Just popping out (and winter car preps)

[EzzieLove]

Moving away from COVID-19, food shortages and Brexit at bit with this post. Had another DD emergency last night 🙄 with a broken down car. Phone call to rescue service (mum and dad) as battery was dead. Hubby immediately dispatched with jump leads, torch, extra warm clothing (as clueless young ones had just popped out in jeans and light jumper). Car started, daughter and boyfriend saved, and impending doom avoided. I think the term “just popping out” must be one of the most dangerous in the English vocabulary. When we plan to go on a day long road trip, holidays or a weeks hiking, we plan, making sure we cover all emergency bases. But how often do we just slip on a pair of shoes and rush out the door to just ‘pop’ to various places. Got me thinking about car preps especially now as it is so cold out. What preps do you carry in your car?

We have water, snacks, nappies, wipes, tea and coffee sachets (they are for days out but live in glove box). We also have those foil blankets and a coat each. Jump leads, spare tyre. Tyre iron and Jack. Normal blanket for the kids.

£20 hidden in seat lining. Phone charger.

Sounds loads now I write it down but the blankets live under seats and the food and nappy stuff is a half full bag for life in the boot.

I've been stuck on the motorway for hours due to snow, would be hell with kids and no food or drinks.

Fire extinguisher. We were very glad we had one as dh actually needed to use it a couple of years ago. Thankfully the kids weren't in the car. The extinguisher worked as expected and dh got out unharmed. We are never without one in the car now and have some on both floors of the house, too.

Thermal hats and emergency blankets, cereal bars/dried fruit and water in flask first aid kit /touch, book and bag of coins

Was that that a special one for the car?

Have hats, gloves, blankets, waterproofs coat for ds, bag of salt, spade, need to update the drinks and biscuits.

I have foil blankets, water and if snow is predicted a she wee 🥴 as I really wouldnt want to be trapped in snow drift needing a wee.

Cars both come with in built tyre repair kits but I know they are poo. Normally have AA but dh has informed me that he hasn't renewed this year

Reply attempt 2:

hats, gloves, blankets, foil blankets, box of hand warmers, coat for ds as he is a coat refuser until cold, waterproofs trousers for dd and I. wellies usually live in the car due to space in the flat. just put in a bag of salt (very old tesco value salt) and a shovel. I have a shopping trolley with seat. (storage space again, was supposed to be for shopping when things eased off in the summer) picnic mat. (good for sittingo n on the embankment, lives under a seat) first aid kit, a big bag of sutuff that needs clearing out. It was part of my running away kit.need to check it out and remove stuff we don't need. definitely include essentials like crochet hook and yarn. absolutely.

going to buy seat belt cutters and fire extinguisher. where to put though?

hospital bag. (need to refill with snacks and check drinks)

Sometimes I think I need a running away kit too Blackeyed think mine would be big fat stuffed with money purse, bottle of vodka and chocolate.

I took the car to MOT, so emptied out all the stuff and put it back in later. Need to add food to the car. But do have sweets and drinks. Probably cookies. As everyone eats those. I must be more proactive in swapping things over.

I have masks, spare reading glasses and spare sunglasses. Pencils, toys, (still) handgel.

I have various bits and bobs to help the children mend stuff.

Ordered a new window hammer seatbelt cutter.

Taking children to respite care so must put a flask of hot water in the car an coffee granules/ milk powder. And the children's diagnosis letters.

Watch the movie Centigrade about a couple who get stuck in snow.

Like the others have said I think blankets, food, some money, water but a flashlight too.

Having been stuck in my car a few times (I normally do a lot of driving for work) my car is very prepped tbh.
In a box in the boot: gloves, socks, hats, yaktrax, water, deicer, scraper, over trousers for me, ready to eat meals (4), self heating flask and heater sachets, hot choc sachets, knork, spork, metal cup, long life sweets in a tin, hand warmer sachets, emergency ponchos, emergency reflective blankets, lantern, power bank jump starter and leads, TravelJane, money (notes and change - there is also money in the compartment in the front but this is last resort), tow rope. Also in the boot are warm waterproof coats and a pair of boots for me. On the dogs side of the boot the floor goes fleece blanket, duvet, picnic blanket, fleece blanket. In the emergency equipment storage thing: comprehensive first aid kit, cpr mask, glow sticks, head torches, hi vis vests, torch, fire extinguisher, reflective triangle.
Glove compartment: book, handwarmer/powerbank, multi adaptor charger cable, cereal bars, sweets, couple of small bottles of water, pen and paper, wipes, tissues

If I was going out and bad weather was predicted, I'd have a sleeping bag and a big flask of boiling water, plus snacks as well. When stuck on a motorway once for 6 hours due to jackknifed lorries in the snow, I was totally happy reading my Kindle, snugly wrapped up and drinking hot chocolate rather than panicking. I didn't have the Travel Jane in the car then which was a bit of an issue!

I know my list sounds huge, but dh and I both go to all kinds of places, and having been stuck, you appreciate the being prepared

Great list thanks.

Hmm, need to review mine. Have first aid kit, water, blanket, torch, LED lantern. Emergency money and food has been used so need to replace but in these Covid times I barely go anywhere any more

I have put meds back in boot. Need to put back in hospital bag. I need to upgrade the food. And put the seatbelt cutter in the fecking car not the boot where it is doing no good. Doh !

@AldiIsla

We have water, snacks, nappies, wipes, tea and coffee sachets (they are for days out but live in glove box). We also have those foil blankets and a coat each. Jump leads, spare tyre. Tyre iron and Jack. Normal blanket for the kids.

£20 hidden in seat lining. Phone charger.

Sounds loads now I write it down but the blankets live under seats and the food and nappy stuff is a half full bag for life in the boot.

