Picnic progress ...

When I bought my red suitcase I had plans of crafting it into a you-beaut picnic case. There was talk of ply divisions to hold the contents more firmly but we didn't get around to that. The case has done good service over the past four-plus years but is now planned for retirement.

In November 2015, I upgraded my beverage case.  I was a little reluctant to make the switch but the "new" case is a bit bigger and the deeper, upright format is great. I pack everything in and when the case is next opened, all items are in the same place. Neat!

The contents of the red case don't fare so well in transit. I pack plates, cups etc as shown in the pics at right. Everything jumbles together immediately after the lid closes and the case is stood up ready for departure.

Nick and I spotted a green soft-sided esky/picnic bag at an op-shop last year. It was in excellent condition and seemed a bargain at $15.00. (Some plates, cups and cutlery were also included but I may yet re-purpose them).  It has a top opening lid and lots of pockets.  The kookaburra emblem on the outside is another bonus!

I've mostly transferred to the kookaburra case now and we'll take the upgrade for a test-run today.  My picnic plates are not quite the right size for the holders but that's OK.  The tablecloth is in that front section along with the included cutlery.  There is a side pocket on the outside of the bag which is the right size for a pack of serviettes.  The small red zip pouch holds tablecloth clips and it's in the same pocket.

The middle (insulated) section of the bag holds paper towel, BBQ scraper and tongs, longer sharp knife and bread knife in a home-made denim sheath, chopping board, various cups and my "happiness spreader".

Mesh pockets in that section are sewn-in. I haven't used all of them. One is housing plastic bags (handy for rubbish and dirty dishes). Another has our salt and pepper grinders. There's space left for provisions, though we usually carry them separately.

I'm liking the new organisation.  I expect there'll be fine-tuning as some standard inclusions are MIA from our relocation shuffle.  I'll probably add a few extra cutlery pieces and try to find the small sharp knife (which lives in a green toothbrush box).