Saturday 15 February 2020

Whats in my Commuter Bag? [Fjallraven Kanken]

Well, well, well. It's been a while, readers! I hope there are still some of you out there.

A lot has changed since I last wrote a blog post... I've recently gotten a new job and I'm commuting again - lucky me!! (There's a reason, I'll reveal all soon! For now let's just say that I'll be doing a bucket-list item soon) 

Since I'm commuting more I'm also making the effort to be more mindful about the things I do and the stuff I use so as to save as much time, effort and money as possible. With a bit of forethought and planning, it's been quite an easy adjustment. Without further ado, I give you my work commuter bag - The Fjallraven Kanken in Fog. 



I wanted to get something simple, hardwearing and that combined spaciousness with compact dimensions, and that led me to the Kanken. Now I will say, that I was torn between this and the Fjallraven Re Kanken, which is made from recycled plastic bottles, but I decided to opt for the original. Most people agree, no matter what the option, that the originals are always the best.



In one of the two side pockets, you'll find my yellow water bottle, which I picked up in Dunnes Stores for €5. I've popped some stickers onto it, and will probably apply more as I get them, just to personalise it a little. The other side pocket is home to my Zojirushi Flask, which I got in Tokyo, and I adore. It has a handy lid that locks with a sliding mechanism, and you can drink straight from it because of the ergonomic shape of the mouthpiece.  It's worth mentioning that the pockets on the sides of the Kanken are long and narrow, so not every water bottle or flask will fit in them.



In the smaller pocket I have my wallet and keys. 




Inside the main pocket I have my tiffin tin, which I got in India. It has three compartments for my lunch, which makes it so easy to meal prep for my lunches, and keeps me on a short leash, because if I was out buying lunches every day of the week, I'd be broke and I'd be eating crap. The tiffin cost me 700INR or around €9, in the local Star Hyper Supermarket. If you look on Amazon, you'll find them for €15-ish. The tiffin is in a neoprene Kilner bag that I picked up at Christmas in Blanchardstown for €5, and I have a stainless steel knife, fork, spoon and travel straw in a cloth sleeve tucked into the side. I really only use the travel straw on rare occasions, but it's more of a "just in case" than a necessity! 



I carry my green leather journal, my glasses case (which I also tuck my daily pills into), and my all-important make-up bag which amongst other things, contains a mini hairbrush, deo, a folding toothbrush and mini toothpaste and perfume as well as a pair of earrings. Some days I wear makeup, other days I don't - and since I started tinting my eyebrows at home, I don't have to carry three products just to look like I've got an expression! 




Arguably the most important part of my "everyday carry" are my glorious Senheisser Wireless Headphones which keep me sane on the commute to and from work everyday! I love podcasts, mostly True Crime All The Time, TCATT Unsolved and Those Consipiracy Guys, but I also listen to a few soundtracks too - at the moment Call Me By Your Name is the OST on my heavy rotation.

One good thing that I love about this bag is that it doesn't seem to ever get full, and even when it's heavy it's not uncomfortable. I can't honestly wait to take this bag down the country or abroad in the future. It's just such a great bit of kit! 

While this is a pretty good example of most of the things I carry, sometimes I bring my laptop and on short days I don't bring the tiffin, and so on, but for the most part the contents don't change.

So there you have it! My Commuter Bag, in all it's glory. 

What do you carry in your commuter bag? 

Amy 
xx