Wednesday, September 03, 2008

I heart car storage organizer thingys


Last weekend, whilst browsing the odd n' end section of goods at my local Ross store, I bought this.
(Psssst - at Ross, it was half-price the MSRP)
It looked to be the perfect storage accessory for my car - to contain bags of groceries for the long drive home from the market. Hmmmmm - no more bags of food rolling around in the back storage area of the vehicle - wouldn't that be nice...

Practical-for-specific-use item - and then some:

Yesterday, I set the (foldable, collapsible) bag across the length of the back seat. I proceeded to fill it with stuff I typically take with me for a day out: portable crafty projects, numerous books and magazines, an extra pair of shoes, my camera, a sweater, additional bottles of water, snacks, stuff to be mailed, borrowed items to be returned to friends, items to loan to friends, etc.
These things are generally set directly - and neatly - on the seats or in front of the passenger seats on the floor of the car. They too eventually end up sliding here and there during the drive.

I took off down the hill to see friends. Zipped around town running errands. Nothing slid around and off into hidden nooks, crannies and difficult to get to recesses of the car.

At the end of the day, unloading all my unconfined items from the car generally requires several trips from car to house and back to car then back to house again.
No more!
Now, using the two openings on the sides of the (collapsible fold up bag), I can lift the entire container with everything in it.

Cool!
So cool that I went back to Ross today and bought two more. A second one for my car and one for HD's truck. I really like that these things fold flat when not in use. Though I doubt they will ever NOT be in use.

Check this out.
And this.
(both very clever, but I prefer my containers - more all-purpose, don't you think?)

P.S. If you can't find a bargain price on the Case Logic version, the similar, but even bigger bag pictured above is from thi$ $ite: http://www.online-car-quotes.com/v/products/180/

4 comments:

jessierose said...

You didn't get one for me?!? :(

baffle said...

I actually thought about it, but realized there usually isn't much room left in your car (after putting in all the big stuff needed for LB) to fit a bag of this size.

Also - I bought the only three there were at Ross.

However, I will keep an eye out for another - because - y'know - ya nevah knows when something might turn up...

Conn said...

Ah yes... we have one for our car. We bought it WITH the car... costs too much.
Don;t you just love ROSS? I cannot make a trip to Safeway without stopping in Ross first. I know that 9 times out of 10 I will not buy anything, but I still love to go.

Anyway... ours is a 3 compartment job... one always has extra jackets, and a full change of clothes for each of us. This island calls for unexpected clothes changes from muddy hikes or surprise stops at the beach. Another has 4 beach towels and sunscreens and a travel scrabble game. The third compartment are bottles of water and extra flip flops and sneakers.

We usually take this out of the car when we go shopping for our big buys like costco and homedepot type runs and it is so great to just lift the entire thing out.
We also keep in the car at all times the following:
1. Heavy duty tie downs for bring home that unexpected buy at a garage sale that needs to be tied to the roof.
2. A local phone book
3. Maps and The Ultimate guide to Maui
4. Extra business cards
5. Anti-bacterial hand wipes
6. The extra napkins we greedily take and end up not using when we get a quick bite somewhere.
7. A notebook of things we need.
8. All of our gift cards and store credits and discount cards and passes to the State Park.
9. Jumper cables
10. Phone charger
11. Sunglasses and Lip balm.
12. no less than 5 canvas tote bags for groceries.

Sounds like a lot, but they are all pretty small and are neatly tucked away. And let me tell you... I feel like a soccer parent sometimes, but it makes life so much easier.

baffle said...

Conn ~ I LOVE it! That's a great list of 'stuff' you cart around in the car in your 3 compartment container.
You and John are indeed the Misters Super Organized.

Oh yes - I do enjoy a search n' seize visit to Ross now and again - used to be my fave 'hang-out'. Recently, the Ross stores in this area have gone downhill. So I now frequent TJ Max and Marshall's - always looking for those bargains - goooooooood stuff at super loooooooooow price$!