How to be a Pack Mule

Hey y’all!

I’m finally back and ready to talk your ears off again. I’ve been thinking a lot about what to make this next post about and last week it hit me! Moving your stuff!

Sometimes the most frustrating part about a gig can be moving from the car to the gig and back again. Ugh… How many times have I dropped stuff? How many times has my bag tipped over while going over a curb? How many times did I think to myself “WHY DO I BOTHER?!” Yea… sometimes it’s a real pain in the you know what.


We are all this guy.

But lately I’ve really come to terms with carrying all of my crud around. Thanks to some really cool items that make my life a LOT easier.

So, first and foremost.. let’s talk about these big chairs that most of us carry around. We all know that pretty much the industry standard is this beauty, the tall aluminum director’s chair! In fact, this is the exact chair that I have. You can find it on Amazon for $99, and it’s called the Earth Heavy Duty VIP Tall Aluminum Director’s Chair. It’s a great chair! Lightweight, comes with pockets, and very durable.

Sure, it comes with a giant bag that you could try and use, but it’s really more of a pain than it’s worth.

So in comes the Back Strap!!!

Check out Sara rocking her chair like it’s nothing!

It clips right onto your chair and then you can EASILY pop your chair on like a backpack and leave your hands totally free to deal with:

doors
car keys
elevator buttons
bags
shaking hands
handing out business cards
waving
petting cute animals
high fives
the list goes on and on!!! Imagine the possibilities!

This thing has literally been my favorite purchase for my business in the last 2 years! Hands down. And, to be honest.. because my chair has pockets on the side, I also stuff some of my junk into those while I have the chair on my back so that it’s less I have to hold with my hands. Am I a genius? Maybe. Here’s a video of the chair strap in action…

You can buy your own Back Strap for your chair by click –> HERE!

Okay, so we’ve got our chair taken care of, but what about our other junk?

There’s paint, and tables, and brushes and, and, and….!! ahh! Okay, don’t worry! Here’s what I do…

For my paint boxes, glitter caddy, brush holder, mirror, sponges, water container, stencils, business cards, bug spray, tape, scissors, etc. I use a small carry-on size rolling case. Mine looks like this:

I invested in a Samsonite brand because my last case fell apart.. this one has been great and has traveled around the world/country with me. I love it! And here’s a secret when it comes to buying these things… If you go to TJ Max, or Gabes, or Ross’s, or Marshall’s, or whatever your discount home goods shop is, you will probably find these at a really good price. I bought mine there for just $60! I went online when I got home and found that it was selling on Ebay for $200! woohoo!

Now what about a table? I like to ALWAYS have a table or two in my car, because we’ve all been to an event and the client says “oh I put a table out for you!” and you’re like.. “oh awesome, thanks so much!” and then you walk over and this is what you see….

Uhhhmmm… Thanks, no. I’ll just go grab my table from the car.

My tables are all 4 foot long, and fold up and come with a carrying handle, like this:

So, when I walk up to a party, I’ve got my chair on my back, my junk all stored in my rolling case in one hand, and (if I need it) my table in the other hand. Awesome right?

But wait, there’s more! You can stream line your stuff all to one hand! Just pick up one of these babies:

A folding dolly! Pop this thing open, place your table and rolling bag on it, and then bungee cord them in place(I like to criss-cross the cords for security) and you’re ready to go! with your table, chair, bag, and still one hand free to deal with doors! Yes! It’s like magic!