I went over what we do for our cars back in another post. As an update, we've not gotten our "new" car yet. We're still looking, and as of the 1st of January, 2007 (Wow...2007... )..we'll have a nice down payment for that car! So, that's a nice plus. We're using our Christmas money gifts as an added bonus for that down payment. I had a lot of things I needed, not just wanted, but....we need the car more than those things right now. I know this deeply. Therefore we do the car first. The other needs can come this year.

Now, back to the car.

As Army folk we've got tons of information and ways of protecting ourselves due to training. Not only the Army person (my husband) of the family, but also as members of his family we have openings in various areas and places to learn a lot from specialists through our Family Readiness Group. Luckily I'm the FRG Leader of our Unit and I have been able to open doors to a lot of reading materials and things I normally wouldn't have found.

So, what I'll be talking about is what we need to put in our cars to keep safe. There is a lot of talk about this on Crystal Miller's boards and we've talked a lot there about Emergency Kits. This is something that is very important. Especially after the accidents we've seen in the news of late. The media may be bad for a lot of things, but I think that covering those accidents and showing people how bad things can happen, and do happen, helps inform people that emergencies are going to come up - and we should be prepared.

Go Packs are packs each person in the house should have for themselves during emergencies. These are not to be confused with Emergency Kits in cars. Go Packs come in varied sizes, and one size does go in the car. This is to be placed with the emergency kits in the car. I'll deal with the Go Pack in another post.

And yes, I said emergency kits, as in plural. People think having one kit will help. Yes, it can, however if something happens to the car...or to you...and you can not get to the kit where you keep it, having several in the car will help you. An example of this: The car flips, turns, and wrecks badly. You're all alright, relatively, but the kit has been tossed from the trunk and lost and/or strung out all over the road in pieces. Another instance is you are trapped in the car. You can't get to the trunk to get to the kit. (Actually you may be able to depending on the make of the car. That is another post.  ).

Despite your best efforts, you can't get to the trunk. Therefore, how can you help yourself or your family? This is why you should have at least three kits in your car. Now, these aren't huge kits. I don't mean duffle bag sized items. Just simple kits that you can make yourself will work just fine.

You can pack a lot of items in a kit and keep it in the glove compartment. This is one prized location for a kit because it's a protected zone in the car. Another location is under the seats of those flip up chair type cars. Have under seat cargo area? Use it for a medium sized kit. Tuck two other small kits under seats or in side doors or pocket panels on the back of chairs. The type that's the size of a six pack cooler or so can fit in the cargo area or in between two child seats. You can reserve the trunk for the larger sized kit.

Small Kit Contents:

These fit in small areas. Glove compartment. Side pockets. Under seats. Back pockets. Use a zippered, cloth make-up kit. Use a velcro open/close fold up pencil pouch. Make your own like I am....use something that will hold things and still go in the glove compartment or area you've decided to keep the small kit.

• rubber gloves; latex gloves (4 pairs)
• sterile dressings
• saline solution toweletts or baby wipes are fine
• rubbing alcohol toweletts or iodine toweletts
• antibiotic cream or liquid
• burn ointment or burn wipes
• adhesive bandages of all sizes
• eye drops
• thermometer
• medications for kids
• medications for adults
• any prescription medication (update as needed) with printed information
• prescription materials (needles for diabetics, blood reading gear, wrist blood pressure monitor, etc..)
• tweezers
• permanent pen and paper (to record temperatures or numbers on bandages as well as on papers)
• scissors
• sewing kit
• petrolium jelly packs
• activated charcoal
• adhesive tape
• hot pack
• cold pack
• glow sticks
• syrup of ipecac
• small flashlight
• replacement batteries
• emergency blankets (2 at least)
• bandanas or cloth napkins (trust me, they're good for lots of things)
• first aid booklet
• zip lock baggy with extra cash and ID's as well as medical information

A rolled up kit sewn just for these items with pockets made just for these items is keen, but if you can throw all of these in a small travel sized kit that fits in a glove compartment, so be it. Get it into baggies to keep sterile and safe from liquids. Keep it in the same bag each time.

You look at this list and say "Can all that fit!?"  Yes, it can. Just pack it up relatively organized and well and it will fit into a glove box. Travel sized items, not full sized items. Use small eye drop bottles. Use small travel sized items. Get wipes instead of bottled alcohol. You can do a small kit like this, just keep small in mind. Not a full bottle of medication, just five or six days of medication for one person. Keep those in baggies too along with dose information.

Remember, think safety, but think small too. This is a small kit. Not a full sized kit. So basics are keen.

These kits are for your family so make sure you make them for your family. Each family is different and each family will need or want different things depending on the region they live in. If you have a lot of snakes in your area that may be poisonous, get a snake bite kit for each kit. If you have bad insects that can bite you and gnaw on you, get insect bite kits. Want more thermal camping emergency blankets? Add them.

The best thing about the kits is you are making them for you. There are no rules. Add what you want. It will give you peace of mind.

Up on the next post is what I pack in a medium sized kit. It's a medium sized hard cooler It keeps a six pack nice and happy and it keeps a few other things in it, if that's what it would be used for, that is.