I don’t like carrying around a wallet. Honestly, I really don’t like carrying anything in my pockets. I look at sites like Everyday Carry and I get a little bit twitchy. If I could go about my daily life with nothing in my pockets I’d be very happy, but unfortunately I can’t.
Software developer David Smith is right about this. We all tend to carry around too much stuff and I am constantly amazed by those bulging wallets containing dozens of cards. My personal observation is that the more credit cards in a wallet, the more the owner lives on credit. David has the right idea and has cut to the quick with his short shortlist of trouser-pocket impedimenta: iphone, car keys, one credit card and his driving licence.
He has even managed to squeeze the credit card and licence into a slim Speck SmartFlex Card Case
Over the past two or three years I also have been cutting back on trouser clutter and, until I read David’s piece today, I thought I was doing well. My first move was to ditch the formal wallet in favour of a slim Clear Organizer Wallet from Tom Bihn. To this is attached a long version Tom Bihn Keystrap which clips onto a belt loop and allows the wallet to be safely stored in a trouser pocket. It shares this pocket with my iPhone 5S. I’m pretty ruthless about keeping this slim wallet slim: One credit card, an ATM card, London Transport Oyster card and cash. I really do not need anything else. In Britain there is no requirement to carry a driving licence or ID, even when driving*. Unless I am driving, I need carry only a small house key in addition to the slimline wallet.
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* I have already been taken to task on this. If stopped by the police in the UK drivers are given a docket which can be produced at a police station, together with driving licence and insurance, within five days. In reality, car insurance is now on a national database, as is licence information, so the police know in advance if there are any problems. There is no form of official ID in the UK, other than a driving licence which is often accepted as verification, and even this need not be carried. This is minimalism.