I’m a mother with four children, I’m a writer, I’m a friend. I trick everyone with a tidy home but inside I’m an organizational disaster. While I’m almost never more than five minutes late, I’m absolutely never early, even though I’d like to be. And usually this is because I don’t have the things that I need in the right place.

For a long time, I had different bags for everything. I had the diaper bag, with changes of clothes, diapers, wipes, and essentials. I had a different bag I used if I was going out to work, which could house my laptop and notebooks, and pens and pencils. But then if I was just going out with a friend, I needed a bag with my wallet and keys and phone and maybe a book and some space for the things I’d inevitably pick up at the pharmacy or hardware store while I was in town. Figuring out which bag I needed, and shuffling my wallet and keys and phone from bag to bag (and trying to remember which bag it was in) accounted for at least five minutes of each departure. I imagined this was why I was always just a teensy bit late every time.

Finally this winter my computer bag was really looking ratty and I decided on a whim to order myself a really nice backpack from Deuter that would safely transport it. Without paying too much attention to the details on the website, I ordered the Giga Office and eagerly anticipated a bag that would hold all of my work essentials in one place. When the bag arrived I was so pleasantly surprised to have solved not one problem (the ratty work bag) but two.

The second problem was me, the organizational mess.

The problem was solved because this bag has four perfectly separate compartments. The front one is small, it opens flat with space for pens and a clip for keys, but the other three compartments are roomy and full of every kind of useful pocket a multi-tasking gal like me needs.

The first pocket is my “purse”, which has the kleenex, the wallet, the phone, the umbrella, and the mints. I have a pad of paper to write down the phone number of the nice woman at the cafe and a place to stuff my receipts to deal with later.

The middle pocket is huge, extending under the “purse” pocket. There are two perfect pockets for disposable diapers and wipes, and a big pocket down the back where I stash my cloth diapers and changing pad. Down the front go a few changes of clothes (I have two girls in diapers) and the “diaper bag” is now packed.

Finally, down the back, is the office pocket. Gigantically roomy for my 15 inch laptop and a notebook, I then have everything I could possibly need in one bag.

Am I still five minutes late everywhere I go?

You bet. But at least the five minutes are spent chasing kids around the yard, eating a second blueberry muffin, or getting my last cup of coffee finished before we greet the day. No more bag packing marathons. I just grab my one, streamlined piece and hit the road.

What more could a busy, multitasking mom ask for?

–Carol McMurrich (Family Ambassador)

Get organized with the Deuter Giga Office!

• Learn all about the Giga Office at Deuter.com
• Pick one up from Summit Hut
• Grab your own at Altrec.com
• Buy one from Rocky Mountain Trail