Today’s Saturday Project is to prepare a kits for Work.
It might seem like a silly idea, but I’ve found it very useful.
“How can that possibly be minimalist to duplicate items!?”, you might ask, but when you are prepared, you don’t need to buy anything else on the fly.
Picture this:
You get to work, everything’s fine, until you realize it’s pouring rain outside and you forgot your umbrella.
Now, you can’t go out to grab a quick lunch (you’re going to get soaked!) and you are probably going to have to walk 3 blocks to the subway station under a newspaper.
So you make a decision to quickly pop out to the drug store and buy a $10 umbrella, cursing that you forgot to check the weather and to leave an umbrella at work.
That above situation has happened twice to me.
Once when I was in my car, waiting out a torrential downpour, and twice when I was in the office about to walk to a client’s.
Both times have yielded an extra black umbrella I didn’t need.
What to Keep on hand At Work
Use discretion for the items you won’t need or find any use for.
- Spare Umbrella
- Tube of lipstick, lipgloss, or chapstick (even for men, dry lips are a bad thing)
- Floss, Toothbrush & Toothpaste
- Breath strips or Breath mints
- Candy (maybe this one is just for me. I always keep hard candies on hand)
- Small tube of unscented lotion
- Small tube of unscented sunscreen
- Small tube of eye drops
- Contact Lens holder, Extra set of Contacts, Small bottle of Contact Lens Solution
- Extra cash such as four quarters or a $20 bill
- Extra subway or bus tickets
- Two safety pins
- Pill holder with pills for headaches, cramps, heartburn, diarrhea, and allergies
- Two band-aids (the silicone, skin-textured kind to cover blisters)
- Pack of tissue paper
- Quick makeup wipes (just in case of rain, sweat or tears)
- Tide-To-Go Pen (it really works)
- Fingernail file (non-metal)
- Brush or Comb
- Hair bands
- A small mirror (maybe in a powder compact for double duty)
- Extra pair of socks/skin-coloured pantyhose in its package
- Extra pair of shoes (Ballet Flats or Dressier Loafers)
- Extra sweater or shirt (to cover up in case something rips or gets stained badly)
- House and Car key duplicates (well hidden)
- Small notepad & pen (just in case you don’t have time to grab anything else)
One of these things, at any point of my career has saved my butt.
I know the extra socks and shoes might sound strange, but having been caught in the rain once, you want a chance for your shoes and socks to dry out, and you can’t walk around barefoot, so you need some alternatives.
