You might be familiar with the term “everyday carry” – it seems to be all the rage nowadays (at least in the guys’ universe). If you’re not, everyday carry basically refers to the stuff you always have with you – i.e. the things you never leave the house without. There are certain items that are universal for just about everyone – phone, car keys, wallet/purse, etc. But because everyone is a unique snowflake, very few people have exactly the same collection of supplies with them at any given time.
I like to think that the things we carry with us everyday can be a little window into who we are – what kind of work we do (an IT person will likely always have one or more USB drives in their pocket); where we live (someone in Minnesota might tend to keep hand warmers with them, while here in Louisiana it’s smart to always have an umbrella); our hobbies and interests (maybe you like to always have your DSLR camera or yoga mat with you); even our vices (cigarettes/lighter, flask).
I also like seeing what kinds of things people carry with them because sometimes I see something and think, “huh, I never thought to keep one of those with me, but that’s a great idea!” It’s incredible to see just how clever and creative some people can be.
For guys, everyday carry items are typically limited to what we can fit in our pockets. While we might have a briefcase or backpack for work stuff, it’s not something we carry with us when we’re out with friends. Supposedly fanny packs are making a resurgence nowadays, but I personally don’t think it’s a great look (I’m sure some guys can pull it off… I am not one of them). Ladies, on the other hand, tend to have a much larger assortment of things that they can have with them at any given time – lucky them!
Once you become a parent, though, you no longer only carry stuff for yourself anymore. Just leaving the house can be somewhat of an ordeal, and you practically have a checklist to follow just to make sure you have what you need to survive the day. Because of that, your everyday-carry arsenal looks a lot different now than it did pre-kids.
This is our personal list of items that we always have to have on us when we’re with the kids. We check the bag every time we go out to make sure everything is stocked up accordingly.
- Diapers & baby wipes – This is pretty obvious; something that just about every parent in the world has with them.
- Water bottles – Mainly for the bigger boys, but Beckett has one now too. If we’re going somewhere to eat where the older boys can just get their own cups, we won’t bring theirs.
- Bibs – We like these particular ones because they cover the shoulders, which is necessary if you have extra messy eaters.
- Diaper disposal bags – Kind of like the bags you use to pick up dog poop, but for dirty diapers instead (if you have the dog ones you could probably get away with just using those).
- Sound machine – Because you never know when your baby will decide to fall asleep, and nothing keeps them asleep better than some white noise in the background.
- Food pouches – Much easier on the go compared to jars of baby food. Our 2-year-old even likes them as a snack sometimes.
- Pouch holder – Prevents your baby from squeezing all of the food out of the pouch. Beckett can be like a tiny Hulk sometimes, and they actually do make a difference!
- Puffs – All three of our kids like these, even our almost-5-year-old. They’re not very filling but they’re great for keeping them occupied while waiting for our food at the restaurant.
- Snacks – Because you don’t want your kids to get HANGRY. We also like these snack cups for keeping stuff on hand without making a mess.
- Compression packing cube – great for keeping diapers organized, and the compression feature helps to save space.
- Baby spoons/forks – Not quite as necessary with older babies – Beckett is one year old and we just use regular utensils when we go out to eat (and we’ve been doing that for a few months now; he’s also a third kid lol)
- Bottles/Formula – Or breast milk if you’re still nursing (or better yet just make sure you’re wearing a nursing bra and you’re good to go!)
- Activities – We keep a variety on hand: buckle board, books, coloring/activity books, light-up baby toys, crinkly baby toys, toy dinosaurs, etc. We’ll sometimes just rotate stuff out over time, so that they’re not getting bored with the same stuff all of the time.
- Change of clothes – Because accidents just sometimes happen. One time Gage fell into the water table at a museum – I’m talking FULL SUBMERSION. Not a single piece of clothing was dry (including shoes and socks). We’re honestly still not sure how he managed to do it…
- Burp cloths – Definitely necessary with infants, but they’re good for cleaning up messes at any age (though you might get to a certain point where you just trade them out for hand towels).
- Hand sanitizer with holder – Because kids just always seem to have dirty hands, and you might not be somewhere that they can wash them. The little holder allows you to just clip it to the outside of your bag for quick access (which is also great for traveling!).
- Pacifier & clip – If your baby takes a paci, we definitely recommend having one on a clip for when you’re out and about. It makes it less likely that the paci will end up on the ground (though they sometimes still find a way…).
- Teethers – If your little one is teething, we probably don’t need to tell you to bring these.
- First aid kit – just basic stuff like band-aids and alcohol wipes.
- Adult stuff – Pens, chapstick, tampons, tissues, phone charger, etc. – because you’re already carrying a big bag, might as well put some of your own stuff in there too!
- High chair cover – So this is actually sold as a shopping cart seat cover, but we use it just as much (if not more) as a cover for high chairs at restaurants. It’s much easier to use this than to wipe the whole high chair down (you know how gross those things can get). We just keep this in the back of the car for when we need it.
- Packable booster seat – Another one we keep in the car; don’t always need it but nice to have when we do.
Now that we’re actually looking at this list, we’re thinking, “wow, we carry a lot of crap.” 😂
In reality, most of this stuff is relatively small. We usually just use a regular backpack as our diaper bag, and all of this stuff (with exception to the booster seat and high chair cover) fits in it. We will admit that it is sometimes packed to the gills though…
We hope this helps give you ideas for stuff to add to your everyday carry essentials – we can confidently tell you that keeping these supplies with us has made our lives MUCH easier, and some of them have helped to stave off disaster on more than one occasion.
How does this list compare to yours? Do you have some things that you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT leave the house without (at least when you have the kids with you)?
