The one thing I can't leave the house without.

By MAMAMIA TEAM

They say that eyes are the windows to the soul.

We say, forget that. A woman’s handbag is the window to her soul. After all – the contents of a woman’s handbag will tell you everything you need to know, and probably some things you didn’t want to know, about a lady in your life.

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by the Nissan. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their own words.

The contents of every handbag are usually divided up as such:

– 20%: Absolutely necessary items. Think: wallet, keys, sunglasses, diary, spare tampons, spare lipstick, Panadol.

– 75%: Absolutely unnecessary items. Think: those four lip glosses that haven’t seen the light of day since 2011 and have since gone all clumpy, receipts from long-ago purchases, crumpled tissues, crumbly muesli bars which you wouldn’t eat even if stuck in the desert and faced with imminent starvation, several necklaces, umbrella that no longer works, seedy old hair elastics, child’s old blanky, etc…

– 5%: Your ‘I Can’t Leave The House Without This’ Item.

The last one is the most important category and it’s different for everyone.

You see, most people can carry on without the great majority of items if they’ve accidentally left them at home.

But your ‘I Can’t Leave The House Without This’ item is the one that sends you into panic attack mode if you find yourself stuck without it. It’s the one that’s always packed first when you get a new handbag. It’s the one that you might have even bought multiple versions of, should you ever lose the original.

For everyone on the Mamamia team, their item is completely different.

MM Editor Jamila happily admits that she cannot and will not leave the house without her phone. Which is terribly cliché and Gen Y of her, she admits, but it’s her connection to work, family, friends – so it’s understandable.

Mamamia style guru Nicky Champ won’t leave the house unless she is well equipped with hairbands and face mist. “That way if I’m caught in an emergency I’ll be able to make like MacGyver and fashion a raft or something,” she explained. We’d pay to see that one happen.

However, some of the others are not so understandable. Editorial assistant Melissa obsessively applies strawberry-fanta-flavoured Lipsmackers and won’t leave the house unless she has several of them at hand. Similarly, Nat will not walk out of the front door unless she has a book packed securely in her bag. She rarely has time to actually read the book – too busy, you know, Instagramming and stuff – but always thinks she might get around to reading it at a bus stop or something.

And deputy editor Lucy always likes to carry a pair of spare shoes and a jacket, regardless of the weather. Because, just like the Scouts, she likes to be prepared. Even if it means making her bag ridiculously heavy and leaving half of her wardrobe in her car at all times.

That’s the other thing about women. Everything they can’t fit in their handbag gets left in the car. Several changes of outfits, spare make-up, spare umbrellas, stuff for the kids… some cars are almost a mini house on wheels. Just without the backyard or kitchen sink.

MM contributor Meshel Laurie took the Nissan Dualis for a test drive. Meshel spends a lot of time in the car, and luckily for her, the Dualis has room for absolutely everything. Including her two children and all the grocery shopping she needs to do in order to feed them:

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What can’t you leave the house without?