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When was the last time you cleaned out your laptop bag or briefcase?

February 14, 2018 / in Business Recommendations, How To, Information Technology / by Jason Terry

By Jason Terry, talking about spring cleaning your laptop bag or briefcase. Especially if it’s been years.

I was at a client’s office recently and I needed an HDMI cable to connect my laptop to their wall-mounted big screen TV. I’ve kept an HDMI cable in my bag for years, but it was only 6 feet long. And bulky. And it wouldn’t reach the TV from the conference table we were at.

I went to my trusted source for just about everything… Amazon.com. And I found a 15 foot slim HDMI cable that was about $10 bucks. Kansas City is one of those lucky cities that can get same day or next day delivery from Amazon.com for free. And the next day, my shiny new cable showed up.

When I started putting the new HDMI cable in my laptop bag, I realized there were a couple of other cables that were past due to be replaced or upgraded. And that’s when I knew it was time to really take stock of what was in my bag.

Time to purge the bag.

I took every single thing out and arranged the items on a table. There were some really old cables that needed to be upgraded. The in-ear headphones had been in my bag for more than 5 years… so time for some new Sony Extra Bass headphones. USB-C is a new cable used with newer devices… and I had none in my bag. Oh, and I remember loaning a client a CAT-6 cable and hadn’t replaced it. And then wondered why the heck I’ve been carrying around a mini LEGO Star Wars tie fighter set in my bag… for years.

I ended up getting rid of almost two-thirds of what was in my laptop bag. Some items were given away… and some thrown away. And I made a list of things that would be useful to have in my newly reorganized bag.

The Shopping List

($11) – 15 foot slim HDMI cable
($8) – 10 foot slim Cat 6 Ethernet cable
($14) – 3 foot USB C cable
($6) – 1 foot micro USB cable (no need for a 3 foot cable to charge my hotspot!)
($26) – Sony Extra Bass in-ear headphones
($15) – Zeiss Lens Cleaning wipes (for glasses, laptops, mobile phones, etc.)
($14) – Upgraded Apple Lightning cable for my iPhone
($8) – 8 foot slim power extension cable with 2 outlets
($8) – A new Blue Gurus version of this USB fan for warm days

So for a little over $100, I have all the cables I need when I’m on the go. And better sound. And a little breeze.

When was the last time you went through your laptop bag or briefcase? If it’s been a while, maybe this story will inspire you to go through the same process… and if you do, please tell me about it! I hope my shopping list has given you some good ideas of things to keep in your bag or briefcase.

Mike Chamberlain says:

February 17, 2018 at 10:14 pm

I recently switched to a new laptop bag (one that converts to a backpack) which gave me the opportunity to clean out my backpack and reorganize. It was a great opportunity to get rid of some “stuff” that had accumulated over the years and be more focused on what I really need to carry with me. Thanks for the tips on some upgrades I need to look at making (i.e. replacing my headphones)!

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