It’s one of those little those little truths in life: there are never quite enough pockets. Whether in bags, backpacks, pants or other clothing articles, there are just never quite enough pockets not to be shuffling your fingers around the bottom of your bag, looking for whatever small item has gotten lost in the depths.

It’s bad enough having too few pockets at the best of times, but lacking a well organized bag is especially frustrating when you’re at a convention, carrying every little thing you might possibly need for the next 12 to 16 hours with you. I’ll be attending PAX next week, a massive 3-day convention of geeks and gaming, and as I’ve been getting my gear together for the convention, I’ve realized that I absolutely need more pockets.

The solution? Make a pocket insert! This is a strip of fabric, held stiff with some thick paper on the inside, and with pockets all along the outside, into which you can place all your little items to keep them organized and ready to hand. Then you place the whole thing inside your bag, hugging the edges of the bag, and throw your other stuff into the space left in the middle. It also means you can easily lift the whole pocket strip out and move it to another bag, making transferring stuff from one bag to another that much quicker and easier, and making you that much less likely to forget to transfer something crucial.

Read the full post »