These £3.99 wallets have stopped me stressing about where to put my face mask

Gamechangers: We recommend having a designated home for your face covering

The wallet is wipeable, colourful and flexible  (The Independent)

The amount of mask-based worry in my life used to be considerable. There’s excellent research on how face coverings minimise the spread of coronavirus, and there’s clear guidelines on how they should be used in a medical setting. 

But when it comes to covering my mouth for the weekly shop, the need to find a middle ground between medical best practice and the fact I’ve got an itchy nose is somewhat tortuous.

A big part of my stress was about what to do with it when I took it off. Sure, the ideal is that it goes straight in the bin, if it’s disposable, or into the washing machine for a hot cycle. But the reality is that sometimes it finds itself in your back pocket as you ride your bicycle home from the local shop, or in the cup holder of your car. 

Read more: Face masks: The ultimate buying guide for reusable face coverings

And despite knowing that I wear these masks to protect other people more than myself, the notion of whatever is on the front of my covering just languishing around in my tote bag, along with the supplies I’ve just bought, is, well, kind of icky.

Some people employ a sandwich bag. This seems sensible – lightweight, transparent, cheap. But there’s something about putting my hand into a vessel where my used mask has been knocking around that just doesn’t appeal.

Others like a lanyard with a carabiner, or a glasses-chain-style necklace. These are great too (and I have seen them look very chic on Instagram, especially when hundreds of pounds are spent on them). 

But then the used mask still jiggles around your neck, knocking onto surfaces as you lean over, or, as my catastrophising mind often imagines, swinging squarely into the face of a shocked seven-year-old.

But after an off-hand comment from my mum, about seeing someone in the hospital she works at unwrap their non-medical face covering from a plastic wallet, I realised there was a better way. Finally, my worries have been alleviated with the purchase of a simple product.

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

The gamechanger: ELFRhino mask storage clip: £3.99, Amazon – Buy now

(Amazon)

I bought these mask wallets. Well, I call them my mask nappies because of how they wrap around your face covering like you would swaddle a baby’s crotch. Or kind of like how you roll a burrito, if the nappy thing grosses you out.

Disclaimer: this is not a hermetically sealed chamber for your mask. It does not guarantee that there will not be transference between the face covering and the inside of your pocket or bag. But, for me, it’s the perfect compromise between safety and usability.

First up, it’s wipeable. I keep a set of antibacterial wipes next to my door, and every time I switch out my mask for a fresh one, I give my wallet a once over. This reusability helps to temper any feelings of guilt for putting another plastic item in the world, and makes it a touch more environmentally friendly than the sandwich-bag option.

Secondly, it’s flexible, low profile and colourful. The bendy plastic means it can be squeezed into a pocket with ease, and even folded in half, while still having a barrier between the mask and wherever I’ve shoved it. Its minimal shape also means it looks tidy (although, do keep in mind that this means it’s too small for more robust coverings – it’s the perfect shape for a disposable or disposable-sized mask). And I also like that it’s a brightly coloured object, so I can see it at the bottom of all my bags (I am from that all-too-common breed of near-30-year-old woman that only wears black).

Thirdly and finally, it’s a designated space for the thing that wraps around my potentially disease-ridden mouth-hole. I am a great believer in inanimate objects having “homes”, and this is my mask’s one. The low-level thrum of anxiety that previously accompanied the question, “where have I put my mask?”, along with the fear that the answer was likely “in my coat pocket along with the stuff I AM CONSTANTLY TOUCHING” has been completely alleviated. I now know that my mask lives in its nappy.

So yes: the mask wallet (or nappy, surely “mask nappy” should catch on?) has been a gamechanger for me. One tiny part of the section of my psyche that’s been decimated by living through a global pandemic has been soothed. It’s not therapy, but it is something that £3.99 can fix. You’re welcome.

For more gamechanger buys, read our review of this £12 cleanser that cleared up our reviewers acne in two weeks