Stripping down...care to join me?

Thankfully I'm up and about now, but have to be very mindful that I'm still recovering. According to my doctor that includes not lifting or carrying anything for a few more weeks. Ok, no problem.

Wait, that is a problem, because apparently that lifting starts with my purse. Granted my purse is probably as heavy as a small toddler, but you just never know what you'll need, right?

Then there's my gym bag (I'm ready for an impromptu coffee after class, or probably even a cocktail party). And there's my "work bag", where alongside the unfinished marketing project of '05, there's enough reading material that if I end up stranded like Tom Hanks in Castaway, I'd be set for months.

Despite the fact that I was never a Girl Scout, I've always lived the motto, Be Prepared. It's probably one of the reasons I adored Nancy Drew. Everything she needed was in her trunk (or her purse) and with her cohorts Bess and George by her side she was ready to solve even the most perplexing of mysteries.

Stripping down my bag lady persona has been a bit anxiety provoking. What if I don't have something I NEED?

I went about the process, streamlining and organizing (did I really need seven lipsticks at my fingertips? That's not counting the two lip balms - which of course are totally different!). 

I'm now traveling lighter. I'm no longer weighed down carrying too much stuff. I only hope I'm not called upon to solve The Mystery of Lilac Inn and find myself without a flashlight, Swiss Army knife and extra undies.

My challenge to you is to find one area in hour environment and par down to the essentials. Your purse, gym bag, trunk of your car, whatever physically pulls you down.

Although I'm not sure how long this will last, stripping down feels good. Wait! You didn't think this was going to be about something else did you? 

It's freeing...and your back will probably thank you as well.