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Family Car Kit WFMW

It’s another special edition of Works for Me Wednesday. Today is the Car Edition where we are to share our tried and true tips on all things car related- whether it’s how to keep your car clean or how to pack your car for a trip or any other such wonders.
And so, though it’s a no-brainer, I’m sharing what I pack in my trunk for emergencies and such. First off, I have one of those handy-dandy roadside assistance kits (purchased prepackaged by my loving husband) that includes all those goodies for incase of [fill in blank but must be related to some mechanical failure]. I also have a first aid kit. But the most important, most used kit of all is my family kit.
My family kit is stored in a collapsible mesh cube (which can also come in handy) and includes: one roll of toilet paper, sunscreen (check expiration date and replenish as needed), one box of sandwich size baggies, approx. 5 plastic grocery bags rolled and folded and stuffed inside a small roll of paper towels (the bags are great for picking up trash, storing wet clothing, putting on a seat to protect it from ??whatever . . . . and holding any treasures the kids might pick up), one package travel size baby wipes, one 2 gallon size Ziploc bag with 1 complete change of clothes (in season) for each child, 5 water bottles, a small assortment of non-perishable snacks in a smaller box (as not to be crushed- also note that you’ll need to check expiration dates here too), baby powder (gets sand off lickity-split!), one roll of duct tape (it’s uses are universal) and a small garden shovel (we’ve actually used this in all manner of ways- it got put in on accident but stays because it’s handy). There is often some loose odds and ends in there too at times, like baseball caps and sunglasses or mittens and winter hats and a couple of diapers (in case I forget the diaper bag- which has been known to happen on occasion). Oh, and the other big thing in my trunk- a very large old blanket for picnics and keeping warm if needed. Quite handy, indeed.
Not only do I regularly use my family kit but it’s been handy in helping others- three different times I’ve been able to offer another mom a valuable piece of clothing after things go awry.
Oh and I have to share this, as a friend laughed at my ingenuity just the other day- We accumulate enormous amounts of crumbs and unidentifiable objects etc. under car seats but never think about checking and cleaning until we’re removing the seats for someone else who needs a ride. So I always keep my big snowbrush in the car and use it to do a fast sweep of the seats (and sometimes the floor mats too!)
Please check out the other great car tips today over at Shannon’s.

car kit

9:27 AM, 2007-Apr-4 .. Posted by Anonymous

Change of clothes is one I need to do. I've had to buy my daughter jeans and a shirt & undies twice in the last year because of car sick or other accident. Although I was lucky to be near a discount store with a sale each time, it would have been much easier to just pull into a gas station and change! Thanks for the tip---when they "tween-agers" you don't think of a "diaper bag" anymore!!

Those are great tips!

2:34 PM, 2007-Apr-4 .. Posted by HSBFrontPorch

I especially love that one about putting the bags in the middle of the paper towel tube. Very cool! How big is that collapsible mesh cube?
~Nancy

Size of the the cube

2:53 PM, 2007-Apr-4 .. Posted by YPAmy5

The cube is approx. 14 inches deep and 14 inches wide. I got it (and one 12x12) from The Container Store online. I don't remember what I paid but I really use these nifty things all the time.
My mom says you can probably pick them up at places like Target . . . .
Amy W

Untitled Comment

5:46 PM, 2007-Apr-4 .. Posted by Anonymous

Fantastic tip! Thanks for sharing!

Rae
http://lifewithrae2.blogspot.com/