Handbag Personalities

You should never look in a woman's handbag, right?
Well, that shouldn't be a general rule any more, because you can tell an awful lot about a person through the contents of their handbag.

After reading a couple of blogs on the contents of handbags, I've come to the conclusion that there are four main types of people, and it's all to do with the state of their handbags:

The Compartmentalists.
If you have a nose through these people's handbags, you'll find that everything has its place. They may even have a bag organiser. They generally have bags filled with compartments, and every compartment is utilised. Tissues in one pocket, pens in another, phone in the phone pocket and an organiser wherever it will fit. If there aren't enough pockets in the bag, there will be even smaller bags inside. Sometimes they put tupperware in too.

These people are meticuously organised. They probably hoover on a daily basis and arrive early to everything. Treat with care.

The Interchangers.
Have a peep inside their bag and it'll look like everyone elses, only with less stuff in. Why? Because every day these lot will chop and change their items according to their needs. On a rainy day, when they're ill, they will have an umbrella. paracetamol, tissues and other pharmaceuticals along with the essential keys, phone, purse and lip balm combo in a leather number. But see their bag on a sunny day and it'll be a lighter material, with sunglasses, sun lotion, water and anything else they think they'll need.

Super-organised to the point of being a bit weird and practical, these people do everything they're meant to be doing and always seem to be on top of stuff.

The Mary Poppinses.
If there's one way to tell who is a Mary Poppins, it's their bag. It will be messy, disorganised and big. But everything has a reason to be there. My sister is one of these, and you can tell by the amount of 'just in case' items that she has; tissues, coffee sachets, paracetamol, plasters, batteries, hay fever tablets and a mutitude of pens all have a place in her bag, even when no-one is ill and she doesn't have her camera.

This group are pretty much your saviour when you need something a bit weird. Don't have any tweezers? not a problem (though they may not have a kitchen sink in there). They're not so organised so may be rummaging for a while, but they'll get there. Their bags are also so big that you can put your extra stuff in theirs if you need to.

The Hoarders.
Can be mistaken for Mary Poppinses. But you'll know when you have a good look in their bag that they are not what they seem. Empty paracetamol packets and sweet wrappers sit at the bottom of their bag, right next to a small fire's worth of receipts. This lot are notorious for not chucking things out of their bag, so may have random items like Happy Meal toys and leaflets.

If you live with this handbag type, you'll soon know about it. They probably don't take the bins out very often and have items strewn over most surfaces. One good thing? They could have stuff that you need in there too, though whether that's on purpose or an accident you will never know.

The Pocketers.
In other words, men. Or women who are just going to the local shop. This group are travel-light most of the time. They'll carry only the essentials; keys, wallet/purse, phone... and maybe a pack of chewing gum. Easy to spot due to their loss of bag.

They're very laid back, and don't see the point in carrying things around so may also be a tad lazy. But they do always have free hands, which come in useful when you're too busy holding your own bags.

And me? I'm an interchanger - Every night I change my bag and its contents for the following day. It depends on weather, what I'm doing, how far I'm walking and how I'm feeling. Here's my bag contents:

This lot covers nearly every eventuality: I've left my sunglasses at home-home because I'm an idiot.
Essentials: Purse, keys, phone, microgynon, brush, mirror, headache cure, hand sanitiser, lip balm, lipstick x2, water, hair tie, pen (and most of these go in the little black bag)
Not so essential: Diary, tissues, umbrella, batteries (why?), other cards (this includes my trusty railcard and my Waterstones card), and my sunglasses, when I have them.

Which type are you?

Lazy Days

Usually, I can't stand being lazy. I get upset if I stay in bed til after 10, even though I have nothing better to do til  3pm. i am personally affronted if I have left my room in a state (this means rough around the edges to every normal human being). I get annoyed at peple who don't take bins out, or don't wash up straight after they've eaten, or don't pick up dirty clothes off the floor. God only knows what will happen when I move in with my boyfriend.. he is rather prone to being lazy. We may need a rotor.

Yes, I'm serious.

I also enjoy making lists so that I remember what I'm meant to be doing with my time, just in case I forget. In fact, I love lists. And useful space saving techniques, like putting all your pens in a pot on your desk so they're easier to find. I once noticed my sister didn't have one, so I made her one. Let's just call me an obsessive cleaner and organiser.

So yes, I do not like lazy. And yet today I am finding that lazy is a good thing.

I haven't gone so far as to stay in my PJ's all day, but I have put on tracksuit bottoms and a cosy jumper, instead of my usual jeans and top combo.

Instead of sitting at my overladen desk, I have opted not to bother cleaning it and to snuggle up on my bed with the laptop instead.

I haven't been outside, even though yesterday I was determined to go into uni to do work.

 Some things will never change. The list is still right next to me and I have actually done work today. But today I learnt a valuable lesson:

You don't have to be active to be proactive.

DIY - The Lazy Man's Way

In every man’s life, there are a few things that they are depended on to do. Bring home the bacon, remove spiders from baths and are just a few examples. DIY is one of these all important things men are meant to be good at. And if you’re not handy with a hammer, you may feel that little bit less of a man. So, for those of you who aren’t so great with a drill, and would rather sit down with a cold beer and the football, here’s your go-to guide for taxing tasks.

Putting up a Shelf.

The main problem you face when putting up a shelf is getting it in the right position. So, instead of doing it yourself, get whoever is making you do DIY to help you. After all, they know where they want it and they have a great view. One really useful tool for this task is a level, so the shelf isn’t askew. Floating shelves seem like the simplest to put up, and they look pretty good too, so everyone is happy. For best results, get your resident helper to read the instructions and relay you the basics. This will take less time and cause fewer arguments.

Useful tools include: Hammer/drill, screwdriver, spirit level, pencil (for those all important nail marks)

Changing lightbulbs

This is a pretty simple undertaking, and we’re sure that most of you are capable of doing this. But, for those of you who are more than a little accident prone, there are a few golden rules to light-bulb changing:

Use a step-ladder. Using the right equipment means that you won’t be falling off a chair and hurting yourself. Breaking bones should not be in the job description.

Get someone to help. Why? I hear your incredulously cry. Because that way, you don’t need to worry about taking the light-bulbs up there with you. No light-bulb confusion saves time and energy, which means more football for you. Win.

Make sure you’ve got the right light-bulb before you do anything. Again, this saves precious minutes that can be spent doing lazier things. Your other half/ mum/ home owner will love you more when the light-bulb you choose doesn’t cause unsightly bulb overhang.

Painting and Decorating

We think this a pretty difficult skill to master. In fact, it’s more of a woman thing to do. However, if you’ve been roped in to doing this mission of a chore, then we have some pretty good pointers for you.

The single most important thing you could ever do when you try painting and decorating, is putting a dust sheet over the floor, the furniture, everything. If you’re undertaking a makeover of epic proportions, we propose you clear out all the furniture completely so it leaves you with a little more working space.

The next preparation is chiefly to do with the miracle device known as masking tape. Put it along the edges of your coving, door handles, light switches and then you don’t have to worry about ‘cutting in’ (painting that straight line at the edge of your coving etc by hand).

Of course, you should always remember to read the instructions for wallpapering, as it can be mighty difficult to do when you have no clue.

We hope you gain something from this handy DIY guide, but if you didn’t really get it, there are some websites that may help you out too:

www.diydoctor.org.uk

www.lets-do-diy.com

www.homebase.co.uk

www.diy.com



This article was written for a men's magazine as part of my Magazine Journalism course, I hope you all liked it and will give me some advice/ criticism/ praise in your comments. Thank you.