what have you got in your pocketses?
April 21, 2022 6:19 AM Subscribe
I'd love to know about the stuff you keep in your pockets.
Everyone seems to agree that pockets are awesome, but what do you actually use them for?
I'm curious to know about the things people like to keep in their pockets at all times. I am less interested in the things you grab out of necessity as you leave your abode (keys, phone, wallet) and shove heedlessly into your pocket and more interested in the things that nest in there and make your pocket their home.
In short, what do you tend to find in your pockets when you empty them out to do your laundry?
Everyone seems to agree that pockets are awesome, but what do you actually use them for?
I'm curious to know about the things people like to keep in their pockets at all times. I am less interested in the things you grab out of necessity as you leave your abode (keys, phone, wallet) and shove heedlessly into your pocket and more interested in the things that nest in there and make your pocket their home.
In short, what do you tend to find in your pockets when you empty them out to do your laundry?
Rubber bands, interesting rocks, trash, snacks, pocket knife, bandana, a bit of string, a small bag.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:27 AM on April 21, 2022
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:27 AM on April 21, 2022
Lip balm or lipstick—I hate it when my lips get dry. Kleenex because my nose is often slightly runny. My phone stays in my pocket inside my house as well, and often my AirPods.
posted by music for skeletons at 6:28 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by music for skeletons at 6:28 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
You may find this Metatalktail relevant:
What's In Your Pockets or Bag! Discuss what you bring with you every day when you leave the house.
posted by zamboni at 6:29 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
What's In Your Pockets or Bag! Discuss what you bring with you every day when you leave the house.
posted by zamboni at 6:29 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
I carry a collapsible camping cup in my back pocket most times.
I also have a map on my phone of all the public water fountains in the city that I live in (Amsterdam) and the cup has proven invaluable for not buying a bottle of water when thirsty.
posted by vacapinta at 6:31 AM on April 21, 2022 [6 favorites]
I also have a map on my phone of all the public water fountains in the city that I live in (Amsterdam) and the cup has proven invaluable for not buying a bottle of water when thirsty.
posted by vacapinta at 6:31 AM on April 21, 2022 [6 favorites]
I always have my wallet, keys, phone, and one spare mask in my pockets these days.
posted by xingcat at 6:37 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by xingcat at 6:37 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Peanuts for the crows. My grandfather always had a couple of walnuts in the shell for squirrels and birds, he could crush them open just by squeezing them.
posted by zengargoyle at 6:50 AM on April 21, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by zengargoyle at 6:50 AM on April 21, 2022 [9 favorites]
Cotton hankie, keys, mask, wallet, phone that's a phone, phone that's just for podcasts and a stepcounter.
posted by Don Pepino at 6:51 AM on April 21, 2022
posted by Don Pepino at 6:51 AM on April 21, 2022
Just wallet, keys, phone, and handkerchief. Never anything else. And, I'd love to reduce that further -- I'm hoping things evolve a bit further soon where either the phone can take over all of the wallet functions (including drivers license, etc.), or the phone can be replaced with something smaller like a connected watch. Ditto with keys -- houses can have smart locks now but my car still requires a large key.
Basically, I dislike having my pockets full and would love to have less in them. I do not understand the appeal for the "every day carry" people who have pounds of tools, knives, guns, etc. weighing down their pants.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:52 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Basically, I dislike having my pockets full and would love to have less in them. I do not understand the appeal for the "every day carry" people who have pounds of tools, knives, guns, etc. weighing down their pants.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:52 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Elastic hair tie.
posted by obfuscation at 6:53 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by obfuscation at 6:53 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
-EDC: phone, wallet, keys, Victorinox signature multitool with a pen and a Phillips screwdriver. In the winter wallet and keys live in my winter coat.
-Sea glass (we've been living near the sea for years but I just can't stop myself picking these up at the beach)
-These days, used masks.
posted by ddaavviidd at 6:54 AM on April 21, 2022
-Sea glass (we've been living near the sea for years but I just can't stop myself picking these up at the beach)
-These days, used masks.
posted by ddaavviidd at 6:54 AM on April 21, 2022
Phone, wallet, keys*, like everyone; the only unusual item for me is that I nearly always carry at least one pen, even if I'm not carrying anything to write on.
