Over the past few years my diaper bag has been a constant companion whenever I leave the house. Along with housing all the kids’ needs, it has acted as my purse so that I don’t have to carry two bags and two kids when I am out. Along the way I’ve reevaluated and reorganized the bag to make sure that I’m not constantly pulling out EVERYTHING to find a small item way down in the bottom corner of the bag. I did this again last night and thought I would share what I think are must haves and a few tricks I have found.

The pretty obvious things that one would find in a bag includes:

Diapers (one rule of thumb that I have heard is to carry one diaper per hour you will be gone. I usually carry four per child and haven’t run out)

Wipes

Extra Set of Clothes

Changing pad (the one pictured is disposable)

Bags for dirty diapers

Pacifier (I carry this in a clear container so it doesn’t get dirty)

Nursing cover

Bulb syringe

Hand Sanitizer

Kleenex

Kids’ Sunglasses

Burp Cloth

Snacks

Multiple toys for baby as the attention span can be rather small during a wait

Colors and paper for my toddler so she can create masterpieces wherever we are (I found the trick of putting them in an extra wipes container on Pinterest)

Restaurant Kit:

I’ve recently seen these all over the place and thought it was genius! I bought a couple of small makeup bags at the dollar store and put bibs, silverware, and a Norwex cloth in one of them. I use the plastic types of bibs for restaurants so I can easily clean up any mess that they may make and move on. I also have a plastic bag for the Norwex cloth so that I can wet it down when we leave home and it will be ready when needed and not get everything else wet.

Mommy’s Stuff:

This is where the second makeup bag that I bought at the dollar store came into play. I have most of my stuff in there along with a few smaller items that I don’t want the kids playing with and could easily get lost in the diaper bag. The items in this bag consists of hair things for my daughter and I, chap stick, breath mints, couple of makeup items, comb, hand lotion, and pain reliever. Other mommy items that I carry in the diaper bag are my wallet and business cards for my husband and I.

The above items are my essentials when leaving the house. Other items that one may find in my bag, depending on where I am going, are coupons, notebook, etc.