I’m a mom, a designer, an entrepreneur, a friend, a partner-in-crime, a runner, a home chef, an aspirational baker, a homeschool teacher (my newest gig), a planner, a wannabe back up dancer, a multi-tasker, a recycler, a joker and don’t forget midnight toker. We all wear multiple hats and we totally embrace them, right?! To be efficient in our various roles, it takes elements of continuity and elements of adjustability. I’m a freelance designer/entrepreneur, so I’m constantly on my laptop and have to be flexible in my day to day as I’m floating between school drop offs, meetings, the grocery store and multiple after school activities. I often find myself setting up camp for an hour at a coffeeshop during the day and when the kids aren’t in school, I’m in 95% Mom mode. I hold the right to reserve the other 5% for personal time, such as going to the bathroom, listening to MY song and ignoring kids while they are screaming at each other. I’m mainly describing a life before COVID-19 days of course, but go along with me because this will all be relevant again one day (fingers crossed).
What am I getting at today? Pockets! Specifically, I want to get back to talking about the ultimate modern tote bag … the Notebooks & Honey bag. We already talked about interior bottle pockets, which makes the bag not look like a diaper bag. Now, let’s talk about the large interior pocket that makes playing your multiple roles possible and in the most efficient way. The key in the design is to have a large divider that separates items from the rest of the bag. I use this pocket to securely hold my large MAC laptop and when I’m not using the laptop, the space is the perfect location to have diapers and wipes for the little ones (full disclosure: my kids are out of the diaper phase so I don’t actually use it as a diaper bag anymore, but more about that later). The rest of the bag holds my usual everyday items such as wallet, make up bag, lotion, etc. I love how practical it is to change out the items in this special pocket and have everything else stay the same. I’ve also seen combos such as using the main compartment as a big diaper bag section and the large interior pocket as the keeper of the mom stuff. You can play it however you want with the main point being long gone are the days of switching out bags or carrying multiple bags. Plus, Notebooks & Honey bags are sleek and modern; you will be thrilled to have it as your every day carry it all bag!
GEEK MOMENT: Adjacent to the large interior pocket, you get a bonus pen pocket that is perfect for 2-3 pens. No more digging around for a pen or having pens leak all over your bag. You should see how fast I whip out a pen out when I have to sign something! I did a Beyoncé inspired happy dance when this part of the design came together; the pen pocket was born out of the need to better secure the laptop (so it’s not flopping around) and now it’s one of my favorite components of the bag.
For those that don't need to carry a laptop all the time or are out of the diaper bag stage, I want to give you some ideas of the many other roles you can tap into with this superbly useful pocket:
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ENTERTAINER: Arts and crafts pocket for the kids, great for restaurant outings (what are those?!) . You will always be prepared and maybe the kids will stay entertained long enough for you to have that extra glass of wine.
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READER / PLANNER: Books, notebooks, planners that you always have with you and want to keep in pristine condition can live here. No more bent corners! Also, don’t forget that the pocket is also great for iPads / tablets.
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PREDICTOR: Extra change of clothes. You know those little ones love springing on the need for a clothes change, they like to keep us on our toes. It’s like you KNEW they would pour the whole box of apple juice down their shirt or decide to pee on themselves at the grocery store.
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WORK OUTTER: Keep your workout clothes in there for your after work trip to the gym (again, what’s a gym?).
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PROTECTER: Letters that need to be mailed, passports while on a trip, safe keeping of important documents. We are the defender of all things important and cannot be lost.
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KNITTER: I have a friend from Poststitch that uses the large pocket for all of her on the go knitting! What a great idea! Knitters will always have their knitting needles and yarn with them at all times.
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SPACE EXPANDER: Nothing. Don’t use this pocket and you just have extra space for all the rest of your stuff.
Have a great day …. You know you rock in all the different things you do and stay safe.