The beauty of changing bags!

I'm already squeaking with excitement at the door . I quickly take off my shoes among the others and shove them into a smaller pile out of the way. I quickly look through the stack of mail, nothing important or requiring an immediate response, luckily! I hurry to the couch with my handbag and the new shoulder bag in the paper bag.

What all is there inside the old bag , what should be kept and what should not be stored in the new one? On top is the phone and sunglasses case. How long will I need the chests... August is already far away. Hmm, let's just keep it with me for now.

Then the makeup bag. It carries all the necessary small things, I won't start sorting through it now. There are probably some shabby tops and capless eyeliners in there, but wait. Now let's set up the bigger lines!

A wallet. Inside it are lunch passes, membership cards, bank account numbers, photos... in other words, everything but money. But you can't do without it, so this is what I'll keep.

I use a traditional calendar. I only mark events on my phone that need a reminder. I write notes on my paper calendar about both my work and personal life. It comes with everything. Then a bag of gum, just mix it up!

The toiletry bag also passes inspection. It contains hygiene products, a small amount of hand sanitizer, and a couple of disposable face masks. I haven't needed those for months either, but whatever, they don't take up much space.

Pens, pens, pens! So how many pens are there in here? One… two… five! Oh my goodness, do you really always take them if they are available somewhere? From hotel rooms (especially if they are easy to write on), from trainings and whatnot. I guess it's some kind of reflex, I can't explain this number otherwise. There has only been one pen in the bag since I started using it.

What's at the bottom here? Something hard... yuck, pastilles. Some stuck together and sticky, others still hard and smooth. I sniff and put one in my mouth, yum yum, it's really good stuff. My breath also freshens up with the mint.

I turn the bag inside out and shake it. Labels and receipts, candy wrappers and expired business cards fall to the floor. Torn-up candy floats in the air, but sadly there are no intact packages left. Then more mints and a lip gloss that has been lost for a long time, but is no longer there!

Now comes the best part , which is putting the items inside the new bag. So I spent a while during the day at one or the other store, going through all fifty different handbags, shoulder bags, shoppers and backpacks, to see which one would best suit my needs. Or whatever else would appeal to my soul.

I ended up with a hearty Roihu. Then I was faced with a problem… What! So many different color options! I stood in front of the store mirror wearing my favorite jacket and tried on all the colors one by one. I chose burgundy. I'm not suggesting anything about my drinking habits, but the color went so well with the moss green parka. And the same shade of lipstick is also on my shopping list.

Roihu has enough pockets for everything. There are logical places for my things and there is still room for a possible woolen jacket, a small backpack, a water bottle, a small laptop and other things that I need from time to time. I spin the bag around and look at it from all sides, oval with happiness. I am happy with my choice.

I take the old bag to the closet to join the others. There are a lot of them there, from decades ago, some of them already seen their best days. They weren't very high-quality to begin with and are sitting on the shelves, shabby. I decide that I will only buy quality from now on. I want my bags to last. I take care of them with tenderness and use them with love. Then sometimes I replace them as needed and greet the bag like an old friend: Nice to see you again!

-Merja Hammar-

The author joined the Utua team as a sales and marketing coordinator at the beginning of August and is intoxicated by the smell of genuine leather and the smoothness of the vegetable-tanned surface.