I've been stuck on the motorway for hours due to snow, would be hell with kids and no food or drinks.

How do you heat up water for hot drinks? Just curious. Do you take a flask as well?

I have milk for the baby sweets water gum nuts dried fruit money
Ive also got tranesamic acid and first aid inc pain killers and isotone drinks
Blankets coats and extra shoes

But I don't have food actually or any torches

I have those items Incase for example the road gets shut with us on it or we had an awful car crash

I worry a lot about injuries and being sick

I keep meaning to do this. Thanks for the prompt - and the lists!

I need to check I have a torch. I have loads of little ones bought over the years and I think there is one in the bags...

I have pain killers, tissues, money, water, a torch and dog towels!

Mine has got pared down over the years. There was a time when I could find something for the letter-of-the-day show & tell on the floor of my car!

I have a small first aid box containing plasters, calpol, aspirin, triangular and rolled bandages and scissors, antisan, tape, ice pack, saline, would wipes, 4 foil blankets.
With the exception of the blankets I’ve used everything else at one time or another.

I have a Jack, jump leads and a long handled spanner thingy which I don’t know the name of but I can get off nuts that have been tightened with an air gun despite having twig like wrists. I have a box of spare bulbs, red triangle, and some bungee cords. That all packs up neatly into a bag that lives with the spare wheel. I also have a pump thing for tyres which is brilliant for just checking and filling the tyres but has also been great when I had a puncture.

In winter if there’s a cold patch, I throw in a folding shovel and bag of cat litter but I can also minimise unnecessary car journeys.

There’s usually water and crisps or crackers in the car anyway. And I hide my chocolate in the dash . Also in there is pencil, paper, car instruction book, and lately masks, gloves and hand sanitiser.

I have a seatbelt cutter/window smasher that sits in the door pocket just in case. I generally have a book too, just because my reading opportunities tend to be while waiting for dc.

The dc aren’t allowed in the car in winter without a coat, etc. They don’t have to wear them but they do have to bring them.

I need to get a torch, put back in my old unfashionable but oh-so-warm jumper and maybe a poncho for me. And maybe a couple of blankets under the seats.

It sounds like a lot but my car is very sparse. And I like it that way. But thinking through that list, it’s mostly stuff I’ve been very grateful for in a pinch.

I'm barely out in the car these days, but I have improved my emergency box there over the years (still have things to do though).

I keep a small Stanley toolbox in the boot with gloves (both 1 pair work gloves and 2 pairs disposable gloves), a cloth, 2 pocket packs tissues, 1 bottle hand sanitiser, 2 reusable hand warmers (the kind you snap a metal disc to heat and boil up to recharge), a small Ziploc bag with emergency first aid kit (plasters and wipes), and a torch. I used to keep a couple of mini bags of haribo in there too, but DD got older and they weren't so vital. I also have a decent sized camping towel that can be used as a towel or blanket if necessary.

I try and keep a couple of bottles of water - 500 ml size. And in winter, I really try to make sure I have water, long life food (haribo, raisins, snack bars), hat/gloves for those likely to be in the car, etc. If the weather is bad, I shove in proper bad weather clothes (outer wear, proper boots if I am not already wearing them) and some spares (jumper/hoodie, socks, etc).

I always have an ice scraper, some boiled sweets, pain killers, map, swiss army knife, purse of change for parking meters/vending machines etc in the car itself. Nowadays I definitely (I used to try and remember to replace when needed) keep a bottle of hand sanitiser and a spare mask. Spare nail file in the door pocket. More tissues, 2/3 pens and small loose paper/notebook, and a demisting cloth for the windscreen. DD always has a few hair bobbins floating around too.

There's also a dehumidifying bag in the back seat to absorb moisture (bought in Halfords, and due to the damp in the car, I keep 1 in car and the other drying in the hot press - swopping them over every month or so when the car 1 is wet, the other is usually dried out again by then).

I forgot my umbrellas (a folding 1 in the door, DH gave me a golf 1 for the boot), tools in the well of the boot for flat tyre, straps for tying things to the roof rack and some zip ties and WD40 for emergencies, and I also have cat litter in the shed for icy times (and snow socks for my tyres). I keep meaning to get a folding shovel though.

My first aid in the car is basic, but if the weather is bad, I have my decent kit with me (decent enough small pack that I bring up mountains with my Cub Scouts) - I used to have a plastic suitcase type in my car but that moved to DH's a few years back.

Great lists. Currently my car is acting as an extra fridge. Shopping arrived today and we can't transfer it until Ds is negative. Took down loads of vegetables when we went out to get retested.

@BlackeyedSusan

Reply attempt 2:

hats, gloves, blankets, foil blankets, box of hand warmers, coat for ds as he is a coat refuser until cold, waterproofs trousers for dd and I. wellies usually live in the car due to space in the flat. just put in a bag of salt (very old tesco value salt) and a shovel. I have a shopping trolley with seat. (storage space again, was supposed to be for shopping when things eased off in the summer) picnic mat. (good for sittingo n on the embankment, lives under a seat) first aid kit, a big bag of sutuff that needs clearing out. It was part of my running away kit.need to check it out and remove stuff we don't need. definitely include essentials like crochet hook and yarn. absolutely.

going to buy seat belt cutters and fire extinguisher. where to put though?

hospital bag. (need to refill with snacks and check drinks)

I would suggest you sit in the car, then pick a location you can reach without to much movement, especially for the seat belt cutter. Usually for me that's on the sun visor, my key ring or on my personal car (an old Volvo, there is a little pocket on the seat fronts just behind were your knee goes.

As for Fire Extinguisher, the best location is in the front passenger foot well fixed to the seat anchor, the work car has it here, but it can make it a bit cramped if you carry passengers, so in my own car its in the boot with all the other "necessary gear".