Hello!

During the Christmas/New Year shopping I noticed that my shoulders were aching at the end of the day. So I decided to weigh my handbag to see if that was the culprit.

To my shock my bag weighs 2.8kg !!!

My bag isn’t made of leather (although my wallet is) and I do have a seperate coin purse which weighs a bit at the moment but everything else in there seems “fairly” conventional:

• small mobile phone • lipstick & small mirror inside a clear zipped pouch • makeup scarf (to prevent makeup transfer onto clothes when trying on/off clothes) • 2x glasses in their cases (prescription & sunglasses) • emergency items like paracetamol (only 2 tabs); bandaids; chewing gum & a few lollies • tiny bottle of antibacterial fluid & baby wipes
Any suggestions?


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  • Cross body bags and backpacks are both good for even weight distribution. I don’t carry coins as they just seem to multiply in my bag and use an app called Stocard for all my loyalty cards. Hope that helps.


  • Wear a handbag across your body if you can. If you are going into a shopping center maybe leave the sunglasses and lollies in your car. I find coins a big weight so if you can remove them or use them you’ll probably notice a big difference.


  • A backpack would probably help with the weight issue.


  • I don’t carry coins, they go into the money box for holidays. That might lighten your bag a little.


  • Your handbag looks ok to me, you have basically everything I have in mine. Maybe you could try a small backpack, which would even out the weight making it better for your posture


  • I always clean my purse and handbag out on a Friday night to get ready for the weekend junk e.g remove receipts not required rubbish that has been placed in it and anything that is not required for the following week.


  • I can’t have heavy handbag as it gives me bad posture and also cant lift anything heavy anyway . I just put the essentials and if its too heavy then take a couple of things out. I think it is quite bad for your body in general to be lugging everything everywhere and is not needed unless you have a Mothers bag for your baby and that is due to no choice.


  • Consider things with multiple uses – eg an ipad mini can be a book, a to do lst, a calendar…


  • Glass cases can be very heavy; perhaps sew something lighter or get the optician to give you a cloth/pastic wallet-case – or leave the sunglasses in the car (if you use one). Remove loose change from time to time and do you really need the anti-bacterial lotion/baby wipes for EVERY trip?


  • Good idea to trial handbags/backpacks in stores with what is in your current bag.


  • I always use a good bag that supports my shoulders and back. I always get rid of anything excess from my bag. It gets lighter and lighter every year.


  • Crossover bags are much better than standard handbags as they distribute the weight more evenly. (They also mean no slipping of the shoulder and provide greater security as they cannot be snatched off you.)


  • You’re welcome. I find them very comfortable. And they sell them in a lot of different styles, so I’m sure you will find one you like. :-)


  • Thanks mom90758. Actually I used to have a backpack years ago but I couldn’t ever find anything in it. However it was not compartmentalised so I think it may have been the wrong type of backpack. Thanks for the reminder.


  • Why don’t you use a backpack? This way you can distribute the weight better.


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