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At least once a week, I notice that someone forgets something and I say “You left home without ____?” I have learned to be prepared! Now, I’ve found my favorite 10 things to keep the car. Sometimes we will even grab our snack hack and take that with us, too!
I made this list of 10 must-haves for the car, when you have kids, a few years ago. I have found that even though our kids are now older, the things that I keep in the car remain the same. 🙂
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We have four kids, so we are ALWAYS trying to find things in the car. When emergencies pop up, we like to be prepared. It was mostly “learning through experience” that brought us to this list. I’ve been caught without many of these too many times and I’ve learned my lesson! Our car is not “ready for anything” (most of the time, anyway!) Plus, Our kids are young and we need a little more than families with older children.
1. Coats or zip-up sweatshirts in the trunk.
I do this because our kids are constantly cold, especially in restaurants, so if I can have a coat handy, it works out great. I even do this in the summertime because this is when everyone has their AC on full blast and our kiddos get extra-cold if we are out to eat.
2. An extra pair of flip-flops
I can remember several times, when our kids were toddlers or young preschoolers, that they had just forgotten their shoes. Don’t ask me how I overlooked that little detail while we were getting into the car, but somehow it happened more than once.
I’ve also had each of our four kids break a flip-flop at least once during an outing.
Oh- and muddy puddles. How did I forget those?! When my kids were young, they stepped in plenty of puddles and they were left with soaking wet shoes.
Having an extra pair in the car is always a good idea. It may seem weird, but trust me… there is a reason. 🙂
3. Bandaids
You never know when you’ll need one.
4. Power Converter – my FAVORITE thing to keep in the car!
This little box turns any normal plug into a car plug. I can charge anything using this and I use it all of the time! I’ve used this on my laptop, portable DVD players, a cooler that works with a little air conditioner that’s powered by an outlet, the kids’ tablets on a long trip (since our back seat doesn’t have the right outlet for their devices), and so many more things.
This is life-changing for me! (I keep this & all of my chargers in the little-hidden console under the dash). Here is the power converter that we have.
5- Extra Grocery Bags
We always have stuff that needs to be thrown away when we are out & about (antibacterial hand wipes that I made them use after we left the last store, wrappers, broken pencils, paper, empty water bottles) and these grocery-store bags are the perfect way to get rid of it. When we stop to get gas, or when we are going to walk into a store, I will just grab one of the bags from the dashboard and pass it around. The kids toss any trash into the bag and we carry it to the nearest garbage can.
6. Snacks
I try to keep a few snacks in the car because sometimes plans change, and that trip that should have taken one hour is now approaching its third hour.
It just makes it easier if I have a snack to pass back to the kids. Plus, this stops everyone (including myself) from asking if we can stop for something to eat.
7- Sunglasses (extras!)
A few years ago my Mom & I were shopping at Michaels and they had their sunglasses on clearance for 50 cents. We bought about 6 pairs. I have lost most of them by now, but I still keep a few spare pairs of these sunglasses in the car, just in case I lose my regular sunglasses. My kids have also used them when they have forgotten their sunglasses at home.
Oh- I try to stock up each year, at the end of the season. They are always discounted.
TIP: You could even order a cheap pack of 12 and just keep them in the car, under the front seat.
8 – Water Bottles
I keep 3 water bottles in my trunk (in a tote bag). It seems to be a cure-all when we have sticky hands! (NOTE: It has been found that they can leak chemicals, so you might not want to do this. I keep them in there because we use the water to wash up when we are in a bind, but we usually have fresh (new that day) water to drink because the kids grab a new water bottle from the refrigerator in our garage before hopping into the car in the mornings.)
9- My “Restaurant backpack”
This is a backpack that I keep just for going out to eat or going somewhere like that. I keep hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, coloring books, crayons, some small toys & a few other little things. When the kids were young, I kept a high-chair cover and disposable bibs in the bag, too.
10- 3 pack of $.99 Tissues
It never fails that the kids need a tissue when I have none. Now, I keep a skinny box or travel packs of tissues in the glove compartment.
WHAT TO KEEP IN YOUR CAR: READER SUGGESTIONS
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- Scissors (in case you need to cut a seatbelt)
- An extra pair of clothes for the kids
- Ziplock bags (for new clothes & then dirty clothes)
- “barf bags” using disposable diaper genie refills.
- Sticky Notes made FOR YOUR VISOR (love this idea!)
- If you have a potty trainer, keep a mini baby bjorn travel potty in your car.
- A coloring book (we love our Potty Training Coloring binder that we made).
- A bag of books
- Decorate a shoe box as their special car toy box- let them pick the toys that go in it.
- Keep a roll of toilet paper in a plastic bag in the trunk
- 1/2 a roll of paper towel (takes up less room, but does the job.)
- Car laundry basket. Everything goes in there and then into the house (sports stuff, etc…)
- Spare change
- A towel, in case you get caught in the rain (or jumping in puddles!)
What else can you think of?
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I’d add a bucket to the list. Although you hopefully won’t use it very often, it’s good for emergencies. (I won’t describe the type of emergencies, but I’m sure you can guess.) You can also store some of this stuff in the bucket to save space.
good idea!
for “bucket” type emergencies – gallon size Ziploc bags – the kind that have a slider to close are perfect and can then be zipped up and thrown away. There are several in the back pockets of the front & passenger seats where they can be reached by kids in the back.
smart, esp. for road trips!
Or a cheap potty chair with plastic bags for road trips.
always a great idea. That way the bucket wont tip.