*somewhat nonstandard: I keep car keys off of my main keyring, which has keys for my home, mailbox, bicycle, and office when I still worked in an office. So I may have either one or two sets of keys, depending on whether I left home in a car or on foot/bike.
posted by egregious theorem at 7:00 AM on April 21, 2022
*somewhat nonstandard: I keep car keys off of my main keyring, which has keys for my home, mailbox, bicycle, and office when I still worked in an office. So I may have either one or two sets of keys, depending on whether I left home in a car or on foot/bike.
posted by egregious theorem at 7:00 AM on April 21, 2022
Puppy treats. The crumbs of puppy treats. A small plastic bag. A small utility knife.
posted by twelve cent archie at 7:01 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by twelve cent archie at 7:01 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
Dog treats and condoms. (Used separately.)
posted by metasarah at 7:13 AM on April 21, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by metasarah at 7:13 AM on April 21, 2022 [9 favorites]
Always:
right pocket: paper towel 'handkerchief', mobile phone (always face-in to leg)
left pocket: Opinel folding knife, credit cards in homemade leather wallet, interdental brush
left back (bum) pocket: KN95 mask
And when, as often, I'm in overalls:
left top pocket of overalls: reading glasses
right thigh pocket: permanent marker pen
posted by anadem at 7:18 AM on April 21, 2022
right pocket: paper towel 'handkerchief', mobile phone (always face-in to leg)
left pocket: Opinel folding knife, credit cards in homemade leather wallet, interdental brush
left back (bum) pocket: KN95 mask
And when, as often, I'm in overalls:
left top pocket of overalls: reading glasses
right thigh pocket: permanent marker pen
posted by anadem at 7:18 AM on April 21, 2022
Aside from the usual, boring stuff there is almost always there's a tampon in one of my coat or purse pockets or appearing randomly in the the pocket of some article of clothing. I never remember putting it there; they seem to have been scattered throughout my wardrobe by the Tampon Fairy.
posted by pleasant_confusion at 7:31 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by pleasant_confusion at 7:31 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
The pockets of my winter coat have my thin winter gloves in there and also inevitably some kind of candy or cough drop, forgotten from the previous year. I am definitely on track to being the old person who gives you a caramel from their pocket. Although it might be a lychee gummy, or an Andes mint.
My grandpa had circulation problems so every single coat of his had a pair of nice thin cashmere gloves in them. When my grandmother died I took a couple of her awesome coats and they both had cashmere gloves in the pockets with tags still on. It seems my grandpa had bought pairs for her and slipped them into her coat pockets but she never noticed! Maybe she just didn’t wear those coats again, she was a bit of a clothes horse despite her denials.
I definitely now stash extra cloth masks into the pockets of my different jackets and will probably do so for the rest of my life. Asians have it right, masks are super useful in many situations. Maybe I’ve got a cold but need to go shopping. Maybe the cat did a righteous dump and I have to breathe while cleaning it. Maybe there is a mysterious stench on the bus I don’t want to confront. Maybe my face is cold because it’s windy. Masks all the way, dude. I say this as an interminably foggy glasses person.
I typically carry a purse or backpack, which has all my other stuff in it. Apart from the typical stuff and things like some pills, menstrual supplies, writing utensils etc, the “weird” thing I almost always have in my bag is a measuring tape. It’s a small 12’ one and it is amazing how often I use it. I think I started carrying it around when we moved into our current house and I needed to measure organizers for our utensil drawer when out shopping and since then it’s just always kind of lived in my bag. A couple weeks ago I was in the froufrou handbag section of Nordstrom and absolutely blew the mind of the sales lady who was hovering near me as I looked at some shiny rainbow mini purses. I got it out to measure my phone and the bags so I wouldn’t need to jam my gross phone into their display models. She was like holy shit, who just has a tape measure like that, and I was like, lady, if this handbag won’t fit my tape measure I’m not buying it.
posted by Mizu at 7:34 AM on April 21, 2022 [8 favorites]
My grandpa had circulation problems so every single coat of his had a pair of nice thin cashmere gloves in them. When my grandmother died I took a couple of her awesome coats and they both had cashmere gloves in the pockets with tags still on. It seems my grandpa had bought pairs for her and slipped them into her coat pockets but she never noticed! Maybe she just didn’t wear those coats again, she was a bit of a clothes horse despite her denials.
I definitely now stash extra cloth masks into the pockets of my different jackets and will probably do so for the rest of my life. Asians have it right, masks are super useful in many situations. Maybe I’ve got a cold but need to go shopping. Maybe the cat did a righteous dump and I have to breathe while cleaning it. Maybe there is a mysterious stench on the bus I don’t want to confront. Maybe my face is cold because it’s windy. Masks all the way, dude. I say this as an interminably foggy glasses person.
I typically carry a purse or backpack, which has all my other stuff in it. Apart from the typical stuff and things like some pills, menstrual supplies, writing utensils etc, the “weird” thing I almost always have in my bag is a measuring tape. It’s a small 12’ one and it is amazing how often I use it. I think I started carrying it around when we moved into our current house and I needed to measure organizers for our utensil drawer when out shopping and since then it’s just always kind of lived in my bag. A couple weeks ago I was in the froufrou handbag section of Nordstrom and absolutely blew the mind of the sales lady who was hovering near me as I looked at some shiny rainbow mini purses. I got it out to measure my phone and the bags so I wouldn’t need to jam my gross phone into their display models. She was like holy shit, who just has a tape measure like that, and I was like, lady, if this handbag won’t fit my tape measure I’m not buying it.
posted by Mizu at 7:34 AM on April 21, 2022 [8 favorites]
As a woman with minimal pockets, I rarely accumulate anything in my pockets.
