Welcome Wednesday: What's the Holy Grail of your every-day carry kit?

[Dave LIAO]

👋 Happy Wednesday, Atlassian Community peeps, hope everyone's been well. (And yes, it's Wednesday in Australia right now!)

It's time for another Welcome Wednesday (see past posts), a chance to opine on topics every Wednesday. For this week, we're chatting about every-day carry musts.

Ever heard of an every-day carry (EDC)? An EDC is a collection of things you carry when out and about. For some, that'd be a wallet. For others, a keyring. And so on.

Is there a single item in your EDC you'd recommend to folks on Community?

For me, it's a coiled USB C cable (photo below). Why?

• It's a wee cable!
• It's easy to find the cable while rummaging in a pouch/bag (no looking needed)
• ⚡️ I can connect different USB devices to my power bank while on the go

 What's a must have item in your EDC? Sound off in the comments!

Above: My curly cable! And ducks.

[Barbara Szczesniak]

Nice ducks, @Dave LIAO! And the cable too, I suppose. 😀

I work from home and don't travel for work at all, so my EDC may be different than others. The item I carry and use most often is a pair of reading glasses—in case I need to:

• read a menu in a restaurant
• read a label on a food package or find and decipher the sell-by date stamped (somewhere) on a loaf of bread
• keep score while playing cards
• write down the answers at trivia
• etc.

[Dave LIAO]

Let's say you leave your home for groceries - an EDC isn't just for work! Is there something invaluable you can't leave home without?

Back in the day, my travel EDC included a piece of folded paper and a pen. I would scribble random reminders and notes on it. 😊

[Barbara Szczesniak]

My grocery store EDC always includes a list. During covid, I became the grocery shopper for our household, so my parents were safer. My mom would make a list of what she wanted me to get. This is still the pattern, and I've found that, if she tells me something on my way out the door, but it's not on the list, I generally forget to buy it.

[Dave LIAO]

Right? What doesn't get tracked generally doesn't get done bought. 😄

[Anne Saunders]

That's a super-handy cable! In ye olden days, I had a short lightning-to-usb cable that was meant to be worn as a bracelet for similar reasons.

I think the least common item in it is a glass nail file. My nails only seem to break and be ragged when I don't have one handy. 

[Dave LIAO]

A glass nail file? I didn't even know they came in that material!

You reminded me that I'm overdue for a manicure, it's been ages... 🥲

[Matt Doar _Adaptavist_]

• Right pocket: phone with cards, handkerchief
• Left pocket: lipsil, cough drops, medication tablets, ear protectors, eye glasses, car keys

Maybe I should balance the load a bit better :)

[Dave LIAO]

Haha the glasses and keys being in one pocket make me nervous 

[Henry Collins]

For me it’s a small power bank. It’s saved me too many times when I’m out and my phone or earbuds are about to die. Simple, light, and basically removes that “low battery stress” completely.

[Dave LIAO]

What brand/model power bank do you carry? Like it enough to mention it here? 🙏 

[Wendy Farmer]

 I love this chat - brightened my day for sure... especially your picture Dave of your wee cord and little duckies.  

I work at a sit/stand desk in an office cubical so my EDC is simple.  It contains my metal water bottle along with my lunch.  I don't leave home without my water bottle.  It's so handy.... It fits in a car cup holder.  It's metal so it's easy to clean.  And, it was inexpensive too! 

Best part.... it's gingham pink and white and covered in stickers!

[Dave LIAO]

Glad we could add a little joy to your day! 🪿 

I love my water bottle - my main one is a plastic LEGO-branded one, the screw top is a faux LEGO piece 🙌🏻 

[John D Patton]

Great question, Dave — and the wee cable plus ducks made me smile.

My EDC answer is probably less romantic but very real: AirPods Pro. They’re the thing I notice immediately if I forget them.

Calls, quick voice notes, focus time, walking the dogs, waiting rooms, travel — they turn all the odd little gaps in the day into usable time. I have even forgot to switch to my over-the-ear headphones on flights as the AirPods just worked so well. 

Back in the day, though, I had a really nice woven USB cable with a leather strap — very much in the spirit of your coiled cable. It felt like the rare tech accessory that was practical and had a bit of character. I miss when cables felt a little less disposable.

So my official answer is AirPods Pro, but my sentimental EDC vote goes to the “nice cable era.” Dave may have just brought that back.

Also: strong bonus points for the ducks glamor shot 

[Dave LIAO]

My EDC should include earphones, occasionally I do forget them when I leave my home 

I take public transit a lot, so it's a bit annoying to be forced to "enjoy" the sounds of other peoples's phones 🥲

[Varsha Joshi]

Depends on the destination :-) but most of the time they are : my phone, sunglasses, water bottle and coffee.

[Dave LIAO]

Coffee is a MUST. ☕️ 

[Jimmy Seddon]

I love this question @Dave LIAO!

My answer depends if I'm heading out with the kids or not. 

With kids, wet wipes, because they will need them.

Without the kids, wallet, phone, sunglasses & ball cap.

[Barbara Szczesniak]

btw, happy Canada Day, @Jimmy Seddon (and any other Canadians here)!

[Jimmy Seddon]

Thank you @Barbara Szczesniak

[Arkadiusz Wroblewski]

@Dave LIAO 

I like this duck. 🦆

A power bank is part of my EDC. Without it, I feel like I left the house unprepared for civilization.🙂

Sadly, we are no longer living in the glorious Nokia 3310 era, where you could charge your phone once, survive for three days, drop it from the third floor, pick it up, and continue like nothing happened.

[Dave LIAO]

Some newer phones are lasting longer than we would expect, but none of them have the same "run over it with a vehicle and it'll still work" type of hardiness right now. 🥲

[Martin Runge]

If you ask my wife, she would say my EDC is a leftover hex key from an IKEA desk I assembled three years ago. She would suppose I would carry it everywhere in my personal one-shoulder bag. I probably no longer know what it actually fits, but I am convinced that on the day I leave it at home, a crucial piece of infrastructure nearby will fail completely. ;)

But do not tell her: I am a tech Sorcerer! It is my smartwatch ;) My everyday carry is 100% with me because it's literally strapped to my body. Leaving the house with only a watch, I feel a sense of digital freedom, knowing I can buy groceries, access my data, and control my home AI. Whispering commands into my wrist to communicate with my home AI makes me feel like a secret agent operating in 2026.

[Dave LIAO]

@Martin Runge - I had a smartwatch with a cellular plan a few years ago. I went out on a run, and ONLY had my watch. Someone called me, and I answered from my watch! I felt like Dick Tracy. 😄

[zoltanersek]

I can't go anywhere without my airpods

[Dave LIAO]

Yeah, it's the main way I maintain my sanity when traveling!

[Amanda Barber]

Quick outings where my husband is driving - just my phone.

Quick outings where I'm driving - phone, keys, wallet.

Longer outings - I guess I'll bring my purse, haha. Phone, keys, wallet, hand sanitizer, chapstick, and sunscreen in the summer!

[Dave LIAO]

Phone, keys, wallet, gum 😁

Do you have different wallets? I've got a band I use when I'm on runs, and a minimalist wallet for all other times...

I wonder if anyone else on Community has a wallet system 🤣 Future Welcome Wednesday, maybe 🤔

[Amanda Barber]

If I'm running or something, I just stash my ID/card (if needed) in my shorts/waistband. I switched to a minimalist wallet, but still have my slightly larger one I haven't quite committed to putting fully away. There are cards in there I rarely need but it's an easy way to keep organized, but it's been at least 2 months since I've used it!