We use a plastic coffee can for this purpose. The only thing better than a bucket when that happens is a bucket w/ a lid! 😉
Also consider peppermint candies like Altoids that contain real peppermint oil for upset tummies and peppermint spray mist. You can make it easily yourself and a few spritzes in the air can help w/ queasy, car sick passengers.
haha!!
Peppermint oil is smart- we love ours!!
I always have a little Baggie with hair bands (we have four girls) it never fails that when were going somewhere nice one of the girls will mess up their hair and lose a hair band. Also a coin purse full of change. We end up at places with fountains a lot and the girls are always asking to “make a wish” and alsi children’s pain reliever/fever reducer. And since I have a little one allergic to Tylenol I always have my essential oils (lemon, lavender, on guard, peppermint, and digestzen) and last but not least… OTC allergy melts.
Good idea with the coins – our kids always want to throw them into the donation-type boxes, but we never have any!
“hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, a high-chair cover” – relax! 😉
We just did our summer switch out this past weekend. My car tote includes; an extra set of clothes for all, light weight sports shorts and shirts, so they don’t take up too much room. Flip flops, hair brush and ties, first aide kit, water, snacks, blanket, diaper wipes, a “busy bag” for our 5 yr old, tissue and sweaters for all. Prob forgetting something’s, but it’s pretty packed….. Hubbers used to complain about it until the kiddos pushed him into the lake last summer, but was extremely happy when I pulled out a towel and spare clothes for him.
good thinking!!
In the summertime, I have just about everything you list, plus a few extras:
1. A blanket that can serve as a picnic blanket or use to warm up if cold.
2. Towels- if there is an potty accident, a spill, or an impromptu splash park visit (although I keep beach bags with swimsuits and towels packed at all times)
3. Package of Solo cups with lids and straws-if you buy one large drink and everyone wants to share-also as snack holder if need be.
4. Balls or frisbees- Never know if you are gonna need to pull over for some play time
5. Roll of TP.
TP- so smoart!
this is a great post with all of the stuff that i try to normally carry, and a few extra that i would love to throw in there, now all i need is a stow-n-go van to put in instead of a car with 3 kids in the back and no room for all of the necessary items that i want to take with me in case of an emergency etc!!! 🙂
🙂
I always have a travel potty(it folds up like a briefcase and uses plastic bags), instant ice packs, paper towels, first aid kit, tire pump, hair rubber bands, eye glass cleaner, kids magazines, plastic straws, spoons, and forks, gallon ziploc bags(for the potty and if someone is feeling nauseous) and safety pins! Thanks for the other ideas!
Yes potty is great, last year mine tossed into his Catchie…thank goodness waterproof lol so gross on road trips!
Our Catchie is a must have for anyone with toddlers…keeps everything off the car floor and within arms reach….can’t live without now lol : ) !!!
I’ll have to look into that!?
I keep a couple of tampons in my glove box as well as a $20 bill.
smart!!! You don’t know how often I’ve had to make a run to walmart or target on vacation for this very reason!
If you drink bottled water, you have drank water that at some time has been exposed to extreme temperatures. It is not shipped and stored in a refrigerated truck or warehouse. If you are really concerned with chemical exposure you should look into filtering your own water and using glass or stainless steel bottles to carry it.
I always keep scissors, scotch tape, and a sheet of somewhat generic birthday To/From stickers for those last minute “On the way to the birthday party” stops
LOL – this is a great list, and I thought I had already thought of everything since I always joke that I look like someone who must live out of their minivan given all the crap-ola in there. 🙂
My most ingenious (IMHO) add-on is to stash in the waaaay back the potty seat we no longer needed in the house after my youngest was potty trained. After throwing a box of small garbage bags alongside them, it became a travel potty. Just drape the bag over the seat and tucked into the potty, it catches all the waste, and then just gather up the edges, knot it and find a trash can. A lifesaver when a (clean) bathroom isn’t available for the kids. Although my 5-year old outgrew it a long time ago, it still works in a pinch! Also, we learned the hard way not to re-use old plastic grocery bags for this purpose as they often have holes in the bottom along the seam — kind of defeats the purpose! 🙂
Other ideas: bug spray and non-aerosol sunblock (because I would otherwise never remember them), hand/body lotion (the number of times I look down at my leg/feet/elbows/hands and realize they are shamefully dry is — well, shameful), vast supply of pens/pencils AND a stack of sticky pads (last minute shopping list, compiling drive-thru orders when we’re a full van before I get to the intercom, jotting down a reminder, etc), and in two of my many superfluous cup holders, I always have gum and hand wipes.
Good thinking with the potty chair. 🙂
Did the same , but found a foldable self contained potty and put a plastic garbage bag containing an open diaper in the bowl . Was a lifesaver , and not only for the little ones!
Always carry some spare hats and a packit jacket (raincoat) too! The hats are easily lost and forgotten at home and you might get caught out in the rain. In Australia, just because it’s a rainy day doesn’t mean the sun won’t come out so it’s always best to be extra prepared.
hats- smart. Our kids always forget them!
Great items. I also carry a flashlight, pen and paper and jumper cables.
Oh my husband would give you a pat on the back for the jumper cables! (paper- that’s a great idea! I always need it when I am in the car!)
3M makes a sticky note dispenser for your sun visor. We love it and you wouldn’t believe the number of times it has come in so handy. They sell them on Amazon but I’m sure you can find them at any store.
No way!! Thanks!
I keep a cork screw, lol.
Seriously, it’s came in handy more than once. 🙂
that’s hilarious! (smart, but funny!)