Some people might say you can tell a lot about a woman by what she carries in her handbag - but what would aprons, magnets and foot balm tell them?
A woman's handbag always seems full, whether it is large or small. To find out just what takes up all the
space, The Daily Post asked 20 women to reveal what their bags were hiding.
Casey Khan from Jeans West had many things in her large black handbag, everything from the usual wallet and cellphone to a pocketknife, batteries and socks.
"I don't even know why the socks are in there," she said.
"I just haven't cleaned it out in a long time. Everything just stays in there until I get bored one day and decide to clean it out."
A few Rotorua women spoken to by The Daily Post said they made sure they cleared their handbags out daily or weekly but most said they cleaned them out only when it became difficult to find items.
Large handbags were very popular among the women questioned, but the downside was said to be the difficulty in finding things in a hurry.
Ms Khan said she like having a big bag so she could fit everything in it. "I like big bags because if I go somewhere for the night I can just put everything in there," she said.
"The bad thing about big bags is when I get a phone call it gets too hard to find my cellphone."
Most of the women surveyed carried everyday items such as wallets, cellphones and keys but some carried more unusual items, like an apron, magnets, a court summons, balm for cracked heels, balloons, a birthday candle and teabags.
When an unusual item was uncovered, the general response was that it had been a long time since the woman had gone through her handbag.
Essential items were voted to be keys, wallets and cellphones. However, a few women said they could not leave the house without their hand sanitiser, kids' toys, hair ties or tissues.
Other common handbag items included computer cords and chargers, medications and vitamins, bills and perfume.
The 20 women surveyed had 238 items between them - which equates to about 12 items per bag.
What Rotorua women keep in their handbags

Sonya Bateson
Regional content leader, Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post·Rotorua Daily Post·
2 mins to read
Some people might say you can tell a lot about a woman by what she carries in her handbag - but what would aprons, magnets and foot balm tell them?
A woman's handbag always seems full, whether it is large or small. To find out just what takes up all the
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