Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is about some smart things to stash in your
Speaker 1: car so that all trips or weights are more comfortable.
Speaker 1: Unless you've lived in a few big cities, if you've
Speaker 1: got a commute, or kids or both, you probably spend
Speaker 1: a fair amount of time in your car. I used
Speaker 1: to think I didn't. I work from home and my kids'
Speaker 1: schools are less than ten minutes away. But then I
Speaker 1: started tracking my time and realized, Wow, all those short
Speaker 1: trips add up. That's one reason I started the Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast podcast. I wanted to give people something they could
Speaker 1: get through on a short trip. Anyway, after my recent
Speaker 1: episode on using up gift cards, I got a note
Speaker 1: from a listener named April. She wrote that ending up
Speaker 1: at Target or CBS or some other store on an
Speaker 1: errand and realizing I didn't have the gift card or
Speaker 1: running home for an in and out gift card before
Speaker 1: we made a rare impromptu gift card stop for dinner.
Speaker 1: So one day last summer, I grabbed a credit card
Speaker 1: wallet I had and put all of the gift cards
Speaker 1: that I might use outside the house in it, then
Speaker 1: put it in my glove compartment. Now if April needs
Speaker 1: to stop by target, she can just reach in there
Speaker 1: and grab the card. This got me thinking of all
Speaker 1: the other things that it's wise to keep in the car.
Speaker 1: I don't think it's a coincidence that my family has
Speaker 1: gotten sick less frequently since we started keeping bottles of
Speaker 1: hand sanitizer in the cup holders of our cars. We
Speaker 1: also keep some paper towels for the inevitable messes, and
Speaker 1: a small garbage container. In our family minivan, there's a
Speaker 1: bottle of water or two for hydration emergencies, usually some
Speaker 1: granola bars, sunscreen for sunny days, and an umbrella for
Speaker 1: rainy ones. I keep a handful of quarters in case
Speaker 1: I'm somewhere with old fashioned parking meters. I thought these
Speaker 1: were pretty smart ideas. Then I asked my Twitter followers
Speaker 1: about their car stashes, and I realized I'm pretty much
Speaker 1: rookie level when it comes to preparedness. The most common
Speaker 1: out of the box idea people mentioned a big towel.
Speaker 1: This is as useful for messes as paper towels, but
Speaker 1: can also be used for drying off. Anyone who is wet,
Speaker 1: or putting under anyone who is wet for whatever reason
Speaker 1: that wetness has happened. A large towel also enables an
Speaker 1: impromptu picnic, or if you need to be outside, can
Speaker 1: be wrapped around someone who is cold. A few people
Speaker 1: mentioned garbage bags. These are useful for the inevitable garbage
Speaker 1: that builds up and that people forget to cart out
Speaker 1: of the car, but can also make reasonable ponchos for
Speaker 1: a sudden downpour. That said, actual ponchos aren't that expensive either,
Speaker 1: and might be worth keeping around. A first aid kit
Speaker 1: or at least band aids is never a bad idea.
Speaker 1: People with teenagers mentioned the importance of extra phone chargers.
Speaker 1: Your young passengers might desperately need to restore their batteries
Speaker 1: so they can text each other across the back seat.
Speaker 1: Of course, not all entertainment must be electronic. One person
Speaker 1: mentioned a book of mad libs. Another suggested a book
Speaker 1: of crossword puzzles. Both require a pen, so be sure
Speaker 1: to have that too. Either of those, or a sticker
Speaker 1: book for little kids, can provide a lot of entertainment
Speaker 1: for a small amount of car volume. A few people
Speaker 1: mentioned Frisbees and April, who wrote in with the gift
Speaker 1: card Hack, mentioned that she kept a deflated beach ball
Speaker 1: in the car so she and her family could bat
Speaker 1: a ball around if they found themselves waiting somewhere like
Speaker 1: a siblings sports event with time to kill. Now that
Speaker 1: I'm back in the newborn stage, people reminded me of
Speaker 1: the importance of extra clothes. An extra sweatshirt should suffice
Speaker 1: and helps with unexpected cold and extra socks. Cold feet
Speaker 1: make people miserable, and that's the last thing you need
Speaker 1: on a car trip. As I read through this list,
Speaker 1: I realized that it sounds like a lot of stuff.
Speaker 1: But the good news is that none of it takes
Speaker 1: up that much space. A small crate in the trunk
Speaker 1: could corral it all and then you'll be ready for
Speaker 1: whatever life on the road throws at you. So what
Speaker 1: do you keep it in your car? I'm sure I'm
Speaker 1: forgetting something brilliant, So let me know what it is
Speaker 1: at before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips your
Speaker 1: questions or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at before Breakfast pod. That's b the
Speaker 1: number four than Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at before Breakfast podcast. At iHeartMedia dot com
Speaker 1: that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.