Beijing’s an urban jungle, and in any jungle, we need tools to survive and thrive. As urban jungle dwellers, we’ve managed to blend practicality with style, resulting in the modern bag. Here, form meets function, and what looks stylish and fashionable on the outside contains all our essential survival tools on the inside. Inspired by this, we ask expat parents each week, “What’s in your bag?” and get insights into which essentials they keep on hand when out and about in the capital city.
Mio Rudnicki is a third culture kid who grew up in wildly diverse places such as Boston, Japan, Hong Kong, Texas, France, Singapore, Shanghai, and California, before landing in Beijing with her husband and two rescue cats some five years ago. Outside of her work as a program and community manager for social enterprise at Purpose in Motion, she stays active in her free time through aerial yoga, community building, and being admin of her Female Expats in Beijing groups as well as Vegans of Beijing, Viva Professional Women’s Network, Lost Puppies of Beijing, and volunteering for animal shelters.
I love this bag because the neutral color goes with everything, and it seamlessly blends my every day needs like being a work bag (it easily fits my laptop!) to travel bag that fits all my essentials. I’ve even taken it on short weekend trips and ONLY taken this bag because it fits multiple outfits, my toiletries, and chargers!
My daily survival essentials!
I always have my to-do list of scratch paper with me so I can easily jot down things I need to do and places I need to go as I think of them. It’s also so satisfying to physically cross something off a list!
I usually have some kind of snack food in my purse. This particular week was after VegFest, where I got so many plant-based goodies, like roasted kale, plant-based meat seaweed snacks, and more! So I have them in my purse to bring to the office to share with my coworkers.
I love my reusable cutlery box from PIM! It’s easy to clean, sleek, and saves so much unnecessary waste. Yay sustainability!
I have these lipsticks/lip tints/balms, earrings, and a couple perfumes to easily transition from simple day to night looks, and to freshen up if I’m out all day.
At this point I don’t know why I carry band-aids because I almost never use them (I honestly think some of them are 10+ years old) but I have them just in case! Otherwise, I carry general wipes and smaller alcohol wipes to clean surfaces like shared bike handles or my hands when I’m in a pinch.
Want to share your Beijing survival tools with us? Shoot us an email at editor@beijing-kids.com, message our Official Jingkids WeChat account (ID: beijing-kids), or leave a comment below!
KEEP READING: What’s In Your Bag? A Decorative Sushi Master’s Essentials
Images: Mio Rudnicki
