The Travel Box

Ahhh yes, the semester of Fall 2011 is over. It's been almost an entire month since anything's been posted on this blog, I didn't have any time or energy to find something to put together. But now I'm home on Christmas break for an entire month, plenty of time now...

This was the first semester I had my car up at college with me, basically meaning I was doing all packing & loading to come home by myself, up and down a flight of stairs about 15 times until I had an entirely full car. (And I drive a Buick, I took home A LOT of stuff) It took about 45 minutes or so, but I was glad to at least have complete control of the handling of my stuff down some stairs and at the curb. Ever have someone help you with loading/un-loading a car, and you purposely give them things you don’t mind them carrying? (Pillows, laundry, etc) Then you grab the luggage items you NEVER let anyone else lay their hands on, just to make sure it’s safe?

Yep, for me it’s a 10x10x8 cardboard box. I remember packing for my freshman year at CMU, and I found this box. There couldn’t be a more perfect size for small items that aren’t electronics, cords, or CD’s. It usually includes: 1) My 80’s alarm clock/radio, 2) My most recent journals, 3) A Langenscheidt’s Pocket Dictionary, 4) Whatever book(s) I’m reading for leisure, currently “Travels With Charley” by John Steinbeck, 5) A photo album, and 6) A picture frame, (in the bottom left of the box in this picture) currently holding a photo of me on a long Dryden, Mich. bike ride in 2010.

The best part? Everything always seems to fit. There’s always the right amount of stuff to make it work. I’d hate to know what I would do without this box. I have massive laundry bags for clothes, obviously a backpack for all my schoolwork, a nylon bag I use for small electronic things (CD’s, camera, phone charger, some cords, etc), then boxes for my desktop computer that I transfer back and forth at the start/end of each semester. This 10x10x8 box is perfect for everything else. Wouldn’t let anyone else carry it…