My male spouse: so many receipts.
posted by DoubleLune at 7:51 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
My male spouse: so many receipts.
posted by DoubleLune at 7:51 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
Apart from the usual keys (just door key if I am going into town, bunch of keys if going to the office, car keys if going in the car), phone and maybe card and/or cash, there is usually at least one train ticket in my coat pocket. When I get a coat out at the start of a season it's fun to see where I went when I last wore it.
posted by altolinguistic at 7:58 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by altolinguistic at 7:58 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Wallet for the dozen or so certs i have to be able to produce on demand at work, phone, folding knife, non-contact voltage tester, vaseline (for dry lips), security badge, ear plugs, spare mask is my EDC.
I also tend to have bits of wire, screws, small pieces of litter etc by the end of the day.
I only have keys if I'm driving somewhere.
posted by Mitheral at 8:00 AM on April 21, 2022
I also tend to have bits of wire, screws, small pieces of litter etc by the end of the day.
I only have keys if I'm driving somewhere.
posted by Mitheral at 8:00 AM on April 21, 2022
Rocks, shells, and sand. Kids are great
posted by ibakecake at 8:04 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ibakecake at 8:04 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
iPhone. Victorinox super tinker.
Everything else is where I need it.
posted by nothing.especially.clever at 8:07 AM on April 21, 2022
Everything else is where I need it.
posted by nothing.especially.clever at 8:07 AM on April 21, 2022
guitar picks ..always in RH pocket.
posted by The_Auditor at 8:09 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by The_Auditor at 8:09 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Always on me at all waking hours: keys, pocketknife (left front); phone (right front); handkerchief (left rear). When I leave the house add: wallet (right rear, though it temporarily moves up lumpily with phone or to a breast pocket if I’m sitting).
posted by kiblinger at 8:12 AM on April 21, 2022
posted by kiblinger at 8:12 AM on April 21, 2022
My pockets are boring, usually just my ID and office key at work. I often do my daughter’s laundry and have found a Pez dispenser, scrunchies, lemon powder packets (her teacher told me she always has a bunch and gives them to anyone who wants one, they eat it straight out of the packet), a pocket knife, notes. Speaking of tampons, she came out of her room the other day with one stuck up her nose. She had a cold and the inside of her nose was dry so she put lotion on it and stuck it in there. My kid’s a genius.
posted by waving at 9:47 AM on April 21, 2022
posted by waving at 9:47 AM on April 21, 2022
When I'm wearing jeans: lip balm, front right pocket, always, even though it has a place in my purse. Sometimes my phone or train pass lands in a back pocket in transit. But usually, everything gets stuffed into the purse because that's the "pockets" I'm most likely to have.
When I'm wearing office pants that have pockets: tissues. (Office pants pockets are usually less sturdy than jeans pants pockets, when they exist on pants in my size.)
Footnotes:
1. Pre-pandemic, sometimes cash that was given as change. But very, very few places around me are cash-only at this point, so I rarely use cash now. I think the banh mi place in my neighborhood is the only place that doesn't do credit cards.
2. Even when a dress "has pockets," usually they're not very sturdy, and if I put anything in them as substantial as a phone or wallet or even a keychain, they move around and chafe me and I have a rash just below my hipbones by the end of the day. So I usually don't bother using them.
3. Do I ever remember to take things *out* of said pockets when throwing my clothes into the laundry? Ahahahaha no.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 10:02 AM on April 21, 2022
When I'm wearing office pants that have pockets: tissues. (Office pants pockets are usually less sturdy than jeans pants pockets, when they exist on pants in my size.)
Footnotes:
1. Pre-pandemic, sometimes cash that was given as change. But very, very few places around me are cash-only at this point, so I rarely use cash now. I think the banh mi place in my neighborhood is the only place that doesn't do credit cards.
2. Even when a dress "has pockets," usually they're not very sturdy, and if I put anything in them as substantial as a phone or wallet or even a keychain, they move around and chafe me and I have a rash just below my hipbones by the end of the day. So I usually don't bother using them.
3. Do I ever remember to take things *out* of said pockets when throwing my clothes into the laundry? Ahahahaha no.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 10:02 AM on April 21, 2022
Homemade cat toys like wire+feather, dried kidney bean, stretched out hair tie (with the metal bit), leather cord, just wire after the cats have pulled off the feather. I also shove my phone and house keys in my pockets when I leave the house so it's not uncommon for me to pull out my phone and also drop feathers everywhere.
Lots of wadded up tissue, napkins and paper towels. I save my used napkins from restaurants and paper towels from public restrooms to bring home and wipe down grody surfaces or de-dust the litter box.
Clothes-pin and/or binder clip. I use these as bag clips, paper wrangling devices, curtain ties, etc.
