8 Things That You Should Keep in Your Purse for a Long Day on Campus

By Uloop Guest Writer on January 22, 2013

Picture this: it’s that one day of the week when you run around campus like a crazy person. Not only do all of your classes happen to fall on the same day, but you also have a student organization meeting, a meeting with a professor, and a study date over coffee. Preparation is key to avoid the dreaded need to run back to your dorm room or apartment. Bring these items with you to maximize your productivity, stay comfortable, and prevent the mid-day slump.

Scarf: Even when the weather hits the pleasant low 70s, bring a scarf with you to class in case the classroom is unnecessarily frigid. For bonus style points, make a reverse tie dyed jersey scarf a la Brit & Co.

Gum or toothbrush: If you’re like me, you like to keep your pearly whites, well, white by brushing after meals. If you can’t find time to run home, bring along sugar-free gum or a travel toothbrush (like Brookstone’s fancy sonic toothbrush or the cheaper Butler toothbrush).

Water bottle: Avoid feeling parched by 1pm by toting a water bottle in your bag. If you’re a picky water drinker but still want to avoid the cost (both financial and environmental) of buying water bottles, try a reusable one with a built-in filter, like Target’s bobble water bottle.

Flats: Wearing kitten heels or wedges might seem like a good idea at 9am, but by 4pm, your tired feet will be begging for a break. Why not wear a pair of Fit in Clouds rollable flats or tuck them into your bag to change into mid-afternoon? I’m a fan of the Black Retro style.

Lip balm: The dry winter air and classroom heat can do a number on your lips, so bring along a soothing lip balm, like the new strange-looking eos lip salve (did you know eos stands for “Evolution of Smooth”?). Or turn to my faithful go-to: the surprisingly effective Vaseline, which now comes in teeny tiny .25 ounce pots.

A lunchbox or a snack: I love Built’s cute and stretchy lunch boxes that are made from the same material as wetsuits (they’re helping make the lunch box a style statement, rather than a painful reminder of our grade school days). As for food- I’m hit by the mid-morning munchies around 10 or 11am. If you are too, stave off hunger with Blue Diamond 100 calorie packs of almonds, protein-packed cheese sticks, or Larabars in fun flavors, like Key Lime and Cappuccino. Bonus: Larabars are gluten-free, in case you’re gluten intolerant.

Deodorant: I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, but I bet none of us are strangers to the mid-day realization that we could use a deodorant refresher. Try Lavanila’s Vanilla Lavendar Mini Deodorant or check out the RealSimple list of best deodorants.

Your phone: That seems like an obvious reminder, right? Chances are, you’re glued to your smartphone and spend your day tweeting, pinning, and Facebooking, but remember that that your phone can serve a purpose. For your school day, download Evernote for note-taking that syncs with your computer, the Starbucks app for quicker caffeine runs, or any of these 10 helpful apps for students from Yahoo!

What else do you bring in your bag for your school or workday?

Cristina Roman is an Online Presence Management Consultant at CMR Strategies, a Raleigh lover, and a former Junior Recruiting Coordinator at LivingSocial. She is obsessed with volunteerism, Twitter and Starbucks, and loves tennis, gluten-free cooking and professional development. Cristina likes to think of herself as professional with a goofy streak. She blogs about just about everything over at Scintillating Simplicity.

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