We All Need a Safe Haven Right Now, And Mine Is Inside A Caboodle.
By: Dena Ogden
Tags: Organization, Self Care, Nostalgia, Lifestyle, Humor

a loving caress for this sweetheart.

Pre-Covid, I regularly hunted for Caboodles at my favorite thrift store, but I never found one. And by “never found,” I mean, “never found in a condition I was comfortable bringing home.” Occasionally, there would be dingy ones on the shelf, but I just couldn’t do it. The Caboodles cases of my ‘90s memories—and thus, the Caboodles cases of my 2020 dreams—were pristine.

For those who missed Caboodles during their first wave of popularity, the concept can be summarized as: pastel tackle boxes with rounded corners, marketed to girls, because…beauty products. During my tween and teen years, I grew a whole collection of them. Each case served her own, important purpose; one kept beads and beading supplies, one kept jewelry, one had trinkets and stationery, and so on and so on. They lived in the bottom cupboard of a shelf unit in my bedroom, so they could bask in each other’s glory and have secret meetings in privacy.

To be completely honest, I don’t know why I still care about them. It probably has something to do with the fact that they’re aesthetically pleasing (bubbly like a cartoon! And such pretty colors!) and they also represent a level of organization that I can really only manage in breadbox-sized doses. For someone who also had a healthy Lisa Frank obsession and a borderline unhealthy boyband phase, they’re an inoffensive relic of my youth that I feel free to revisit because I can mask it as function.

Anyway, clearly I wasn’t the only one holding space in my heart for these cases, because the brand did a whole relaunch. In the last couple years, Caboodles have been back on the shelves again at major retailers.

Smashing the “add to cart” button.

I really wanted a vintage one, though — or at least, I thought I did. Once Covid hit, and I had to put my thrift shop treasure hunting expeditions on hold, I scoured Ebay. I bookmarked Etsy retailers. But ultimately, I caved and bought a new one for my birthday for eighteen dollars.

Lots has already been said and written about how we’re all seeking comfort in nostalgia things this year, so I know I’m not the only one who gave in to this urge. But unlike some of the other comforts of yore — lol, remember slap bracelets? — Caboodles cases have retained pretty much all of their functionality. I mean, at its core, it’s a carrying case. A very aesthetically pleasing, but still entirely functional, carrying case. We all have things that need to be carried, right? 2020 has stolen a lot from us, but it hasn’t stolen that. At least, not yet.

Turns out, it didn’t matter whether or not I had a vintage one or a new one. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the Caboodle I’ve now owned for four months has brought me an obscene amount of joy. I regularly carry it around my house like Paris Hilton carried her dog in 2004. It holds some of my favorite desk and planner supplies, so anytime I need a certain pen or a sticky note, I need to — I get to — reach into my Caboodle.

I was going to include a list of all the things I’d suggest keeping in one’s case for those on the fence, but it can be summarized thusly: whatever your damn heart desires. I recommend supplies including but not limited to; beauty, art, desk, craft, school. Really, all the supplies. The sky is the limit.

And that’s just it; the versatility and usefulness is kind of the point. We’re all treading water these days, so whatever light and fluffy ways we’re seeking comfort should be shouted from the rooftops. That neat bundle of highlighters tucked into a plastic case that inspires a millisecond of bliss when you see it? A row of color-coded washi tape that just looks cute? A selection of products that would be madness on their own but that fit perfectly inside a shiny container with sparkles on it? Hell yes.

cue the chorus of angels.

And perhaps that’s why I’m leaning into this particular product so hard. My desk space can be a complete disaster in the form of loose papers, cords and random odds and ends that I haven’t gotten around to tossing yet. But the Caboodle, and its contents, doesn’t change. It rises above the mess, like some sort of unearthed pirate chest sitting on a freshly-shoveled mountain of sand. There’s chaos all around, but not in it. The treasures inside remains untouched.

So, yes, it’s a plastic box. But it also reminds me of my youth. It’s a symbol of neatness, one that represents the direct opposite of the chaos happening around us this year. And I’ll take three.