Quarters because the shared dryer in my apartment complex has the PayRange price set 25 cents too low and I have to add a physical quarter.
posted by spamandkimchi at 10:18 AM on April 21, 2022
Lots of wadded up tissue, napkins and paper towels. I save my used napkins from restaurants and paper towels from public restrooms to bring home and wipe down grody surfaces or de-dust the litter box.
Clothes-pin and/or binder clip. I use these as bag clips, paper wrangling devices, curtain ties, etc.
Quarters because the shared dryer in my apartment complex has the PayRange price set 25 cents too low and I have to add a physical quarter.
posted by spamandkimchi at 10:18 AM on April 21, 2022
Left pants pocket: phone, Field Notes wallet that holds a notebook, pen, two cards, an ID, and a couple bills shoved into the back of it.
Right pants pocket: small pocketknife and flashlight, keys, earbuds case, usually lip balm, usually a coin, token, or other small metal object as a mindfulness aid
When I empty them to do laundry: a pen/pencil or random piece of paper, rarely. I empty my pockets when I get home at the end of the day, and that mostly catches everything.
posted by box at 10:33 AM on April 21, 2022
Right pants pocket: small pocketknife and flashlight, keys, earbuds case, usually lip balm, usually a coin, token, or other small metal object as a mindfulness aid
When I empty them to do laundry: a pen/pencil or random piece of paper, rarely. I empty my pockets when I get home at the end of the day, and that mostly catches everything.
posted by box at 10:33 AM on April 21, 2022
Right hip pocket: Wallet
Left front pocket: Keys and Airpods
Right front pocket: iPhone and a Franklin Christoph pocket fountain pen (currently a Model 20p with a Masuyama needlepoint nib) eyedropper-filled with Sheaffer Skrip Red ink
I'm developing a habit of emptying my pockets when I get home so I know where to find everything.
Blazer outside breast pocket: Pocket square (linen or silk, depending)
Blazer right inside pocket: Thin cotton hankerchief
posted by slkinsey at 10:36 AM on April 21, 2022
Left front pocket: Keys and Airpods
Right front pocket: iPhone and a Franklin Christoph pocket fountain pen (currently a Model 20p with a Masuyama needlepoint nib) eyedropper-filled with Sheaffer Skrip Red ink
I'm developing a habit of emptying my pockets when I get home so I know where to find everything.
Blazer outside breast pocket: Pocket square (linen or silk, depending)
Blazer right inside pocket: Thin cotton hankerchief
posted by slkinsey at 10:36 AM on April 21, 2022
Two ballpoint pens, lest I lend somebody one and not get it back. And an infinite supply of invisible squirrels which can be extracted by the tail, angry and chittering. I never noticed them until my toddler pointed them out.
posted by aws17576 at 10:51 AM on April 21, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by aws17576 at 10:51 AM on April 21, 2022 [5 favorites]
Right front: wallet (which is just a stack of cards and cash rubber banded together), left front: lip balm, pocket knife (one blade), backup car keys. I clip my actual car keys to my belt loop, but I lock the keys in the car so regularly that I just always carry backup keys. Work keys go in my coat or I'm wearing them because they are also my bus pass.
Handkerchief in the back right pocket, moved to left back "contaminated" pocket after it becomes used....because my STP device lives in the left back pocket (it's a circle of plastic cut from a yogurt quart lid that I can stealthily fold into a funnel for use.) My phone slithers out of my back pocket if I sit down, so it goes in my coat. I keep a pen in my front shirt pocket and that is also where the weird things kids at work hand me go (which I promptly forget until I do laundry-- I wind up with a dish of orphan crayons and detritus at home in my laundry room.)
Headphones live in my coat pocket as do dog poop bags. In the summer, coat gets replaced with cargo shorts. When I have my backpack or panniers, which is most of the time when I am not driving, I have a shopping bag, ice cleats or an umbrella and backpack cover for potential surprise weather, a backup mask, and my emergency kit. The emergency kit has things like a tampon, a hair tie, lip balm, a spoon, safety pins, bus fare in quarters, $20 in ones, backup credit card, etc. It weighs a little under 2 pounds, about the size of half a bible if you cut it the long way, and is in a pink vinyl zipper pouch.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:56 AM on April 21, 2022
Handkerchief in the back right pocket, moved to left back "contaminated" pocket after it becomes used....because my STP device lives in the left back pocket (it's a circle of plastic cut from a yogurt quart lid that I can stealthily fold into a funnel for use.) My phone slithers out of my back pocket if I sit down, so it goes in my coat. I keep a pen in my front shirt pocket and that is also where the weird things kids at work hand me go (which I promptly forget until I do laundry-- I wind up with a dish of orphan crayons and detritus at home in my laundry room.)
