“Crap in my Car” edition! Here are ten things one can always find in my car:
1. Deposit tickets and ATM envelopes. I’ve decided that I prefer drive-ups and ATMs to going into lobbies to conduct my banking business, so I keep a stash of blank deposit tickets and envelopes in my glove box. Oh, and a pen, of course.
2. Make-up. I don’t keep a full-blown kit, mind you, but there’s a small cosmetic bag in the driver’s side door pocket that contains a powder compact, some mascara, the aforementioned tinted lip balm, floss and nail file. It’s important to be prepared.
3. Money. The ashtray is filled with coins and there are a few dollars stashed in the document folder in the glove compartment. I don’t go through a lot of tolls and I tend to not need to feed meters, but again, it’s important to be prepared. Besides, sometimes a girl’s just gotta have an ice cream…
4. An umbrella. Duh.
5. A picnic blanket. This was a Christmas gift from Mr. Chili’s aunt: it’s one of those purpose-specific items that actually works. It’s canvas on one side and fleece on the other, it folds up in a specific way and snaps shut with a carrying handle on the outside, and we use it for sitting on the ground to watch concerts, fireworks and parades. It would also be good as an emergency blanket in the event of a snowbound stranding or an accident though, thankfully, it’s never been pressed into that kind of service.
6. Bug spray and sunscreen. These live with the blanket in a basket in the trunk. They don’t get used often – about as often as the blanket, actually, because we pull the sunscreen out when we’re watching parades and the bug spray when we’re watching concerts and fireworks, as those things tend to happen at dusk. Still, that ‘better to be prepared’ thing has worked in my favor; I may not need them often, but I need ‘em when I need ‘em.
7. A Swiffer head. You know those little disposable dusters? Well, I keep the head for one (not the handle – I’m not that anal) in the glove box. When I’m sitting in a long light (or in a construction back-up) or when I’m in a parking lot waiting for someone, I can pull the duster out and give the dash board a good once-over. Of course, if I’m doing the dusting in traffic, I can’t reach the farthest corner of the passenger side, but “most of the job” is better than “none of the job.” I’m amazed by how dusty the inside of my car gets…
8. Insulated bags. Trader Joe’s sells these for practically no money, and I’ve discovered that keeping a couple of them in my car is a really great policy. They buy me a little extra time in the summer to get home from the grocery store with ice cream (see the above mentioned construction traffic) and they also keep things warm, so I can use them to transport pot-luck food to parties. Really, they’re a great use of two bucks…
9. My chiroprator’s card. My doc has a card-swipe system; all of his patients get little laminated cards with bar codes on them that we slip through machines at the front desk to sign in, then again at the table to pull up our x-rays and patient information on a screen on a shelf. I keep mine in the car so I don’t have to fumble through my purse, and I don’t have to worry about losing the thing – he charges a hefty fine to replace them. The card lives, along with some car wash tickets, under the clip for the garage door opener.
10. A sweater. I used to keep sweaters sufficient for everyone in the family, but I’m starting to run out of room in that basket in the trunk and we’re working on teaching the girls to try to think ahead and anticipate their own needs. Anyway, there are almost always at least two sweaters back there – usually fleece unisex things that would be sufficient for either myself or Mr. Chili and that the girls could use too, if they had to. It’s surprising how cold restaurants can be in the summer, and I like keeping an extra layer handy for those times when we go out in just tank tops and shorts, or for when we end up staying out later than we anticipated and it gets cool when the sun goes down.
Happy Tuesday, Everyone!
I don’t know what I would have done without a sweater handy this past summer, when I attempted to eat in the frigid air that passes for a comfortable dining environment in umpteen restaurants. I also tend to have diaper wipes, as the messes those things can clean up are astonishing.
I have diaper wipes, too, but I was trying to limit myself to ten things…
I have so much clutter in my Element that I can’t possibly reduce it to a list of 10!
One item I will mention is a Leatherman (or Gerber) compact all-in-one tool. I own both brands and can’t recall which one is in the car. It makes me feel really guy-like to have this item handy. Oh, yeah, I also have a Surefire flashlight.
I have neither an all-purpose tool NOR a flashlight in my car. The Leatherman lives in the drawer of my desk, and the flashlights live in a kitchen cabinet (and, I think, there’s one over the fridge).
It is right and good that you have man-like things in your car. I’d wonder about you if there were a make-up kit in YOUR door pocket….