Tiny Grass

Researching skinny wallets was kinda fun - there are several options available. I considered 4 options:

1. the JimiX | $16 | 4.3″ x 2.7″ x .6″. This was the most technically interesting option. Plus, I could yell out Kick me in the Jimi ad nauseum.

2. the Slimmy | $32 | 3.8″ x 2.9″ x .3″. The most expensive but elegant option.

3. the All-Ett European | $15 | 3.75″ x 3″ x 1/32″. The cheapest, fugliest option with the worst name. All wtf?

4. the Fossil Front Pocket Wallet | $25 | 4″ x 3″ x ?”. The leather looked old-school and thicker - not slimmy. Just there for comparison with something more traditional.

Besides shrinking the wallet and freeing my butt, I had two other practical considerations, both relating to the move to Costa Rica. It had to fit comfortably in a front pocket since CR is chock full of pickpockets and it had to fit Costa Rican currency. Turns out the currency is almost identical to US currency in size, so that part was easy. Some other wallets not on my list were knocked off because they were too large to fit in a front pocket.

I decided on the All-Ett (wtf) European, because I’m cheap and don’t give a crap about the style of a friggin’ wallet. I also picked up a smaller card case from them for another $5. They charged $2.05 in shipping, which mostly paid for the plastic packaging sleeve since the wallet shockingly arrived in a regular envelope. The wallet & card case are made of thin, rip-stop nylon. Think pragmatism over style, by a HUGE margin.

Following are some pictures of both with a ruler (hard to read, but hey - I tried). Note that the Wtf European is empty til the end.

This pic has my old, now empty wallet in the background, the Wtf European filled with all necessary items and the pile of unnecessary crap.

Here’s the new skinny wallet with all the unnecessary crap next to it. It was a little tight to close due to some of the cards that I can’t get rid of yet, like 2 cards needed for entry to work. That’s why I got the card case (and also to carry business cards). The wallet thinned out a lot when I just took the cards and stuck them in the card case - which is nice since a lot of times, I need either cash or a card but not both.

The card case is empty here, but here’s a list of the contents of my fat wallet replacements:

In the All-Ett European: cash.

In the card case: 2 credit cards, subway card, 2 proximity/ID cards for work, driver’s license, 2 health insurance cards and 1 triple AAA card. Oh - and one … receipt.

In recent months I found myself needing to adjust my wallet to make my commutes more comfortable. The damn thing was too big to sit on comfortably. Wallets need purging every so often, but I figured it’s time to make the purge more permanent. The other day I ditched my wallet and just grabbed my license, a credit card and a couple of bills and loved it. My butt was FREE. (I pack some back, so it was quite noticeable) Figures that I realized after going to work that I needed a card to get into the building and another card to get into the office. So going completely minimal wasn’t an option. Here’s what was in my wallet:

2. driver’s license
3. work ID card
4. metrocard (NYC subway fare)
5. work building entry card
6. 2 bank debit cards
7. health insurance ID card
8. prescription card
9. AAA card
10. work emergency number card (laminated crap)
11. 3 reminder cards from vet (1 from January)
12. ASCAP membership card
13. Trish’s library card
14. Target giftcard
15. H&M merchandise credit card
16. Babies R Us merchandise credit card
17. 1 credit card (ie the ‘emergency’ card)
18. 3 business cards
19. Zoo membership card
20. Warehouse club membership card (membership expired)
21. Local nursery stamp card (spend X get a stamp…)
22. 1 small band-aid
23. 1 painted heart (from M)
24. 1 small guitar pick
25. 1 ATM deposit receipt
26. 1 eyeglass prescription (yay I found it!)
27. 1 certified mail receipt (from January)
28. 1 folded 4″x6″ note (from January)
29. 1 credit-card sized NYC subway map (tattered)
30. 1 double CC sized NYC subway map
31. 1 post-it with address of M’s potential penpal from camping
32. 1 quote from an overpopular dj about djing (inspired me for about 10 minutes in February)
33. 1 2″x2″ note written when I was ~10 with the following quotes:
    • Fear of the unknown brings no gain. (inspiration for a shy kid)
    • Mighty brawn is no match for nimble brain. (obvious geek in training)
    • Silence is golden. (wtf)
    • Do not meddle with things… (incomplete, must’ve been really important)

I’ll post some pictures of my old & new wallets tomorrow eventually.