Our Toy Bag
Introduction
Putting together your toy bag is always going to be a personal thing. Your tastes and interests in the scene will dictate the specifics, so no one else’s list will ever cover everything you will no doubt wish to include. Still, hopefully our talking about what we keep in our bag and, more importantly, the reasons why, may offer a few things you never thought of - or simply trigger other thoughts.We actually do not have a single toy bag. We do not even manage to keep it all in bags or any other convenient container - toys and equipment tend to turn up everywhere in our home (much to the concern of our local visiting Mormon missionaries). That said, we do keep one core bag with the most generic of supplies - mainly safety ones - so we can always pick it up and take it with us wherever we are playing.
First Aid Supplies And Children
Before anyone criticizes us for leaving these supplies lying around in a bag where children can find them - we do not have children, we do not play where children are present and, when children come in to our home we ensure that the toy bag (along with anything else inappropriate for children) is put safely away.If you are creating your own toy bag and children are a consideration, then you should do whatever is necessary to ensure their safety - children and a lot of things in this toy bag just do not mix well.
The Bag Itself
I am entirely too bemused by the simple things in life. In this case it was seeing a bag in the store with Rubbermaid® stamped on it.Somewhat similar to a fisherman’s toolbox, it is made of canvas and opens up in to several different sections:
In the outside pockets we keep a small flashlight (more on that later) - the theory being that anything else can be found, so long as we can use the light, but, potentially without it we are not going to find anything.
Inside, in the smaller compartments, we keep medical supplies on one side, everything else that is small and fiddly on the other. The larger, main compartment is used for, well just about everything else.
The Contents
Baggies
It may sound simple but clear plastic zip-lock baggies form one of the core parts of our toy bag. Keeping things like condoms, Q-tips and cotton wool buds in their original packaging wastes a lot of space and also takes a lot of time to get in to. Putting them in clear bags means they are easy to find and can be in our hands with a moment’s notice.Another trick to aid finding things, most of the baggies have labels stuck to them with the name of the contents written in bold black marker. By using whatever names we tend to use for them, it means we can ask other people to pass us things without spending forever trying to figure out what the local name is. (I am English. I live in America. Trust me, it is a problem.)
Flashlight
So, you are a club. The lights are low. Something goes wrong. You need a dressing, or the shears, or whatever. You are pretty sure they are somewhere near the bottom of the bag. And it is <emphasis>way</emphasis> too dark to find them.Flashlights are useful. Aside from finding lost things in toy bags, they can be used to find lost things in all sorts of other places - I will leave it to your imagination. You still need help? OK, having light at an angle can really help find lost contact lenses as it glints off them. What did you think I was referring to?!
We use a fairly small flashlight - the kind that takes a pair of AA batteries and not a lot more. One of the considerations with a flashlight is that if you are using it in a club or other shared space, other players may not appreciate your thousand-watt monster illuminating their play too. There are a lot of different styles you can go for: those that switch from narrow to wide beam; that switch from beam to lantern; that can be stood up on their own. The choice is yours. Personally, we went with one with a small clip on the end so I can clip it on to the neck of what I am wearing and have it illuminate what I am holding, while leaving both my hands free.
Gauze Pads
We keep a large box of gauze pads, always keeping half a dozen or so in the first-aid side of our toy bag. Gauze pads serve all kinds of uses: they form sterile dressings; they can serve as cloths for cleaning an area; they are absorbent; they can cover areas you want to offer a small degree of protection to.
Elasticated Bandage
At some point, someone is going to fall over in high heels and twist an ankle; they will stumble while their wrists are bound; they will over-extend while flogging someone. However they manage to hurt themselves, the chances are, an elasticated bandage is going to come in useful.
Tape
Those gauze pads and bandages are going to need to be held on; the arm of someone’s glasses is going to break off; some toy will need temporarily holding together. A roll of 3M Transpore tape may not be the strongest binding thing in the world but it is vastly better than nothing - and is safe to use on skin.
Band Aids
Pretty much self-explanatory - whenever there is a minor abrasion you need to cover, a band aid will keep it sterile and protected.
Antiseptic Cream
Again, another stalwart of first aid kits everywhere.
Antiseptic Wash
For when applying cream from a tiny tube just is not going to do it.
Anti Inflammatory Pain Killers
We keep about a dozen name brand painkillers in the bag. By sticking with a name brand, it makes it easier when others ask for them as they [should] recognize the names of any brands they have issues with.Again, anti inflammatory pain killers are one of those things that seem to have a million uses.
Petroleum Jelly
Yet another million-uses product: it helps prevent rashes; it soothes chapped skin, minor scrapes and buns; it softens dry skin and it can even help remove make up (perfect for saving TV friends who are prone to crying). Just remember, never use petroleum jelly for lubrication with a latex condom!
Q-Tips
Perfect for spot cleaning, for getting things out of fiddly places, etc. Oh, yes, and they are really useful for fire play (whistles innocently).
Cotton Wool Buds
Every time you need to wipe something down, cotton wool buds come to the rescue. They are also useful for fire play (is there a theme developing here?).
Scissors, Tweezers And Nail Clippers
Most things that need to be cut, tweezed or clipped can be dealt with. For larger things, the large pair of shears are always an option.
Eye Bath And Eye Wash Solution
The first rule of liquids - Tomato ketchup will always manage to flick, spill, or splatter on to any white shirt.The second rule of liquids - Just about every other liquid (or semi-liquid), along with any tiny objects, will always manage to flick, spill or splatter in to somebody’s eye.
