Clean and Comfy in the Car
Tricking out the car with the things we need to stay clean and comfy in cold weather:
• Full-size box of Kleenex.
• Big pump bottle of hand sanitizer--we use it every time we get back in the car after a stop.
• Good size bottle of hand lotion--the big bottles can stay nicely in the middle drink holders, since we don't drink in the car much.
• A supply of disinfectant wipes--not just for germs but for our clothes, or anything that gets a blob on it.
• Some personal supplies in the glove compartment.
• A cozy wool blanket that can stay out of the way when it's not needed, and stop arguments over the temperature controls when it is.
• A small umbrella.
Aside from these items, we adhere to a rule of Everything Out of the Car when we get home. Everyone looks around and picks up anything they can see or reach, whether or not *they* are the one who brought it into the car!
20 comments:
While this may not be considered under the heading of "clean and comfy", I always keep a box of granola bars and a few water bottles in my van. It started when I lived in Denver and was nervous about being stuck in a snowstorm with two babies and has become routine. Now I live in California, where the temp today was 94 and water is definitely a necessity! I also keep an old towel (to wipe up anything), a small bottle of baby powder (it gets sand off skin at the beach) and a blanket & travel pillow. Someone in my car is always ready for a nap!
I like your method for cleaning the car out . . . as we look towards our family expanding again through adoption, I'm open to new ideas to help ease the growing pains, and this sounds like a good oen to implement for the day when our family numbers 7 instead of six!
You run a tight ship. And it sounds like you've got them all trained up right. :)
I too like the hand sani, disinfectant wipes, and blanket in the car! And in this season of life: extra diapers and wipes.
I do not, however, adhere so well to the Everything Out rule. Right now it's enough to get the 3 year old and his paraphernalia out, plus whatever I may have acquired on the expedition. This means I have to do a bi-weekly blitz to remove the starbucks cups (usually only 2) and (many) catalogs, which mysteriously reproduce if left in the car overnight. Two Vermont Country Stores begat a Magic Cabin...and so on...
I love these kinds of details and preparations!
I like the rule of Everything Out. Makes sense.
Most of the items you listed are stocked in our car too, plus: Advil, small tube of sunscreen, nail clippers, a corkscrew (not sure why, but it's always there...we joke about that), and paper napkins. In the winter, we also add: leather gloves, small shovel, hand warmers, and an ice scraper.
If you're in snow or ice country, even if your area is plagued with occasional ice storms, it's a good idea to have some food in the car, the same with extra blankets in the trunk. If you get stranded, you aren't going to die of hypothermia. Learned this while living in snow country and hearing about all the people who didn't survive sliding into a drift and getting stuck because they had no emergency supplies in the car. A first aid kit is also a must, as is water. A 100 degree day and a flat tire can lead to dehydration very quickly.
Lip salve and supermarket trolley token. And thanks for the reminder about the umbrella.
great tips! Laura's esp, since we also live in snow country.
I remember a news report in which a snow-stranded driver lived on ketchup packets from his glovebox for a few days...
deb meyers
My car kit has tissues, baby wipes, an umbrella and a quillow. I love the "Everything Out" rule! I definitely need to try that one, and the hand sanitizer will be the next addition to my kit.
We've been using bottles of hand sanitizer in the truck for a couple of years. Each door has a small compartment that holds a small bottle, so everyone remembers to use it when they get in. It really has helped in keeping down the sick germs.
I like your idea of a blanket. I need to put one in ours now that the weather has gotten colder!
I keep baby wipes, but not hand sanitzer...one of my little ones has a sensitivity to it that seems to get worse with each application...we just don't use it anymore and luckily I never did use it much.
I also do my best to follow the everything out rule with the key being 'even if you didn't bring it in" and for everyone over the age of 4 this works well.
I like your tips, as usual!
We have the same rules as you on cleaning up when leaving the car. I had to read this to my husband though for he makes fun of my using so much hand sanitizer when getting in and out of the car. I'm glad I'm not the only one! :0)
We also keep a big bottle of hand sanitizer in our van. My husband won't even pull out until we've all had a squirt!
What about the extra change?
These are wonderful tips! I second the food and water - good for 'emergencies' and also to share with the homeless. One of my most important Essentials not yet mentioned is a plastic basin that lives under the seat. I have been Very Thankful to have it in the car on more than one occasion when someone has suddenly taken ill. Anna, your graceful combination of beauty and practicality is unmatched.
In the winter we have to take the wipes AND lotion out of the car or they wold freeze solid in our cold Midwstern winters!
~Rebecca in WI
Good tips, thank you!
We keep a small jar of vaseline, too, for chapped lips, and pain killers for headaches....
Thanks for a great checklist. I like an 'empty' car too.
Love the idea of the Everything Out rule. But would like to know when you started this with your children? I have three children 3, 18mths & 6wks and struggle to get them out let alone everything else out. Even now you will find cups, toast, bibs, toys, dummies... you name it we have it, in our car that is:)
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