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In the morning, the chance for extra sleep trumps a lot. I try to make my lunch the night before and I eat a simple breakfast. But the best time-saver I’ve found is to make sure my bag is properly packed.

I have a few different bags – for different occasions – but it’s really inconvenient to move stuff between them all the time. My cell phone, keys and wallet are necessary transfers, of course, but I buy other items in bulk so my most-used bags – backpack, small purse, bigger purse – are otherwise ready to go.

I always carry tampons, lip gloss, a small tube of hand lotion, at least two pens, some sort of notebook or pad of paper, Kleenex, gum, a couple of hair elastics and bobby pins, and a reusable shopping bag. I consider these items, along with my trio of floaters, to be daily necessities.

It’s funny, because I like to think of myself as low-maintenance, but if for some reason I decide to take a bag that isn’t in my usual rotation and it isn’t properly stocked, I’m frustrated all day long.

The worst items to forget, for me, are hand lotion and a reusable bag. I find dry skin uncomfortable to the point of distraction, and have lotion stashed around my apartment for that very reason.

The shopping bag problem is perhaps more relatable – not everyone hates the feeling of dry hands as much as I do, I know. In Toronto, plastic bags cost five cents, no matter where you’re shopping. I’m all for cutting down on waste, so I don’t begrudge the cost. That said, running unplanned errands without my own bag makes me feel like a bit of an environmental failure.

I know a lot of people who keep things like this in their cars, or their office desk drawers, but since I have a bike and a bag instead, I need to pack them with me, just in case.

In my defence, I come by this honestly. My mum is a champion at stocking her purse with all the kinds of things we – she, my dad, my two sisters and I – might need at any given time. Perhaps the best illustration of this is a story she told me the other day. About 10 years ago, my family was flying back to Canada from Saint Lucia (where we lived for a few years); my two sisters and my dad were sitting in front of her, I was just across the aisle and she was seated with two strangers.

Throughout the entire flight we asked her for things.

“Mummy, do you have a deck of cards?”

“Mummy, do you have a pen and some paper so we can keep score?”

“Mummy, do you have an extra magazine for me to read?”

“Pam, do you have another deck of cards?”

“Mummy, this pen isn’t working; do you have another one?”

On and on this went, for the entire five-hour flight. And she had everything. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if she had more in there that we hadn’t thought to ask for.

All of this is to say that packing a bag properly is a kind of art. Making everything fit, though, is more reminiscent of Tetris.

I’m completing my masters of journalism at Ryerson University in Toronto, so my most frequently carried bag is my backpack.On an average day, I’d say it weighs in somewhere between six and 10 pounds.

Besides the articles I’ve already listed, I have to bring schoolbooks, of course, and the associated folders and notebooks. I also carry a day planner (I like the old-fashioned paper ones), an extra notebook, a digital voice recorder, an iPod, two sets of headphones (just in case), a headphone-jack converter for editing radio pieces and a USB key. Sometimes I add my laptop to that pile, but not often.

I also like to pack a lunch, so I have that, a cloth napkin, a leak-proof travel mug and a metal water bottle. When I bicycle (which is most days), I also have bike lights, sunglasses and a sunglasses case. If I’m taking the subway, or have gaps in my schedule, I also bring a book or a magazine (or both).

Lastly, because both outdoor and indoor temperatures are hard to judge and I usually assume I’ll be cold, I try to bring a scarf and a cardigan with me. I also stick my umbrella in an outside pocket, which saves some space as well.

“Do you really carry all of this with you, every day?” asked the photographer charged with making all my little belongings look neat and arranged.

“My goodness,” my boyfriend said after looking over my list of everyday necessities, “you do carry a lot.”

Well, yes and no. I’ll admit I’m sometimes jealous of the person who can leave home with everything they need neatly fitting in their pockets, but everything I carry is carefully chosen. Some of the things are meant to save me money (bringing a lunch, for example) and others are more environmentally conscious (the napkin, reusable bags, travel mug, water bottle), but all have become necessary to my daily life.

Sure, I could probably scrape by with less, but it would mean more grumbling on my part. I would have to make a conscious decision to expect less from my bag, and I just don’t feel the need right now. Besides, I don’t mind being the person who always has an extra pen, because I really did learn from the best how to pack what I – and perhaps a friend – will need.