An eye bath and eye wash, while not a complete cure all, can soothe a lot of things and, like most of the above, buy you some extra time while you get proper treatment.
Rubber Gloves
People have diseases and dirty bits. Clean rubber gloves provide a sterile barrier between your bits and their bits. This is a good thing. They also make great balloons (not that I would ever try that). Just make sure that nobody is sensitive to latex.
Condoms
People have diseases and dirty bits. I am sure I have heard that somewhere before. Condoms provide a sterile barrier between your bits and their bits. Yes, I have definitely heard this before.Even if you are in a monogamous relationship and do use them yourself, being the person with the condoms can make you very popular when it means someone else gets to have some fun they otherwise would not be getting because they did not think ahead.
Also, condoms can hold about 2 liters (4 pints) of water, should you be stuck somewhere without ready access to water. I read that in a book once, though I have no idea why it might prove useful here.
Non-Lubricated Condoms
Because lubricant just does not taste good and [safe] oral sex is nice.
Dental Dams (Squares Of Rubber)
Because, sometimes, it is polite to return the favor (kitten, stop muttering in the background).
Extra Thick Condoms
For those who enjoy anal sex.
KY Jelly
Water based lubricant does not eat through condoms like oil based ones can. It does still work very well at letting things slide in to places they might otherwise have trouble sliding in to. As well as straight sex, there is anal sex and fisting, not to mention being a lifesaver when people are nervous - which tends to happen a lot in the scene.
KY Jelly Plus (With NonOxynol-9)
I never can remember that word. Still, NonOxynol-9 is a useful spermicide and some reports suggest that it may be helpful for preventing the spread of HIV. The one thing to be careful of is that some people have adverse reactions to NonOxynol-9 - hence our keeping both forms.
KY Jelly Applicator
For when you need to squirt it deep inside somewhere.
70% Iso-Propyl Alcohol
A disinfectant that can also provide the fuel for fire play. There is that theme again.
Mister With 70% Iso-Propyl Alcohol
Both convenient for applying over an area and makes really cool fireballs.
Ear Plugs
For sensory deprivation scenes; for getting some rest when you are [trying to] sleep at a home where play is still going on; for providing isolation when someone’s senses are over-stimulated and they need an escape from the world.
Cheap, Airline-Style Blindfold
For much the same reasons as the ear plugs.
Small Bottle Of Water
Never underestimate how useful having some bottled water to hand can be after a long scene. Submissives and bottoms will love you for it. It can also be pressed in to service if you need to clean something quickly.
Face Cloth
A small cloth can be used for everything from emergency clean-ups, to cooling off, to protecting an area.
Fire Extinguisher
Remember that theme I mentioned earlier? If you are going to use fire - even if it is just candles, make sure you have a way of putting it out when it goes wrong.
Box Of Matches
Books of matches, while convenient, always prove impossible to use when you need them. Lighters always seem to run out of fuel. Boxes of matches give you a reasonable source of fire that can be easily checked (with a quick rattle) to ensure there are plenty left.Whatever form you use, not having to search around, every time you want to light a candle, is a blessing.
Twine
Just as with tape, there is always something that needs tying up, the moment you do not have anything to tie it up with. While twine is not suitable for tying up people (in most cases), it is still incredibly useful - and great for making zippers when everyone forgot to bring them.
Soft Cotton Cord
Several six and twelve foot lengths of very soft cotton cord just keep proving useful. Not the perfect bondage material by any means but still incredibly versatile.
Shears
For when scissors just are not strong enough to cut someone out in a hurry. Yes, good leather restraints are expensive. The lawyer, when something has gone badly wrong and you were not able to free them in time, is even more expensive.
Clothespins
Wooden clothespins tend to be absorbent, so I throw them away after using them on each different person. Still, I much prefer wood to plastic. So, a dozen or two clothespins always seem to come in handy.
What We Still Want To Add
Plastic Sheet
The main thing I still want to add to the toy bag is a foldable plastic sheet. The kind of thing that can open up to about six-by-six or eight-by-eight feet, yet folds away, compactly when not needed. Having it available means never having to worry about the surface you are carrying out wax play (or any other messy play) on.
First Aid Manual
A small, quick, concise guide, to dealing with all of the things you hope you will never have to should really be in there.
Blanket
We actually do have a blanket - well, several - but they just do not fit in the bag. Still, I am going to include them here anyway. Blankets are great for keeping someone warm while they come down, for covering someone up quickly when someone who should not be there turns up, and, as always, great when you are sleeping somewhere other than your own home.
Conclusion
Well, if you were looking for lists of floggers and paddles, that was a fairly boring list. Aside from a few things you can set fire to people with, there really is not much by way of "toys" in there.What there are a lot of are ways to solve problems. We cannot solve everything that ever comes up - a fully equipped ambulance probably could not either. What we do have is a fairly generic way to solve, or at least improvise, a solution to the vast majority of things that can and do come up within a play environment.
No one can be perfect but taking the time to consider as much as is reasonably possible is still the responsible thing to do. Ultimately, that is the kind of Dominant I would like to be and, always having that bag to hand, is hopefully the kind of reputation it helps us earn within the community.
SoulThief and kitten
Back To The Top
This page was last updated on Tuesday 05th 2002f November 2002