Note to Readers: If you think you might be more interested in peeking inside the handbag of the likes of someone glamorous (i.e. Lauren Conrad or Jennifer Love Hewitt) instead of your average mom bag, read no further and click here and here. Otherwise, please proceed.

Ok, so I don’t exactly carry around 87 individual Ziploc bags. I throw them all in here:

And with all of these items I would say I am 97% prepared to venture out of my house on any given day. (The other 3% makes up for when I don’t have snacks that my kids approve of and/or the bandaid selection is lacking the correct cartoon characters). Here is a closer look:

Diaper Bag: diapers, wipes, changing pad (which I can’t find at the moment) – Note to self: purchase new one before new baby’s arrival.

Snack Bag: healthy(ish) snacks i.e. pretzels, trail mix, granola bars etc…

Emergency Snack Bag: Lollipops, fruit snacks, misc. candy, and any other “special treats”. I have learned that this bag must be kept separate from the regular snack bag (and hidden, if possible). The main purpose for this bag is grocery-store-survival and (but not limited to) long lines, waiting rooms, and traffic jams. Needless to say we probably tap into this bag at least 4 times per week.

Boo Boo Bag: Bandaids, antiseptic wipes, hand sanitizer, Wet Ones, Benadryl, Tide-to-Go stick, and other general first aid items. Whenever I forget this bag, we have a bandaid emergency… Murphy’s Law.

Restaurant Bag: Small puzzles, action figures, coloring book, stickers, crayons, small memory game – NOTE: We do no NOT go to restaurants often! Even the fun stuff in this bag does not keep the boys seated for more than 5 minutes. At this point I’d rather save the money and eat at home.

Mommy’s Bag: Lipgloss… I’ll take what I can get with the space that is left.

Why Ziplocs? Because you can see what’s inside and they don’t take up much space. I have it down to a science now. Before leaving the house each day I check to make sure each bag has been refilled and we are on our way. I am really not an organization freak, but when it comes to toddlers, it is all about efficiency. When my new baby arrives I will have to add another bag or two… sorry, kid, no fancy JJ Cole bags for you… you’re gettin’ a Ziploc too!