My Mom Is Always Prepared, And She Consistently Has These 15 Things In Her Purse

My mom has strong opinions, and those thoughts only get stronger when I ask about her purse. First, she corrects me—it’s a “pocketbook,” after all. Next, she gives me a list of items so long, I actually can’t remember them all without writing it down. She is a parent of two daughters in their 40s and 30s and a grandmother of four girls from ages 6 to 18, so you can imagine she has to be prepared for just about anything. 

Ever since I can remember, my mom’s pocketbook has been full of things to anticipate problems of all kinds, from the struggles of a kindergartener to menopause. Over the years, my mom has taught me a thing or two about how to stay prepared (for anything and everything), and these are the must-haves she taught me to always have on hand.

Shop Mom-Approved Purse Must-Haves on Amazon

• Tide-To-Go Stain Remover, $7.88
• Carmex Daily Care Mini Tubes, $19.99
• Wint-O-Green Lifesavers, $9.90
• Abreva 10 Percent Docosanol Cold Sore Treatment, $23.49
• PillMap Visual Pill Planner, $16.95
• One-Pack Travel Pill Organizer, $3.99
• OPI ProSpa Nail and Cuticle Oil, $10.89
• Kiss PowerFlex Maximum Speed Nail Glue, $1.93
• Bactine Max Liquid Bandage, $5.97
• Pepto Bismol Pocket Chewable Tablets, $8.99 (orig. $9.75)
• Bigelow Peppermint Tea Bags, $6.99
• The Original Drop It Wine Drops, $20.99
• Aquaphor Children’s Itch Relief Ointment, $15.96
• Tylenol Extra Strength Caplets, $2

Tide-To-Go Stain Remover

“I always end up ordering something chocolate whenever I’m wearing white,” my mom says. Her top must-have pick for your pocketbook Tide-To-Go Stain Remover. “It gets out almost everything, almost instantly.”

Luckily, these sticks come in a pack of three. “One for the purse, one for the car, and one in your jacket pocket, just to boost your odds,” my mom adds.

Carmex Daily Care Mini Tubes

The Carmex tins might be iconic, but the tubes give you more bang for your buck. This pack comes with 15 tubes total and a variety of flavors, including strawberry, cherry, wild berry, cool mint, and peach mango. As purists, we prefer the original, but it’s kind of fun to have so many flavor options to soothe your chapped lips.

Wint-O-Green Lifesavers

If my mom didn’t partly smell like wintergreen mint, I might not know who she is. Lifesavers are practically bursting from her Vera Bradley at all times. Having mints on hand is never a bad idea, especially because I usually get breath-conscious whenever I’m up close and personal with someone (like at the doctor or esthetician). The Wint-O-Green Lifesavers are my mom’s tried-and-true breath-saving method, and there’s no reason to fix what ain’t broken.

Abreva Cold Sore with Chapstick

Nothing ruins your lip balm like a cold sore that can show up when you least expect them. If you feel one coming on while you’re away from your medicine cabinet, it will be all you think about until you return home. The second Prepared Mom Tip is to always have some burner Abreva on hand—just in case—but preferably, this duo set that comes with both the blister treatment and moisturizing ChapStick. Together, they can target the sore and its after effects all at once. These suckers are unpredictable, but at the very least, you can stay vigilant.

PillMap Visual Pill Planner

“You never know what is going to happen,” my mom tells me. I also believe that no matter what age you are, if you take at least one regular medication, you should stuff this pill planner at the bottom of your bag.

“It’s extremely helpful,” my mom adds. At under $20, this pill planner has a space for the name, dosage, and a visual demonstration of each pill, plus emergency contact information, too. Unlike hand-scribbled lists, this planner comes with an erasable pen to easily update  your meds. But don’t worry, it’s not as easily removable as a dry erase marker. So even if this sits in your bag for a while, nothing important will be wiped off.

One-Pack Travel Pill Organizer

The only thing more put together than a pill planner is a pill organizer, and there are so many good ones floating around TikTok nowadays. But since you probably don’t bring every dose of every medication with you on the go, you can save the Monday through Sunday organizer for the nightstand, and keep this versatile one on-hand for everywhere else.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been out to dinner without my p.m. meds,” my mom says. “I almost never remember to take them when I’m back home, after dinner, so keeping this organizer with me anticipates that I will probably forget.”

It has 10 compact spaces to fit your meds, but it’s also useful for vitamins, throat lozenges, and even jewelry while traveling. It also comes with pre-printed labels like “twice a day” “Sunday” or “dinner.” 

OPI ProSpa Nail and Cuticle Oil 

In all my purse-wearing years so far, I have never once thought, “hey, I need cuticle oil,” but it’s something my mom never leaves the house without. “It’s prevention,” she says. Maybe if I used cuticle oil more often, my nails would break less, which brings me to our next purse must-have… 

Kiss PowerFlex Maximum Speed Nail Glue

“I swear my nails only break when I’m out, and have no time to get them fixed,” my mom says. I, too, have inherited this problem, and seem to only break my nails when I have somewhere very important to be.

After two particularly unspeakable broken-nail incidents at out-of-state weddings in 2022, I no longer ignore this tip and am never without nail glue. I can’t tell you how many manicures I’ve prolonged and how many friends I’ve made in the women’s bathroom with just a few squirts of industrial-strength glue.

Bactine Max Liquid Bandage

I’ve seen a lot of TikTok moms recommend travel-size Band-Aid packs, but real ones know that Liquid Bandage is the way to go. “You never have to worry about it falling off like a regular Band-Aid, and you can always reapply it,” my mom says. 

After I wrecked my feet with blisters on my honeymoon (I prioritized packing cute shoes over functional ones), my mom looked at me unapologetically and said, “I told you so.” Just like she said, liquid band-aid was the only thing that allowed me to wear shoes again for the rest of the trip, and now, I’ll never travel without it.

Bigelow Peppermint Tea Bags

“It’s like a better-tasting antacid,” my mom explains. “It’s good for the tummy, and while you can usually find hot water anywhere, it’s much more difficult to find your favorite tea.” A few lightweight bags of your preferred peppermint tea can do wonders for your digestive system, and you won’t have to pack your purse with Pepto, Rolaids, or Tums, either.

The Original Drop It Wine Drops

“This is kind of a fun one, but it’s so lightweight, it’s worth leaving it in your bag—just in case,” my mom advises. “Let’s just say that if you end up ordering a glass of wine, you won’t be sorry that you brought it along.”

Drop It Wine Drops are a soy-, dairy-, and gluten-free way to naturally remove the sulfites and tannins in wine that can cause headaches the morning after. It’s only three ingredients (food-grade hydrogen peroxide, natural egg white protein, and sunflower lecithin), but three drops are powerful enough to course-correct a headache after one or two glasses.

Aquaphor Children’s Itch Relief Ointment

“Someone is always itchy,” my mom says. “Whether it’s a bug bite, a flare-up of eczema, or a bout of unexplained hives”—she means me when she says that last part—“you’ll never regret carrying anti-itch ointment.”

She recommends keeping a child-friendly ointment on hand, so everyone can use it, since some adult prescriptions of anti-itch are generally not recommended for kids under a certain age.

Tylenol Extra Strength Caplets

“I have one of these $2 bottles in my purse and one in my car,” my mom explains. “Sometimes you get them as wedding favors, so I always stock-pile them.” 

You should still keep some Tylenol in the aforementioned pill organizer, of course, but as my mom adds, “You can never be too safe, especially when it comes to headaches or migraines.”