What’s in your comfort box?

A few years back, I read somewhere about the concept of a ‘comfort box.’ I liked to think of this ‘box’ as something to bring with on vacation and it would hold a plethora of my favorite items that reminded me of home or of who I was. It would be relatively small and wouldn’t take up a lot of space. The box would contain some of my favorite things, and it didn’t matter if the items within were inexpensive or costly. What mattered is how those things made me feel when the lid opened and their contents was revealed. Did just looking at these objects-touching them and smelling or tasting them console me or send me back to a place that warmed my heart? As you can imagine, no two person’s comfort boxes would be alike. Does this sound like it would be a personal essential now that I’ve brought it up?

Here’s another thought. Could this box of items fall under the same category of the types of things you’d quickly gather if you had 3 minutes to grab as many items as you could on your way out the front door of your burning house? It could be, I suppose. But since this is vacation season, let’s think for a moment about creating a vacation comfort box. Jennifer Louden is the author of The Woman’s Comfort Book. Here she also mentions her version of a comfort box.

I believe my comfort box (or Travel Train Case) would contain the following: A favorite book, a small, handmade cloth doll, some yarn in a delicious color and feel, knitting needles, my green IPod Nano with earphones, some photographs of my kids or my cats, a candle or two and a book of matches, a box of green tea and some Splenda, some Fannie May Trinidads, a deck of cards, some lovely pens and a journal book, a fat quarter of shabby chic or Amy Butler fabric, a small vial of each of my favorite fragrances, (Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker, Philosophy Amazing Grace and Mark Jacobs Daisy), my favorite little Tascha painting, a sachet of fresh lavender and a bottle of Valerian, a fabulous natural herb that brings on the most blissful sleep, oh, and lastly, a photo of my father.

Are you thinking about bringing a box of comfort on your next trip away? What items would you put in yours? Let us know. Leave a comment and give us some ideas of your favorite comfort items.