When my cousin was a toddler and we were preparing to leave the house she would tick off the things she would need on her fingers. "Coat? Hat? Shoes?" she would ask herself and grin and nod for each one. As a big fan of Kay Chorao's children's book Molly's Moe, I loved my cousin's short list. However, as an adult my Don't Leave Home Without It list is more like: Wallet? Phone? Keys?
My minimalist tendencies rebel against lugging around a purse full of the things I might need. But sadly, I was forever misplacing my keys or phone or (Heavens no!) wallet because they were not tethered to my body (or anything else). This was a problem for me until until a dear friend introduced me to her strategy a few months ago.
My friend found a cool felted pouch just big enough to hold her phone, wallet, and keys. She dubbed it her pod and when she showed it to me I decided I simply had to have one. (I rarely have this reaction to a thing, so I knew I was onto something! Or rather, it wasn't really the thing itself as much as the concept. I knew I wanted that simplicity.) Another friend had given me a little felted coin purse as a birthday present that year and it happened to perfectly fit my phone and my slim wallet. I attached my keys to the zipper pull and all of the sudden, everything I really needed was right there. (Okay, so I usually keep business cards and chapstick in there, too, and they're not truly essential, but they're awfully nice to have when I need them!)
Now I only have to remember ONE thing when leaving the house. That I can do even on a busy day! And with a convenient hook right inside the door, my pod has a place inside the house, too.