Last year I had a realization that every time I sat down to "rest," I was on my phone. Reading, sure, but reading on a screen that also delivered breaking news, anxiety, and an algorithmic feed that wanted me constantly buying things. Rest wasn't actually resting anymore.
This winter I tryed something different. The Analog Tote, a bag I grab when I want to be off-screen for an hour or three. The only screen allowed in it is a Kindle (because it doesn't blink at me). Everything else is a deliberate low-tech alternative to whatever I'd be doing on my phone: reading, embroidering, coloring, journaling, playing a tile game.
I realized that a big part of it was that I would end up sitting and grab my phone rather than go get an activity for myself. My having the actives I want to try always near by removed the barrier of having to go hunt down supplies.
This summer my Analog Tote got an upgrade. A bigger bag with more pockets, a restock of activities I have been enjoying or wanting to try, and a totally unnecessary whimsical charm that makes me happy every time I see it.
Below is everything in mine. Most of it lives on my Amazon storefront list, so if you want the whole kit at once, that's the shortcut. Otherwise I've broken it down by category below: the bag, the tech, the embroidery I'm attempting to learn, the books, the craft kits, and the small-but-essential self care items.
This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The INK10 code on the Clever Poppy embroidery kit is separate from Amazon and saves you 10%, that's the only true discount in this list.
Photo of analog tote
The Bag
The tote bag I finally upgrades from my little Trader Joes tote to this Lands End tote. Big enough for a Kindle, a hardcover book, an embroidery hoop, a notebook, and a pouch of supplies. Small enough to actually carry in one hand when I have an ice coffee in the other.
Flower charm on the handle Pretty, completely impractical, also my favorite thing.
The Only Tech Allowed
Two devices earn their place in the Analog Tote, both because they do exactly one thing and offer me nothing else.
Kindle Colorsoft E-ink display. No notifications. No doom scrolling. No "just one more minute" trap. The single most-used item in the tote.
Beats over-ear headphones Wireless. They block out coffee-shop noise, swimming-pool noise, kids-in-the-next-room noise. Not AirPods, intentionally: bigger, more dramatic, easier to keep track of, and they signal "I am reading right now, please hold all questions."
(Both items live on the Amazon storefront list if you want to grab them.)
Image of Holding two Clever Poppy Embroidery Kits
The Current Hero: Clever Poppy Embroidery Kit
If you take ONE thing from this post, take this.
Clever Poppy makes the most beautiful beginner-friendly embroidery kits I've ever used: modern designs, everything pre-stamped on the fabric so you don't have to be artistic to start, all the supplies in one box. I brought one to the beach with us and I have been addicted since. I have dreams of being able to embroider flowers and bees onto things like my favorite apron.
🌼 Use code INK10 at checkout for 10% off, applied directly on the Clever Poppy site.
Why embroidery specifically: it's slow, it's portable, it produces something tangible at the end, and you can do it while listening to audiobooks or while your family watched the World Cup. Triple-duty for the slow-summer crowd.
Check out my detailed review of Clever Poppy here.
📚 The Books in Rotation
I usually have one physical book and one Kindle book going at the same time. The current rotation in the tote:
The Children by Melissa Albert Just landed via Book of the Month. Albert wrote The Hazel Wood and Our Crooked Hearts (both of which I've raved about). New literary horror with the kind of atmospheric dread her readers will recognize on sight.
Plus whatever's currently downloaded on the Kindle, usually two or three options so I can pick by mood.
📖 For more current reads, see my Beach Reads 2026 guide.
🎨 The Craft + Activity Kits
These are the items that turn "I want to be off my phone but I'm bored" into actual hobbies. None of them require more than 15 minutes of attention to be satisfying. All of them produce something at the end.
Lifelines The most satisfying dot my letter kits. They are made by the same couple who founded Melissa and Doug toys and these kits have the same care of details. The way the markers click back in is so satisfying!
Q-less tin I love doing this word game with coffee to warm up before Murdle.
Daisy LEGO botanical set I love making little botanical sets for the bookshelf and they are perfect to pair with an audiobook.
Coco Wyo coloring book Adult coloring books with the cutest themes. My daughter and I love stocking up on these during sales.
Alcohol markers set Better than crayons or colored pencils for coloring. Smooth, no streaking, professional-looking results without actually trying. They are so satisfying to use!
✏️ The Small Stuff That Earns Its Place
The items that live in the tote permanently, these are the items I refill when they run out instead of replacing.
- Notebook: Hardcover, lined, fits the tote
- Highlighters: Pastel set, doesn't bleed through paper
- Tabs: A new edition for me and I am really enjoying them.
- Bookmarks: I love magnetic bookmarks and always have some in my bag.
- Hair ties: Always.
- Lip balm: I always stock up on these and keep one in all of my bags.
- Eye masks: I love having these to throw on while I relax.
(All of these live on the Amazon storefront list too, the small things are usually the things you forget to buy until you need them.)
The Slow Summer Philosophy
If you're doing the Slow Summer thing this year (or trying to), here's the principle making it work for me: the bag is the boundary.
When I grab the Analog Tote, I'm signaling to myself that I'm off-screen for the next hour. Not "trying to use my phone less," actually off-screen, because my phone is in another room. The kit is the easy part. The hard part is just doing it consistently.
Five minutes of embroidery beats no embroidery. Twenty pages of a book beats zero. The Analog Tote isn't a productivity hack; it's a permission slip.
Shop the Whole List
Everything in my Analog Tote on Amazon →
Plus the Clever Poppy embroidery kit ( 10% off with INK10), not on Amazon, but the single best thing in the bag.
More From Ink & Imaginings
📖 Best Beach Reads 2026 Organized by Genre for the books that'll live in this tote all summer
📖 Best Summer Romantasy 2026 if you want a series, not a standalone
Want more like this? Subscribe to The Weekly Bookmark, every Tuesday I send the books I'd text a friend about, plus the new releases worth catching that week.
