I very rarely leave things in my vehicle. My husband and I switch vehicles quite frequently and he doesn’t necessarily want or need the things that I do.
Since we live in Michigan, we have ice scrapers and snow brushes. These stay in the vehicles most of the year. This year, since the snow and ice were lacking, they were more often used as sibling weapons.
One of our weekly stops has suckers for the kids, so that means that there are often sticks and wrappers all over the car despite repeated reminders to put them in the garbage.
My youngest is still in a booster seat, so we have one of those in each vehicle. We care counting down though. Only six more months to go.
My husband keeps tools and probably a quart of oil in both vehicles, but I wouldn’t know what to do with either one.
When I take a trip longer than dropping the kids off to school, there are a variety of things that I have to take along. I have a bag with snacks, water bottles, and a change of clothes for the kids. I will also have a book to read and some part of my current manuscript to work on should we get stuck in traffic. Depending on which vehicle, I will also bring a movie for the kids. This can make long car rides much more pleasant.
For any car ride, I must have sunglasses. My eyes are very sensitive to the sun and it’s hard to drive if they are watering. I will also have my phone. I might use it for music while the kids are watching a movie or navigation. I also might need it for that phone thing in case the car breaks down. Thankfully, that hasn’t happened recently, but it has happened, and I was grateful to be able to call for help.
The last thing that spends a lot of time in our car is dirt. With a muddy winter rather than a snowy one, the kids boots were always clumped with mud rather than snow. I’m sure we’ve been carrying around a couple extra pounds of dirt around with us all winter.
What is your must-have in the car?
Angela Schroeder
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Four Foxes, One Hound 
weapons for siblings? most certainly.
I can well imagine the battles we would have had on those long boring trips — when we were kids — if we’d had scrapers and other implements of doom.
None of our vehicles have the on-board entertainment systems, though our kids have them for the grandkids. I still struggle to think how barbaric today’s kids would imagine OUR former mode of travel to be: no air conditioning, no radio, few snacks, and very little room to move around. Certainly no DVD player with our CHOICE of movies.
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My son was wielding the snow brush today, but managed to keep it away from his sisters. Probably because they were watching a movie.
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Oh yes, I remember the days of mud (or sand if we went to the beach), candy wrappers, sucker sticks, and drink containers left in the car. I don’t remember window scrapers being used as weapons, but then with only two children it was easier to separate them. We never had movies, but we had cassette tapes with songs. Unfortunately, one of my girls loved to sing along at the top of her lungs which annoyed her sister to no end. Believe it or not, someday they’ll actually miss each other!
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Some day! I’m struggling to keep them out of each others’ hair for the week.
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I’m still taking inventory!
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I also use my phone for music while in the car. The car’s speakers are staticy so we use the phone instead.
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