Making Car Totes Out of Cardboard Shipping Boxes

We've had a lot of purchases shipped to our house over the past 2 years. I've been trying to find uses for the surplus of boxes. I flatten some to use in the garden, both to suppress weeds on one dirt path and as something to sit on when I'm working outdoors. My husband used some flattened boxes last summer to catch paint drips while painting the deck railing. I've used small boxes with the flaps cut off to organize shelves. And this week I made car totes for our car's trunk.

The grocery stores had been giving us courtesy bags for curbside pick-ups occasionally since October's ban on plastic bags went into effect, even when I'd checked the "no bags" box on the online order form. However, I noticed in March that stores were more inclined to put my groceries loose in the trunk if I had checked the "no bags" box. That was okay, and was exactly what I'd asked for. So no complaints from me. But I do want to keep my cabbages and cantaloupes from rolling all over in the trunk. So, this week I made some car totes for my trunk, so the pick-up employee can transfer my loose groceries to the totes. This not only solves the problem off loose foods rolling around, but I'm able to carry my groceries into the house much more easily.

You know me, not one to buy supplies when I have something usable at home. I used a couple of the cardboard shipping boxes to make totes. I cut off the top flaps by repeatedly scoring with a pocket knife, then cut a small flap into two opposing sides of the box, a few inches below the open top, to push in and form handles. 

I could have spent $10 to $15 each for a car tote. And yes, commercial car totes will last longer than my box totes. However, when my homemade totes wear out, they can go right onto the compost pile, and I can quickly make new ones out of newer boxes. I realize that mine are not as attractive as commercial totes. But, hey, they're inside my car's trunk, not on display in my house.

Let the Ordinary Be Ordinary So the Special Can Shine

My son and daughter-in-law gave us a generous basket of tea goodies for Christmas. There was tea, coffee, cookies, candies, fig jam, and chocolate-cherry curd. My first thought was to use the cookies as everyday desserts and the tea and jams with morning breakfasts. But then I thought about how special all of these foods are. The tea is a higher quality than what we normally buy, and the spreads are unique and not what we keep on hand. My son and daughter-in-law went all out with these special tea treats. If we ate them along with our ordinary foods, those average foods might be made a bit more special with their addition. But if we used these treats as they were intended, to have a tea party, this sort of special event would be memorable for our family, standing out all the more because tea parties are rare amongst our average meals. 

You've seen our weekly menus. My family eats very humble foods day after day. If my meals were described in color words, our everyday meals would be tan or gray. A tea party, in contrast, would be described as violet, sea green, or magenta. So we happily eat our ordinary meals, knowing that some special treats and meals can really stand out.

So that's what we've been doing this winter. It began just before taking down our Christmas tree (you can see it in the background of the top photo) and has continued every once in a while on a Sunday afternoon. I expand the Christmas tea goodies with homemade scones, egg salad sandwiches, and sometimes small cups of soup.

Who said tea parties are for children and old ladies? My family and I (husband included) have been making memories over cups of tea and plates of finger sandwiches and cookies.

This principle of only having a few special things amongst many that are ordinary can be translated into many other aspects of life. If you have to have the best of the best in everything, I think you begin to forget that what you have is the best, and you begin to take things for granted. If you always let your child choose a toy at the store when out shopping, the experience loses significance. If you travel for leisure every weekend, wouldn't you just long to have a quiet weekend at home for a change? Myself, I think I'd rather have a rare, but special, vacation. I like to believe that I would really savor every moment. 

Our tea treats are now about gone. I'm not sure my son and daughter-in-law had any idea just how much pleasure we'd receive from their gift.