Totes In Totes

Want to Get Organized?

a wicker tote with beach supplies

Do You Tote?

If you live in NYC, in all probability you are well acquainted with totes and the importance they have in every day life. But we recently had a conversation with a non-New Yorker who was a bit confused. It went something like this…

Ann: So I’m going to be on a podcast about totes. I’m so excited because I love the host.

Sister: Did you say totes? Like a tote bag?

Ann: Yep.

Sister: Oh cool. So is that like a thing? What will you talk about?

Ann: Well just about how people hoard them, and how there are good ones and bad ones and the difference between the ones you can give away and the ones that are “keep forevers”.

Sister: Oh. So you did say totes, right?

Ann: (Laughing) Yes, don’t you have a stash of them that you have in case you need to carry stuff?

Sister: You mean like from the house to the car? Not so much.

a white canvas tote with the words But first, Coffee on it

So clearly, totes aren’t a thing everywhere. If you don’t live in a city and don’t have to shlepp things around all day every day, you might not understand the importance of having the perfect tote. But for us city dwellers, they can be life savers. We don’t have the convenience of car trunks, we often have to walk up and down several flights of stairs to get out the door and even a simple errand like returning library books requires a functional carry-all.

When Is Too Many Totes Too Many?

More often than not, we encounter a overabundance of totes when we work with our clients. It seems like every New Yorker has a tote they love, and many they don’t, but we’re all reluctant to let them go…just in case. You never know when a friend might need one to carry some leftovers home in and they can’t have your good one! The challenge, as always, is not holding on to so many that they begin to take up valuable real estate.

Ann has some amazing tips and some hilarious advice on the aforementioned Ask A Clean Person podcast. Did you ever wonder what makes for a perfect tote? Or what the fascination is with the L.L. Bean canvas tote? And the eternal question…to wash or not to wash? Even if you’re not a New Yorker and totes aren’t something you get, it’s worth a listen! Or if you’re not a fan of podcasts and prefer to get your info the old fashioned way, What To Do With All Those Totes by Jolie Kerr will give you all the same details!

white canvas tote with black script writing