Headphones live in my coat pocket as do dog poop bags. In the summer, coat gets replaced with cargo shorts. When I have my backpack or panniers, which is most of the time when I am not driving, I have a shopping bag, ice cleats or an umbrella and backpack cover for potential surprise weather, a backup mask, and my emergency kit. The emergency kit has things like a tampon, a hair tie, lip balm, a spoon, safety pins, bus fare in quarters, $20 in ones, backup credit card, etc. It weighs a little under 2 pounds, about the size of half a bible if you cut it the long way, and is in a pink vinyl zipper pouch.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:56 AM on April 21, 2022
Peanuts. You know, for squirrels.
posted by GoldenEel at 11:11 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by GoldenEel at 11:11 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
String, or nothing!
posted by sourcequench at 12:58 PM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by sourcequench at 12:58 PM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Poop bags for the dog. The day you don’t have one in your pocket is the day he’ll go with a ton of people around.
posted by hellogoodbye at 2:27 PM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by hellogoodbye at 2:27 PM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
Bandana or two if I’m wearing a coat (if no coat then there are a few bandanas in my bag)
Spare mask
Money
Lip balm
Dog poop bags (I don’t have a dog but I live in a neighborhood with a lot of dog shit)
In summer, a tiny foldable blanket from Matador
Snack
posted by bilabial at 2:29 PM on April 21, 2022
Spare mask
Money
Lip balm
Dog poop bags (I don’t have a dog but I live in a neighborhood with a lot of dog shit)
In summer, a tiny foldable blanket from Matador
Snack
posted by bilabial at 2:29 PM on April 21, 2022
Oh. And receipts. I am constantly needing to discard receipts out of my pockets at laundry time.
posted by bilabial at 2:30 PM on April 21, 2022
posted by bilabial at 2:30 PM on April 21, 2022
Lighter. Pack of cigarettes. Coins. Used tissues. A mask, still packaged as reserve. Crumpled receipts. Keys. Wallet. Phone. Mints in a small tin.
Currently, as its still cold, i have six pockets to fill (jeans backpockets, jacket, warm coat.)
posted by 15L06 at 3:32 PM on April 21, 2022
Currently, as its still cold, i have six pockets to fill (jeans backpockets, jacket, warm coat.)
posted by 15L06 at 3:32 PM on April 21, 2022
Pre-pandemic I normally carried a purse, so I don't keep much on my actual person. However, I will always have several carefully-folded tissues. The number varies depending on the state of my allergies, but unless I'm going in the water I will have at least one on me somewhere even if I have no pockets. I'm a good person to know at a funeral....
posted by LadyOscar at 3:54 PM on April 21, 2022
posted by LadyOscar at 3:54 PM on April 21, 2022
Perhaps a boring answer but I keep a very light pocket loadout:
Home or near-home configuration:
Pantaloon Front:
Right: Super slim card wallet with a neat pull-ribbon to pop cards out
Left: Telephone
Pantaloon Rear: NOTHING
Left wrist: smartwatch paired to telephone
Light upper layer (if applicable) Right: Wireless earbuds in a charger case
Light upper layer (if applicable) Left: Reusable hand warmer, in non-hot seasons.
Out and about:
Pantaloon Front Right: Add keys
Light upper layer Right: Remove ear thingy, add genuine Powecom brand KN95 mask, white[1]
Light upper layer Left: Remove warmer, add glasses case that doesn't fit, for swapping seeing/sun glasses
The interesting stuff goes in my purse:
Burt's Bees brand lip goo[2]
Spare genuine Powecom brand KN95 mask, white
One of those pocket things of nose papers
Several pens of which one might be functional
Old-ass 2xAA Maglite converted to LED[3], with cool butt button added
Another glasses case for an ancient pair that is out of date enough to be used as reading glasses
The toothbrush that has been rattling around at the bottom for over a year
(Optional) Preposterously oversized USB battery thing and sometimes the relevant cables
(Optional) an iPad in its keyboard case
(Optional) A squooshed-up reusable grocery bag, of the flimsy kind not the nice structured kind
(Optional) Clif bar
(Not really optional but I keep forgetting to put it back) a thing of Altoids
(Very very very occasional) Work badge
Also, yes, I call it a purse despite the term being gender-coded in a way I don't identify. It walks like a duck and I don't need to euphemize it.
[1] I bought a bunch of these masks through a supply-chain assured vendor, because supply chain assurance was pretty hard to come by back then.
[2] I'm aware that mentholated lip goo is not actually as helpful (and potentially harmful) but this is the only brand of product I have been satisfied with.
[3] Modern LED flashlights are better than my upgraded 90s gear in several ways. We just have a lot of maglites of various sizes accumulated over the decades so I upgraded the entire fleet.
posted by majick at 4:19 PM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Home or near-home configuration:
Pantaloon Front:
Right: Super slim card wallet with a neat pull-ribbon to pop cards out
Left: Telephone
Pantaloon Rear: NOTHING
Left wrist: smartwatch paired to telephone
Light upper layer (if applicable) Right: Wireless earbuds in a charger case
Light upper layer (if applicable) Left: Reusable hand warmer, in non-hot seasons.
