the wheel and the other on the phone. One of my pet-peeves is when people do not take precautions while driving, do not take the other driver into consideration, and are not aware of their surroundings. As for my craft business, I also use my car as my mini mobile work-place when I’m hanging out at the beach and as my mobile storage-area in order to hall my items to and from Craft Shows and/or Market Places. I also suggest keeping some loose change handy, whenever possible, in a small coin purse stashed away in your middle storage compartment or if you are a non-smoker, consider using your ashtray for change. Instead of having to dig through my purse, the ash-try makes my life a whole lot easier providing me quick access to coins when passing by a drive-through, for example, my favorite coffee shop in the mornings.

The following are a list of essential items I carry around in my gym bag, travel kit, First-Aid Kit, Purse, and Make-Up bag. I recommend using the lists and photos as a guide to assist you in keeping organized throughout life and your professional career.

Gym Bag Essential Items:

• Small Gym Bag
• Water Bottle
• Cell Phone
• I-Pod w/ earphones
• Locker Lock & Key
• Yoga Mat/Yoga Block/Yoga Strap
• Stretch Bands – (weights are heavier to carry around)
• Workout Gloves/Knee Strap or Brace/Wrist Bands
• Hair Ties/Bobby Pins
• Hair Brush
• Dry Hair Shampoo
• Perfume/Body Spray
• Hand Sanitizer
• Aspirin or Tea Tree Oil for headaches
• Tanning Lotion/Tanning Goggles – in-case you decide to make a run for a last minute tan after a workout.

Car Essential Items to have in your automobile at all times:

• Bluetooth for phone
• Phone Charging Cable
• I-Pod
• AC adapter (Lighter Connection) – I use this to charge my laptop or I-Pad when I’m on an out-of-town trip and have to bring my work with me.
• Plastic Coated Map or GPS
• Flower Seeds/Healthy Snacks
• Foldable Flats from BackupSoles.com or Cheap Flip Flops in case you want a last minute pedicure.
• Change of Workout Clothes

Traveling Kit Essential Items:

• Facial Cleanser
• Face Lotion
• Facial Make-Up
• Eye Cream
• Petroleum Jelly for Puffy Eyes or for Eyebrows
• Hair Styling Oil
• Q-Tips
• Nail Polish
• Nail Clippers
• Hand Sanitizer
• Aspirin
• Deodorant
• False Lashes
• Hair Brush
• Hair Ties
• Bobby Pins
• Razor
• Perfume
• Tampons
• Liner
• Safety Pins

It’s also an excellent idea to keep a first-aid kit at home and have one stored in the trunk of your automobile at all times. You will never know when an emergency may arise when you need to administer a quick self-aid to yourself or to assist in aid to one of your passengers.

First-Aid Kit Essential Items:

• Aspirin or Tea Tree Oil - for my migraine headaches
• Eye Drops
• Band-Aids
• Eye Pads
• 1 pair of gloves
• Hand Sanitizer
• Adhesive Tape
• Bandage Wraps
• Butterfly Closures
• Anti-Itch Cream – mosquito bites or rashes
• Antibiotic Ointment
• Pain Relief Ointment
• 1 pair of small scissors
• Throat Lozenges for a sore throat from everyday speaking engagements
• Carmex for my chapped lips during the winter

As for purses, satchels, or handbags, I can vouch that each and every one of us are uniquely different in our own way and cannot be exactly the same as we do not all have the same type of careers. In-fact, a few days ago, my great-aunt gave me a huge stack of dusty old magazines; she offered me to browse through them and keep the ones that interested me the most. As I was shuffling through the stack, I came across a thick 1945 issue of Life Magazine and took an interest to it as soon as I flipped over to the first page. While skimming through it, I flipped to a particular page displaying photos of various items and contents, the most famous actresses of 1945, would carry in their handbags. Let’s take for example, Betty Grable (one of my favorite actresses), Claudette Colbert, Greer Garson, Lucille Ball (her humor can fill your day with joy), and Maria Montez, all pictured below. As you look over the photos, I can vouch for you that every single actress are incompatibly different and it's very easy to distinguish the actress by the type of items they carry in their handbag; there were a couple that gave me an astonishing surprise. I suppose it’s now suffice it to say, our purses or satchels are what exemplifies and distinguishes us as being a woman of “mystery that men just can’t understand” in which case this is exactly what makes us unique in every way.

As the years pass on, we have since added more distinctive items to our handbags and satchels. As the saying goes, "". As my list of items are not as nearly grandiose as displayed in the photos above, there have been some changes you can distinguish right away in my information provided below. Any guesses? If you guessed Cell Phone and I-Pod, you are absolutely correct! Technology has definitely been the most significant change in our society since the year 1945.

The following list consists of items I usually carry in my purse from day-to-day:

• Cell Phone
• Pen
• Extra Set of car keys
• House Keys
• Pepper Spray
• Business Cards
• Small Make-Up Bag
• Breath Mints – Altoids
• Foldable Purse Hanger
• I-Pod w/ earphones
• Aspirin or Tea Tree Oil – for my migraines
• Tampon/Liner
• Extra Pair of Earrings
• Hand Sanitizer/Hand Lotion
• Contact Case/Solution Bottle/Eye-Drops
• Cleansing Wipes/Tissues
• Bronzer Powder/Bronzer Brush
• Moisturizing Lip Balm – Baby Lips (Grapevine & Peppermint)
• 2 Lip Glosses – VS Shiny Kiss Strawberry Fizz & Rimmel London Stay Glossy (Stay My Rose)

What do you carry in yours?

As for Roller Backpacks and Suitcases, you can never go wrong in carrying just a regular plain backpack, especially when you are on the go and you have to walk a rather long distance to your destination. I definitely recommend this method if you have to walk a couple of blocks away from the parking lot to host a workshop/training class or to attend a business meeting at a University or Technical College. If it’s not too far of a walk, you can also use a pulley to keep your backpack and purse intact to make certain you don’t lose any of your supplies and will also give you a professional persona showing others you have your career/goals in order and your life is well organized. As for after-hours, or if I have a quick errand to run, such as, paying bills/grocery shopping/Starbucks Run/Nail or Beauty Salon, I usually tend to stay within my necessities by only carrying around my wallet, keys, and lip-gloss.

In Conclusion, being a professional career woman does have it's ups and downs. However, if you stay ahead of the game and keep your life organized, you will then realize everything will start falling into place. In the words of Mahatma Ghandi, "We Need to be the change we wish to see in the world".