Cars

Things to Always Keep in Your Car

1 year ago
by Rachel in

I recently found this article off of one of my favorite websites, LifeHacker, which called readers to list some of the things that they always keep in their car. It was based off of this article from Budgets Are Sexy.com which discusses the 5 things that the writer always carries around with them in their car.

That got me thinking about myself and what I carry around. Until the end of last year or the beginning of this year I had the bad habit of not carrying a emergency roadside kit with me, especially considering the amount of trans-state traveling I do throughout the year, this was a disaster waiting to happen. I now carrying a roadside kit, albeit a very cheap one, which contains a set of jumper cables, a bunch of tools and wrench pieces, and flares. My car is small and the battery isn’t huge so I think the small jumper cables will be enough but I found earlier this year when a friend’s battery died that they were no match for her gigantic SUV (oh, the joys and benefits of having a super-compact car…! :-) Have I mentioned enough about how much I love my car?)

I realized that I have been doing some things right. I always carry a sleeping bag with me in the off chance I will have to do some dirty work underneath the car or, heaven forbid, if I need to sleep in the car for some reason. My car seats are reasonably comfortable (for me, some relatives and friends hate them) and if I’ve had to nap in the car I’ve done so successfully. Then again, I take after my father who is capable of nearly sleeping anywhere save for sleeping standing up.

The article did bring up something I haven’t thought about. I should probably keep an extra set of clothes and maybe even shoes, just in case I find my travels taking me someplace that I can’t get home to change or I messy them with bad weather or car trouble. I also don’t have a first aid kit which seems horribly overlooked considering how accident-prone I am.I’ve also been meaning to get a travel sized flashlight but have yet to stumble upon one. It also seems like it would be a good idea to keep some sort of energy or granola bar in the car since I’m hypoglycemic and I’m intolerable in that state.

Here’s a broken down list of things I usually keep in my car:

  1. Sleeping bag
  2. Roadside kit & Tire fixing tools
  3. Portable dog crate
  4. Reusable grocery bags
  5. Napkins
  6. Umbrella
  7. iPod/iPhone charger/axillary connector kit.
  8. Backseat cover for dog and dog harness
  9. Things to donate/return
  10. GPS

Here’s some things I should think about keeping in the car:

  1. Extra set of clothes/shoes
  2. Sweater
  3. First Aid Kit
  4. Energy or granola bars
  5. Flashlight
  6. Coupons
Rear wheel missing

Dent Fitty

2 years ago
by Rachel in
Some other damage done

Some other damage done

Rear wheel missing

Rear wheel missing

A few months ago, while I was sleeping soundly in my apartment above, some thieves had the gall to ransack my poor, dear, Honda Fit and remove its rear wheels. SIGH! They had attempted to get all the wheels but only managed to get two before someone spooked them off. Fast forward a bit after GEICO refused to pay for damages because of this stupid New York State law I wasn’t privy to, I’m now stuck with a semi-ugly car. I still love her though.

As things calm down a bit with what I want to do with my office and other apartment-related stuff- it’s probably about time I try and quantify what it is I need to get fixed on my baby.

  • 2 New chrome wheels to replace the temporary ones
  • Fix the molding that was broken by the thieves and their stupid jack
  • Fix the puncture hole I made from slowly rolling into a truck’s hitch
  • Paint touch ups
  • Try and fix the dent caused by the ceiling panel falling on my car. (grr)
  • Repair the rust spots and dings on back bumper from when I backed into the Taurus and the basketball hoop back from whenever I still lived at home (we had too many cars in the driveway that day!)
  • Get a back seat cover so Izzie’s flying fur stays under control
  • Get a seatbelt harness for Izzie so I don’t have to cram her kennel in the trunk and I can actually use the trunk for luggage

Okay, so the last two aren’t fixes but they are things I want to do to get my car back into peak condition! :-)

Last week Adam showed me a new site called DentBetty.com and it looks so promising! Unfortunately, it is so damn new that no one from my area in New York (or anywhere I’d be willing to go) has entered their body shop in the database yet so I can’t really compare quotes.

Oh well, I guess I’ll just work on getting the wheels fixed and pimping it out so Izzie can ride in style. ;-)

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