Lightening the load, Part 1...

In addition to paying attention to the amount of paper I carry, my first task in reducing the weight of the bag I take to and from work was to identify the heaviest items and figure out how to reduce or eliminate them.

Along with library books, which are variable in weight, the two heaviest constants in my bag are my notebook and my calendar.  The notebook is key to my life.  It has lists of everything:  to-do lists, books to read, packing lists, lists of dances for dance programs, presents to buy, and on and on.  I used to have a new notebook for each (academic) year, but over time I've started using all of the pages, and simply rolling over to a new one whenever I need to.  My standard notebook has been Mead 5x7 spiral bound - easy to fit in bag or purse, enough pages to last for a year or more, with a handy, dandy spiral to hold my pen.

The heaviest item in my bag is my calendar, which is a Day Runner refillable binder holding 2-3 years of monthly calendar pages, address book, folders and pouches of loose items, note pages, and more.  I'm on my second binder, with who knows how many years of calendar pages behind me.

My version of this calendar is about 7"x9".  The binder rings and multiple years of calendar pages keep it weighty.  I actually still use the address book feature and can get to about June of one year before I must have the next year's pages.  I recently took out 2012 so I could put in 2014.

I know that I can't live without a notebook of some sort.  And while I keep somethings on Google Calendar, I need a paper version I can access all the time without relying on electronic devices I may or may not posses.  As my current notebook has only about 10 blank pages left the moment seemed rip to combine the two.  On a recent trip to Staples, I hit upon a solution...