Freeing Up Space For Pocket Pool
Posted on | February 25, 2007 at 3:26 pm | 5 Comments
In yesterday’s entry, I alluded that I had undergone a wallet simplification process. This was brought on partly by the fact that if I was going to be carrying the PDA around with me so much, I would need to lighten the load in other areas. But I also was just sick of
carrying a bulky wallet around with so much stuff in it. I could never put it in my back pocket when sitting down, since that would cause my butt to ache.
So, I looked into slim wallets, and finally decided on the Dopp Morgan 72 Series Front Pocket Getaway. And like with the PDA, I’ve never looked back. This turns out to be the perfect wallet for my lifestyle. I like the fact that it is slim but still has a lot of pockets and slots. I of course still try to cram as much as I can into it, but even when full it’s still slim enough to fit in my front pocket (along with my house and car keys) comfortably at all times.
At the time of this writing, here’s what I have in the Dopp:
In the front (window) pocket, I keep my
- Driver’s License (I like how this shows through the front window, so I never have to take it out when showing ID)
- AAA Card (thick)
- Auto insurance card
- Two car registration slips (mine and my dad’s)
- Great Harvest Bread Company Bread Card
- Health insurance card
- Two Tokyo Joe’s Addict Cards (long story on why there’s two)
- Small Best Buy Reward Zone keyring card (which is not on my key ring because it broke)
- A slip of paper with some phone numbers/addresses that I didn’t want to put in the PDA
On the other side with the 3 credit card slots, I keep 4 cards: Discover, AT&T MasterCard, Bank Debit Card, and Safeway Club Card (the last two are in one slot).
In the middle pocket, I keep my cash, folded in half. Currently there are 6 bills in there. There is also room for a few credit card receipts.
In the extra pocket behind the credit card slots, I keep my dad’s Discover card, which I use to buy stuff for him.
Total thickness of the wallet at this point (when not scrunched down) is less than 3/4 of an inch. I think my old wallet was at least a few inches thick.
When I went to the smaller wallet, I removed all business cards, appointment cards, and photos, since I could put those into the PDA. I also removed “frequent customer” cards from stores and restaurants that I didn’t really patronize that often. And I went down to the bare minimum of credit cards.
When I first bought the wallet, I also bought a money clip that I used for the cash. That freed up even more space in the wallet. But eventually I decided it was easier and lighter to just keep a few bills in the wallet and not carry the money clip and extra cash.
In order to make my pants pockets in general less full, I also went through all the keys on my keychain and removed the ones that I no longer knew what they were for. And also ones I didn’t use very often. I kept the nail clippers and church key though. I still use the money clip from time to time if I have a need for carrying around a lot of cash.
That’s what’s in my right pants pocket, most of the time. In my left pocket, I keep:
- Cell phone
- Lip balm
- Breath strips
- Eye drops
- Small swiss army knife
- Slimline reading glasses in lightweight vinyl case (the case actually came with another set of glasses than the ones I use)
- Money clip with spare cash (if used)
So now I’m not nearly as weighed down as I used to be (unless I put the PDA in a pocket also) and am keeping track of important stuff better. Organization is all about simplification!
Latre.
Comments
5 Responses to “Freeing Up Space For Pocket Pool”
February 25th, 2007 @ 6:32 pm
Dude, you need a purse.
February 25th, 2007 @ 8:20 pm
I think I actually have more stuff in my wallet, but not by much.
February 26th, 2007 @ 1:55 pm
Dude, you need a purse.
Yeah, a MAN-purse.
February 26th, 2007 @ 2:49 pm
yellojkt: You win! Love the expired cards…
February 26th, 2007 @ 3:45 pm
“Dude, you need a purse.
Yeah, a MAN-purse. ”
That’s basically what I gave up and did. For work (when I deign to have a job) I carry a soft briefcase (from Tumi). For non-work I have a bag from YakPak.
Even with a wallet I similarly thinned eons ago I refuse to sit on the thing. It either goes in the bag with the other junk, or if I’m wearing a jacket (the dressy kind) it goes in one of the interior pockets. For keys: it’s the car key and house key. The money goes in a clip in my front pocket.