Shoeboxes

I've been thinking about shoeboxes today.
Since Mom is staying with us and she doesn't climb stairs well she is in our bedroom and we are upstairs in the guest room. We have our belongings in a suitcase, a laundry basket, and in a shoebox. I took the box up to the bathroom and have odds and ends in it -- makeup, meds, combs, etc. Today I was looking at the box and it brought back memories.

Older readers -- think back. Do you remember using shoeboxes, or did you see them being used? I remember that shoeboxes served a variety of purposes. Back in my youth we didn't jump in the car and go buy a plastic box with a lid and handle. The ubiquitous plastic boxes and baskets that organize our lives today just weren't present then -- we used shoe boxes. I saw shoe boxes used to hold pictures, letters, recipes, patterns, thread or sewing notions, etc. Sometimes the top was fastened by a loop of elastic with a knot in it. More recently I've seen them used to hold cancelled checks (remember those?) In the past few years we have kept various meds in a shoebox on the top shelf of the kitchen cabinet (out of the reach of little ones!)

Baby birds, fluffy baby chicks, and orphaned bunnies might live in a shoe box for a while and in church or school one might made a diorama or a peep show to be viewed through a hole in the end.

What did you use shoe boxes for? What do you use them for today?