If you or someone you know has been a victim of carrying a 500-page book, some wired and wireless headphones, an 8-tray variety snack box and a 7-foot water bottle for a 20-minute stroll around the park, then carry on reading.

We at Cora + Spink will dissect and diagnose the cause and effect, and attempt to answer the much-asked question: why are we carrying so much stuff?

The answer might be less about overconsumption than it first appears. Our bags have grown because our everyday lives have changed, and what we carry has changed with them.

Why are we carrying so much stuff?

Everyday bags seem to be getting bigger and fuller, opposing any desire for minimalist living. Instead, what we carry is increasingly falling under the umbrella of maximalism.

Maximalism embraces the idea that ‘more is more’: objects, trinkets, loud prints and textures, each with their own stories and experiences. There are few rules and the possibilities are limitless. What we carry can become a form of curation and self-expression.

But maximalism isn’t necessarily about owning more. It’s about making more of what you own.

Perhaps that distinction is important. There is a difference between carrying more because we value what we carry and carrying more because we have been convinced we need more.

More than a bag: a reflection of everyday life

Overconsumption, simply put, is buying more things than we need. Social media can fuel this, with every scroll bringing another ad or paid promotion presenting the next ‘must-have’ item.

But not everything we carry has to be about consumption.

The ‘What’s in my bag?’ trend, for example, has become a way of sharing the little things that make up our everyday lives. From fragrances, hand creams and lip balms to headphones, digital cameras, sunglasses, hair clips and loose jewellery, our bags have become collections of the things we reach for, rely on and enjoy.

Then there are the essentials: a card holder, wallet and keys, perhaps accompanied by a decadent 3D charm, because why not?

Suddenly, a bag isn’t just something we use to carry our belongings. Whether it’s a tote bag, backpack or something in between, it becomes a small reflection of who we are and what we choose to take with us.

Carrying more or carrying better?

We carry more than we used to. But look at why.

A water bottle because we’re trying to drink more.

A laptop because we can work from anywhere.

Headphones because podcasts have become part of everyday life.

A book because we are trying to scroll less.

Lunch because bringing your own is back.

Suddenly, ‘we carry too much stuff’ becomes ‘look at everything we’re fitting into a day’, via one big bag.

Our everyday bags have changed because our lives have changed. What we carry is a portable version of our day-to-day lives: the things we need, the things we enjoy and the things that make life that little bit easier.

Maybe carrying more isn’t necessarily about having more.

Maybe it’s about making room for more of life.