"Bigger than a Bread Box..."

The title used to be a common way to describe the size of something.  My parents might have had a bread box at some point when I was growing up, but I didn't really know how big one actually was.  I visualized something about the size of a loaf of bread.

When I moved into the new house, I realized I might have a need for one.  When I bake a loaf of bread, I usually leave it out for about a day to harden the crust.  I realized that with the possibility of mice--I have caught them in the house before--I needed a better plan than letting it sit on the counter unprotected.  I have never had anything go after my loaves while they have been sitting out--here or at my other house--but finding a loaf with bite marks and rodent droppings on it would not be welcome.

So I hopped online and started looking.  I was surprised that they were somewhat large-ish, certainly bigger than a single loaf.  Shown above is the box I got with one of my standard two-pound loaves.

Somewhat visible on the lid are a bunch of ventilation holes.  A tiny bug could get through them, but nothing larger.  What I have found is that the box does a good job of keeping bread fresh--maybe a little too fresh.  When I stick a loaf in there, it softens the crust a bit.  I don't store bread in it long-term; I just put it there (sometimes) on the day I bake it. Then the loaf goes into the refrigerator; that's a solution that works for me and keeps bread usable longer than just a few days.

The box is also big enough to hold a bag of potato chips, bananas that aren't fully ripe, or other items that are vulnerable to predation (not necessarily all at once).