Saturday, September 3, 2011

Additional car organization!

So today has been kind of a long day. The kids and I made the almost 3hr trek home to spend the day with my mom and then made the 3 hour trek back to our house this evening.......like I said, it's been a long day. The trip wouldn't have been too bad except on the way back home I realized that I had never actually driven the route from my mom's to our new house in southern Ohio!?!! So there I was on the highway....driving..... alone.....pregnant.....and I have a 3 year old and 1 year in car seats and only a "general" idea of how to get us home! Awesome! Enter frustrated, 'UGH!' followed by a tiny voice behind me saying, "yeah mom, this is frustrating!" That would be my daughter! Generally, I would shrug and say, 'no problem' and punch the info into the handy dandy GPS, except my husband has the GPS with him.......in his car.........in KY!!!! Double awesome! Thankfully I have an iPhone so I have a mapquest app there, but it's really not great having to look at the phone and drive because this smart lady didn't realize the phone would talk to me and tell me the directions until after I had pulled in the driveway and went to turn the app off and accidentally hit a button that made it start talking!!! Really??!! I mean really?? None the less we're home and the kiddos were immediately put into their jammies and put to bed because it was late and all of us were exhausted! But my whole sob story does have a point. On the way home my son got super fussy out of no where and began crying. I don't mean just fussing like I want out of my seat or I need a drink fussing, I mean crocodile tears, screaming, barely catching his breathe crying! So I pull over and he is just uncomfortable, tired and of course, running a little bit of a fever! Why not, right! I mean the trip was going so fantastic anyway! But I knew when we left my mom's that he was probably teething because of the drooling and constant gumming of anything he could get his hands on. Not wanting to drive the 3 hour drive with an uncomfortable kiddo, I pulled out my newly stocked car bin that I created yesterday (perfect timing) and had some medicine for the little guy! What does my car bin look like you ask......well let me share with you!

Generally, any time I know I'm going to be traveling with the kids either by myself or with my husband tagging along, I try to prepare for just about any situation so that I can just sit back and enjoy the time with the family. I say this so casually, but for me "preparing" tends to lead to WAY over packing for even the smallest trip! But I've come to accept my moderately paranoid personality and instead of fighting it, I just embrace it. My husband on the other, well, he's still working on that some times! Here is a picture of all the contents of my "car bin": small trash bag, scented diaper bags, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, feminine products, toilet paper, Tylenol/Motrin (adult & child), band aids, neosporin, comb, cough drops, chapstick, pacifiers, wipes/diapers, deodorant, sippy cups, wet wipes, lint brush, sharpie, car freshener, snacks for each child. My kids are little so I need 'baby items' on hand just about every place I go. This isn't going to end any time soon seeing as I already have a 3 year old daughter, a 1 year old son and I'm currently 17 weeks preggo for baby #3....sex undetermined. So like I said, baby items will be much needed for some time for our growing family.


All those contents fit perfectly into this nice little container! And I picked this one because it fits perfectly in the front of my car right under the middle console by my seat so it's easily accessible (when I'm not driving of course!)



From this angle it doesn't look very organized, but everything went in so well. I was really happy with the way it turned out.


And I wouldn't be me if I didn't include a label on the outside listing all the contents! I laminated the list so that if I ran out of something I can put a check mark next to it so I know I need to re-stock that item and when I've replenished, I can easily wipe it off! Of course, after I printed, laminated and put the label on the container, I noticed grammar errors and that I completely forgot to list some items! So I'll be redoing the list in the very near future!


This bin went together so well, I thought, "wouldn't it be handy to have car tools organized and easily accessible also!?" Things like my jumper cables, first aid kit, etc that were previously just stuck under seats or in compartments in the back with no particular home. Well, that is no longer the case. With winter only a few months away, I always put a blanket, travel pillow, gloves, a hat and extra socks under each of my kids' seats just in case. You never know and since we have to travel good distances to see family, this is a season I don't mind over preparing for! But remember, I'm paranoid, probably almost to the point that I could be a therapists' dream!!!  So here are just a few things I've put together in a little bit of a larger bin to go in the back of my van. (yes, I'm the proud owner of a mini-van and I'm not ashamed to admit that I absolutely ADORE it!!). The contents of this bin are First Aid kit, extra oil, de-icer for the windows, jumper cables, flashlight, extra window scraper, windshield wiper fluid, febreeze and Lysol wipes. The only extra thing I could think that I might like to add would be an extra set of wiper blades because unfortunately, I've been in a situation where I wish I would've had an extra set with me in the middle of winter! Obviously, the sippy cups went into the first bin and the febreeze and Lysol are for more of a personal comfort!


All these contents wouldn't fit into one bin because when I put the windshield wiper fluid in, I originally laid it on it's side....not so smart. It started leaking. So I took it out and fit everything else in.


So here's an after shot!


For my flashlight, I taped the batteries to the outside so they didn't go dead sitting in the flashlight. Also, this keeps it from accidentally being turned on while driving and then you'd be stuck with a flashlight that was no use to you. I'll be getting extra batteries to put in here as well.


So here they are....all the extra contents of my car (and then some) fit snuggly in an organized and labeled place with easy access! Best part, this whole "idea" cost me less than $5 because everything in these bins and one of the actual containers were things we already owned! Cha-Ching!!!


So what about you guys? Anyone else paranoid about random things or feeling the need to be over organized with anything?

2 comments:

  1. I like your car kits! My new car is a hatchback and it has this handy-dandy little trunk insert that is perfect for storing necessities. I was so excited when I saw it!

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  2. Add in some fuses! I had one go bad on me at night once... The one that controlled my headlights :( so now I keep an extra set, also brake fluid, paper towels, funnel, white foam board( 8x10 size) to write on and put in window in case of emergency or if you have to abandon your car. Bungies and ratchet strap, bottle of alcohol, quart sized clean paint can with tubeless TP stuff in and a set of matches (heater and way to cook if stranded for a longer period of time) 1 gallon gas can (empty until needed) 4way tire iron (most cars don't have this type anymore and good luck breaking the seal on a lug nut without it) air compressor that plugs into car, fix a flat, scrub brush (when your kid pukes on the floor you'll thank me!) cleaning gloves and work gloves, glow sticks and a spare cellphone charger.
    See who's more paranoid now lol!
    I also have a small box of emergency food, case of water, all the stuff in your kits above minus the pacifier (mine wont take one), and for each person a ziploc with spare complete outfit (exersize type material), small fleece blanket and toothbrush/paste. I keep a packed diaper bag with the addition of a few small size sham wow towels and a bottle of baby wash. You see the luggage I consider a purse!
    Oh paper plates and plastic ware as well!
    And a decent sized pocket knife in my door cubby. Never know when you'll need one and my kids are such wiggle butts they are at risk to strangle themselves with a seatbelt... I want to be able to get it off fast.
    Hope this helps someone!

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