Out and about:
Pantaloon Front Right: Add keys
Light upper layer Right: Remove ear thingy, add genuine Powecom brand KN95 mask, white[1]
Light upper layer Left: Remove warmer, add glasses case that doesn't fit, for swapping seeing/sun glasses
The interesting stuff goes in my purse:
Burt's Bees brand lip goo[2]
Spare genuine Powecom brand KN95 mask, white
One of those pocket things of nose papers
Several pens of which one might be functional
Old-ass 2xAA Maglite converted to LED[3], with cool butt button added
Another glasses case for an ancient pair that is out of date enough to be used as reading glasses
The toothbrush that has been rattling around at the bottom for over a year
(Optional) Preposterously oversized USB battery thing and sometimes the relevant cables
(Optional) an iPad in its keyboard case
(Optional) A squooshed-up reusable grocery bag, of the flimsy kind not the nice structured kind
(Optional) Clif bar
(Not really optional but I keep forgetting to put it back) a thing of Altoids
(Very very very occasional) Work badge
Also, yes, I call it a purse despite the term being gender-coded in a way I don't identify. It walks like a duck and I don't need to euphemize it.
[1] I bought a bunch of these masks through a supply-chain assured vendor, because supply chain assurance was pretty hard to come by back then.
[2] I'm aware that mentholated lip goo is not actually as helpful (and potentially harmful) but this is the only brand of product I have been satisfied with.
[3] Modern LED flashlights are better than my upgraded 90s gear in several ways. We just have a lot of maglites of various sizes accumulated over the decades so I upgraded the entire fleet.
posted by majick at 4:19 PM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
None of my clothes have pockets, unfortunately, other than the hoodie I wear through most of the cooler seasons. I just checked the pockets and there is a disposable mask in each one.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:09 PM on April 21, 2022
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:09 PM on April 21, 2022
It varies so much depending on season and work situation.
Working at home, I wear sweats (so cliche, I know) and a sweater. If not hand-carrying my phone, my iPhone weighs down my left pocket, and often my AirPods in the right. My sweater has "pockets" which can hold my Airpods; otherwise, they are full of used Kleenex. So much used Kleenex.
When I go out in the winter, spring or fall and have to wear a jacket, the phone and a pcoket pack of Kleenex are in the left jacket pocket, either the lower pocket or the upper, depending; "wallet" (cards, cash bound together with a hair tie) in the left pants pocket, keys either in the right pants pocket or right jacket pocket. Phone charger, other do-dads in whichever pocket is handy. Used Kleenex everywhere, all the time.
When the weather is warm and I don't have a jacket, the phone goes in the left pants pocket, screen inward, and the wallet-thingy on the outside, car keys in the right pants pocket. Nothing, ever, in the rear pockets; my back is bad enough without having to sit on lumpy things.
If I need to carry more, I have a nice leather fanny pack to put stuff in (fashion? I know nothing of this), because I hate over-stuffing my pockets and I hate carrying anything in my hands unless it can't be avoided. Hands are for doing things with, like searching for unused Kleenex.
posted by lhauser at 5:59 PM on April 21, 2022
Working at home, I wear sweats (so cliche, I know) and a sweater. If not hand-carrying my phone, my iPhone weighs down my left pocket, and often my AirPods in the right. My sweater has "pockets" which can hold my Airpods; otherwise, they are full of used Kleenex. So much used Kleenex.
When I go out in the winter, spring or fall and have to wear a jacket, the phone and a pcoket pack of Kleenex are in the left jacket pocket, either the lower pocket or the upper, depending; "wallet" (cards, cash bound together with a hair tie) in the left pants pocket, keys either in the right pants pocket or right jacket pocket. Phone charger, other do-dads in whichever pocket is handy. Used Kleenex everywhere, all the time.
When the weather is warm and I don't have a jacket, the phone goes in the left pants pocket, screen inward, and the wallet-thingy on the outside, car keys in the right pants pocket. Nothing, ever, in the rear pockets; my back is bad enough without having to sit on lumpy things.
If I need to carry more, I have a nice leather fanny pack to put stuff in (fashion? I know nothing of this), because I hate over-stuffing my pockets and I hate carrying anything in my hands unless it can't be avoided. Hands are for doing things with, like searching for unused Kleenex.
posted by lhauser at 5:59 PM on April 21, 2022
Dog treats, and little annoying crumbs from dog treats.
