Feisty Girl

I emptied the trash bag in my car today and got to thinking, organization isn’t just about being neat, it’s also about having the right tools in the right place, at the right time. Like the canvas trash bag I keep in my car. When you have a designated place for trash, your floorboards don’t become cluttered with little bits of paper, wrappers and tissues.

I like to keep some basic tools in my car, such as hand sanitizer (fits great in a cupholder and I always use it after pumping gas), tissues, wet wipes, an ice scraper (yes, I only use it a few times a year in Texas, but totally worth the $2), a blanket (for impromptu picnics), bungee cords, an air gauge (for checking my tire pressure), a flash light, a multi-tool (like a Leatherman or Swiss army knife), an emergency blanket, disposable rain poncho, an extra pair of gloves, etc.

Now, once you start throwing all these things into your car, it can start to get a bit cluttered. So where do you put everything? There are some fancy cargo organizers out there, but most of them are kinda big, so I opted for a smaller, collapsible fabric cube. It gets the job done, and doesn’t take up too much space.

I also carry around a four foot pipe in the event that I ever need to change a tire. I discovered that the standard tire iron doesn’t give me enough leverage to loosen the lug nuts if they have been tightened with a pneumonic wrench. But the pipe slips over the end and works just fantastically. Plus, I could always use it for self defense.

What else do you keep in your car to be prepared?