Travel Tub Inspiration

 

                A few years ago, I wrote about our mobile medicine bag, which is a little lunchbox filled with our over-the-counter medicine. Mucinex, cough drops, ibuprofen, cold sore meds, indigestion meds – they all live in there. When we go away from home, even for a few hours, it’s easy to grab the bag and toss it in the back seat so we’re prepared if we start to feel sick.

                Earlier this year, I shared about my mobile office, which I created when I didn’t yet have a real office at the church. Even though I do have my beautiful office now, I still keep the mobile office, because I really do work on the go quite often. (home, coffee shops, hospitals, etc.). It really is so handy to have my Bible and office supplies at the ready no matter where I am.

                My next mobile project is still a thought in my head, but I thought I’d include you on the planning phase this time!

                If you’ve been reading here for a while, you know that for a few years, Ryan and I owned a camper we named Abby. We loved her and only sold her because we moved to the lake, and at this juncture of our lives, we desire to be home on the weekends so we can enjoy the lake. (Also, I need to be home for work on Sundays.) Someday, probably in retirement, we hope to get a different camper and travel more. My favorite thing about camping was having my home at my fingertips. Anything we needed from any room was right there in the camper.

                When we travel for vacations now, we have to do a lot of packing, because the car doesn’t stay packed in travel mode all the time. The one area that always seems to be missing something important is the kitchen part of our travel lives. We do eat out when we travel, but we are also known to take snacks and easy-prep foods with us for some meals just to try to keep costs down. And that means we need to have a few kitchen supplies on hand…and I usually forget something.

                I told Ryan after this last trip that my plan this summer is to take a small storage tub from the garage (we have a few spare ones out there) and fill it with kitchen supplies so it’s always packed and ready for our trip. Here is my brainstorming list for the tub so far, inspired by the need to be very mobile and the reality that washing a bunch of dishes isn’t always realistic on the road.

·         Large and small disposable plates

·         Disposable bowls

·         Disposable silverware

·         Knives with covers (We have these from the camper, and I do take them…but they could just live in the tub to make it easier for me to remember them when it’s time to pack. They are helpful for cutting fruit or other foods)

·         Roll of paper towel

·         Ceramic coffee mugs (drinking our coffee from a real mug is our preference)

·         Food storage bags in varying sizes (for leftovers and ice packs in between hotels)

That’s my working list so far. What would you add?