It's interesting that you can tell boy answers from girl answers by the size of things kept in pockets (with feminine pockets being notoriously smaller than masculine ones).
posted by mulcahy at 7:28 PM on April 21, 2022
It's interesting that you can tell boy answers from girl answers by the size of things kept in pockets (with feminine pockets being notoriously smaller than masculine ones).
posted by mulcahy at 7:28 PM on April 21, 2022
I keep seditious pamphlets in my pockets, mulcahy, to give reason to rebalance homme-presenting people with the same lack of pockets as femme-presenting people.
posted by k3ninho at 6:38 AM on April 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by k3ninho at 6:38 AM on April 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
Go butch, my 53 year old female neighbor wears cargo shorts and boots. Pockets!
posted by zengargoyle at 6:56 AM on April 22, 2022
posted by zengargoyle at 6:56 AM on April 22, 2022
WTF zengargoyle; I'm only 46! ;)
posted by metasarah at 7:42 AM on April 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by metasarah at 7:42 AM on April 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
More pens then one could possibly ever need. (Four today.) Keys, lighter, and a pack of fisherman's friends.
posted by hoodrich at 7:54 AM on April 22, 2022
posted by hoodrich at 7:54 AM on April 22, 2022
Around the house, if I'm carrying anything, it's usually in a robe pocket. Other pockets are just for hands.
- Lip Balm
- Maybe a small tube or tub of hand cream
- If I have a cold or etc, cough drops; possibly also packets of cold medicine and an inhaler and a couple of tissues
- Sometimes my reading glasses
My pockets aren't my handbag, which is where "leaving the house" stuff goes: glasses, sunglasses, cards/cash, keys, several tubes of lipstick (one pink, one red, one sheer), blotting papers, a comb, some extra meds and a few band-aids, a nail file, my phone, (edit: also, a mask!) I'm always trying to carry less, other than the lipstick.
posted by verbminx at 10:06 PM on April 22, 2022
- Lip Balm
- Maybe a small tube or tub of hand cream
- If I have a cold or etc, cough drops; possibly also packets of cold medicine and an inhaler and a couple of tissues
- Sometimes my reading glasses
My pockets aren't my handbag, which is where "leaving the house" stuff goes: glasses, sunglasses, cards/cash, keys, several tubes of lipstick (one pink, one red, one sheer), blotting papers, a comb, some extra meds and a few band-aids, a nail file, my phone, (edit: also, a mask!) I'm always trying to carry less, other than the lipstick.
posted by verbminx at 10:06 PM on April 22, 2022
- spoon
- notepad + assorted pens & pencils
- carpenter's pencil (because I was doing lots of stuff with wood a couple months ago and haven't deprecated it yet)
- clip-on sunglasses in small case
- sentimental rock and seashell fragment
- flashlight (not so much when at home, but we're on an extended bike trip and I like to have a flashlight handy when camping)
That's in addition to the usual keys-and-wallet. All of the above lives in a vest with four pockets on it. I used to keep things in pants pockets, but they were more prone to falling out and needed to be transferred every time I changed my pants. Vests can go a little longer without being changed, I find.
For pants pockets, especially when on a bike trip as we are now, I designate one as "miscellaneous" and the other as "trash" and try to empty them regularly into appropriate receptacles. "Trash" because there isn't always a trash can handy when I need to dispose of a snack bar wrapper or a piece of plastic found on the ground. "Miscellaneous" because sometimes I don't want to unpack everything to put a bolt or tool or other widget where it belongs, and would prefer to wait until we're in camp and already unpacked.
(I have long been an intensive pocket-user. In middle/high school I carried a graphing calculator in my pocket. For at least a year in high school I carried a tiny Spanish-English dictionary. It was great for my vocabulary!)
posted by sibilatorix at 10:38 PM on April 22, 2022
- notepad + assorted pens & pencils
- carpenter's pencil (because I was doing lots of stuff with wood a couple months ago and haven't deprecated it yet)
- clip-on sunglasses in small case
- sentimental rock and seashell fragment
- flashlight (not so much when at home, but we're on an extended bike trip and I like to have a flashlight handy when camping)
That's in addition to the usual keys-and-wallet. All of the above lives in a vest with four pockets on it. I used to keep things in pants pockets, but they were more prone to falling out and needed to be transferred every time I changed my pants. Vests can go a little longer without being changed, I find.
For pants pockets, especially when on a bike trip as we are now, I designate one as "miscellaneous" and the other as "trash" and try to empty them regularly into appropriate receptacles. "Trash" because there isn't always a trash can handy when I need to dispose of a snack bar wrapper or a piece of plastic found on the ground. "Miscellaneous" because sometimes I don't want to unpack everything to put a bolt or tool or other widget where it belongs, and would prefer to wait until we're in camp and already unpacked.
(I have long been an intensive pocket-user. In middle/high school I carried a graphing calculator in my pocket. For at least a year in high school I carried a tiny Spanish-English dictionary. It was great for my vocabulary!)
posted by sibilatorix at 10:38 PM on April 22, 2022
I am highly curious about the impetus for carrying a spoon in one's pocket, assuming said person is not The Tick who might need it for thematic reasons.
posted by majick at 12:46 PM on April 25, 2022
posted by majick at 12:46 PM on April 25, 2022
I have serious pocket envy after reading through this thread. Women's jeans, tiny pockets. I can fit my phone into a back pocket safely enough for wandering around the house or walking in the countryside (far too pickpocketable to do the same anywhere more public) but have to remember to take it out before I sit down. All I can put in the front pockets are a tissue and a lip balm. Keys go in there if I'm going out without a handbag, and I check they're still there about every five minutes.
