I was looking at these $100 backpacks with a built in sleeve for carrying a laptop and thought "WTF man? I can come up with something better than that for like 30 bucks"

The backpack is a SWISS brand, three pocket backpack that I found at a national department store for $19.99. With some scrap foam, a tote bag, tackle box and three ring canvas folder you have a great solution for everyday hauling to your office or school.

Step 1: Here Is the Complete Picture:

Step 2: Protecting the Laptop

No need to buy an expensive laptop sleeve. Take a tote bag and a scrap piece of foam.....

Step 3: Protecting the Laptop

...wrap it all up and you have the protection you need. I have a habit of tossing my bag on the ground (forgetting about my laptop) when I get to work so I needed some thick padding to absorb the impact.

Step 4: Stick It In!

With the padding it fits nice and snug without shifting around. What's awesome is that the foam pad makes wearing the backpack really comfortable, especially when biking. I didn't even realize how uncomfortable it was before.

Step 5: Protecting Your Papers

I had been putting my papers into a file folder when I stuck them into my backpack but they still got bent up and creased. Here I drilled out the rivets of a canvas three ring folder for better protection so I can just throw in loose articles.

Step 6: Protecting Your Papers

They all stay in good shape now.

Step 7: Protecting Your Papers

It all fits nice and snug.

Step 8: Staying Organized

I also needed a better solution to digging through my bag for my pen or USB drive. Here is a tackle box that fits into the front pocket of my backpack. I cut out some shelving liner to fit into the box to get rid of the rattling sound as I walked around