Mommy Car Essentials – Spring Edition

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My van is my home away from home. It may not have any bells and whistles (yes, you have to shut the sliding door yourself), but I am so grateful to have it. Living in Cincinnati, we are often driving at least 30 minutes to see a family member or go to a fun activity, so it is nice to keep a few amenities in the car.

The essentials that I keep in my car is ever changing. These items are not meant to help me in Armageddon level emergencies, but more everyday emergencies that I face as a mom, a professional, and a woman. I will not be mentioning every item that I keep in my car that most people have, such as a window scraper and air pressure gauge.

 The items pictured are my regular go to items:

  1. Blankets – I always keep at least two small blankets and one fleece throw in my car. As the weather gets warmer, the blankets that I keep in the car become thinner. These can be used for my two kids if the ac is a tad bit chilly and also work to keep them warm if one of them jumps in a puddle while at the park. The large blanket can be used for an adult or as a place to sit on when we have to sit on wet grass.
  2. Seat belt cutter/Window Breaker – This is a worst case scenario item. I believe that this is such an important item to have, I bought one for all my family members last Christmas.
  3. First Aid Kit
  4. Extra backpack – This small bag becomes a backpack when unfolded and can also be folded back into a pouch when not used. Sometimes I realize that I need a bag to car something when I am out and about and it is nice to have a hands free option.
  5. Auxiliary Cord – I plug in my iPhone whenever I drive so that we can use a gps app to avoid heavy traffic, while also playing the latest kid movie sound track for my boys.
  6. A spare t-shirt – This t-shirt is large enough to fit anyone in my family in case something happens to the shirt that we are wearing.
  7. 2 rain ponchos
  8. Hand sanitizer- I prefer that my kids wash their hands over using hand sanitizer, however, sometimes there is no other option. This has proven to be useful when one of my kiddos used the porta potty or when I was changing a diaper in my car at a gas station (because they did not have a changing table) and did not feel like packing up the kids to get back in the carryout so that I could wash my hands.
  9. A sandwich holder containing spare restaurant napkins – These also work as tissues if needed.
  10. USB Cord – So that I never have a dead phone
  11. A sandwich holder containing suckers – It is good to have a few emergency food items in your car in case you are trying to temporarily satisfy a hungry child. Suckers are one of the few things that do not melt easily while in the car.
  12. Baby Wipes – Because sometimes I forget to put them back in my diaper bag. It is always good to have a backup.
  13. Gum – Because
  14. Travel Creamer – In case I go to someone’s house that does not have creamer (Yes, this is an emergency item to me.)
  15. Reusable shopping bag
  16. Pencil pouch with pens and paper
  17. Umbrella
  18. Lip gloss, lotion, and lint roller

Items not Pictured:

  1. Travel potty that fits under the bench seat
  2. Double stroller
  3. Travel high chair – this especially comes in handy when I am visiting a friend’s house without my husband but I do have my two sons. This item gives us the chance for the kids and I to eat our meals somewhat peacefully without my 1 year old putting his hands on my food while he sits on my lap.
  4. Extra Kroger bags in a baby puffs container – These are great to put away dirty shoes or to collect random garbage in the car.
  5. A filled, reusable water bottle

What essentials do you keep in your car?

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Zandria Schnur
Zandria is originally from Northwest Ohio. She met her husband in the beginning of her freshmen year of college. He is a born and raised Cincinnati west sider. He took her home to meet the family that December and Zandria fell in love with her husband and Cincinnati. It was an easy decision to make as to what city they would live in after Zandria was done with school. Zandria has been married since 2008 and has lived in Cincinnati since 2009. She has two wonderful boys whom are 4 and 1 and also is pregnant with a third baby due in August 2017. When Zandria is not driving her boys around the city to have an adventure, she enjoys sewing, crafts in general, taking pictures of her family, debating with her husband over who is using a word correctly (and often getting out the dictionary), coffee, and great conversation.

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