My coat and jacket pockets are also small, really only meant to accommodate hands. They nevertheless carry gloves and (where physically possible) a pocket pack of tissues.
Everything else has to go in a handbag.
In the Before Times, that was generally as much as I could physically cram in: phone, wallet, keys, work pass, train tickets, passport, paperback book or pocket camera, mirror, painkillers, small water bottle, hand wipes, pocket pack of tissues, fold-up bag, Tampax, tiny hairbrush, plasters, portable phone charger, compact umbrella if rain threatened, chocolate bar, postage stamps, ear plugs, biro, throat sweets, plasters, sometimes a bunch of interesting pebbles or a feather, and doubtless more things I'm forgetting. I used to carry a Swiss army knife too, but when museums started putting in bag checks and metal detectors, that had to stop.
Nowadays, when I'm only ever going to the market or the doctor's: mask, phone, wallet, keys, hand sanitiser, fold-up bag and a couple of plastic carrier bags for good measure. Boring.
It always puzzled me when male friends asked why I kept my bag slung across my body in a pub or train or cafe, instead of hanging it on my chair, or putting it at my feet or in the overhead rack... yes, it was heavy with all that stuff in it, but would you take your your phone, wallet and keys out of your pockets, put them in a bag obviously intended to carry such things, and then leave it somewhere out of your sight in a crowded place?
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 2:10 AM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
My coat and jacket pockets are also small, really only meant to accommodate hands. They nevertheless carry gloves and (where physically possible) a pocket pack of tissues.
Everything else has to go in a handbag.
In the Before Times, that was generally as much as I could physically cram in: phone, wallet, keys, work pass, train tickets, passport, paperback book or pocket camera, mirror, painkillers, small water bottle, hand wipes, pocket pack of tissues, fold-up bag, Tampax, tiny hairbrush, plasters, portable phone charger, compact umbrella if rain threatened, chocolate bar, postage stamps, ear plugs, biro, throat sweets, plasters, sometimes a bunch of interesting pebbles or a feather, and doubtless more things I'm forgetting. I used to carry a Swiss army knife too, but when museums started putting in bag checks and metal detectors, that had to stop.
Nowadays, when I'm only ever going to the market or the doctor's: mask, phone, wallet, keys, hand sanitiser, fold-up bag and a couple of plastic carrier bags for good measure. Boring.
It always puzzled me when male friends asked why I kept my bag slung across my body in a pub or train or cafe, instead of hanging it on my chair, or putting it at my feet or in the overhead rack... yes, it was heavy with all that stuff in it, but would you take your your phone, wallet and keys out of your pockets, put them in a bag obviously intended to carry such things, and then leave it somewhere out of your sight in a crowded place?
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 2:10 AM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
I am in the process of making myself a Cargo Skirt. Pattern name-Anzu cargo skirt. Company name-Waffle Patterns.
SO MANY POCKETS!
This company also has a cargo vest, don’t remember the name of the pattern at the moment.
posted by LaBellaStella at 10:50 AM on April 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
SO MANY POCKETS!
This company also has a cargo vest, don’t remember the name of the pattern at the moment.
posted by LaBellaStella at 10:50 AM on April 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
I am highly curious about the impetus for carrying a spoon in one's pocket, assuming said person is not The Tick who might need it for thematic reasons.
When eating out (these days usually takeout eaten in a park) it means I don't need to waste a plastic spoon. More often it just means I can pack whatever food I feel like and I'll have something to eat it with. When on a bike trip, it means I always have a spoon handy for making & eating food.
I had to look up The Tick. Spoooon!?
LaBellaStella - Ooh, cool! I think I prefer my simple four-pocket cargo vest to the asymmetrical thing that Waffle Patterns does, but that's still pretty neat. Thanks for mentioning them! I am bookmarking their site for the next time I have access to a sewing machine.
posted by sibilatorix at 9:28 PM on May 21, 2022
When eating out (these days usually takeout eaten in a park) it means I don't need to waste a plastic spoon. More often it just means I can pack whatever food I feel like and I'll have something to eat it with. When on a bike trip, it means I always have a spoon handy for making & eating food.
I had to look up The Tick. Spoooon!?
LaBellaStella - Ooh, cool! I think I prefer my simple four-pocket cargo vest to the asymmetrical thing that Waffle Patterns does, but that's still pretty neat. Thanks for mentioning them! I am bookmarking their site for the next time I have access to a sewing machine.
posted by sibilatorix at 9:28 PM on May 21, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rd45 at 6:24 AM on April 21, 2022 [3 favorites]