UHeart Organizing: DIY Car Kit

Today I am excited to give a warm welcome to Ashley from 7th House on the Left.  She is popping over today to share her incredible auto organizing ideas! 

Summer travel season is in full swing, and chances are a lot of us are spending more time in our cars traveling longer distances than usual. Just like our homes, it’s nice to keep the car organized during these long travels. It makes things easier and more convenient for you and everyone else during your road trip. Greg and I have always made sure to keep jumper cables and a small tool kit in the trunk, but things would slide around and end up looking messy and unorganized. While we tackled that issue last week, I thought it would be a good idea to include a few new items. Thus, the Car Kit was born! 

In reality, we could probably fill an entire trunk full of “things we might need” or “things that would be nice to have on hand”, but we didn’t want to bog down the trunk with a bunch of stuff that just wasn’t practical. So we simplified our list of “maybe items” to the bare essentials. Okay, let’s just say you’ll be able to notice the difference between Greg’s definition of a “bare essential” and my definition of a “bare essential”, ha!

We started out with a good-sized wicker basket I picked up from World Market. We wanted something large enough to hold the essentials, but small enough so it wouldn’t take up too much valuable space in the trunk. Because I’m a firm believer that everything is better with a label, I hot-glued a silver metal bookplate to the front.

In order to keep things organized, we corralled the smaller items in two plastic shoe boxes {5 for $5 at Target!}. The first box, which I call “The Greg Box”, is stocked with roadside essentials such as a tire repair kit, a tire gage, emergency flashlight, duct tape, a roadside strobe, a few glow sticks {that I’m totally going to be tempted to use just for fun!}, Krazy glue, a poncho and a small bundle of rope. Our car has a tool kit in the wall of the trunk, so we were okay in the tool department.

The second box, or what I call “The Ashley Box”, is just for road trips and probably won’t stay in the car year-round {plus, some items in this box can’t be stored in extreme hot or cold temperatures}. I included tissues, hand sanitizer, a tiny can of Lysol {which, by the way, is so cute!}, a travel sewing kit, a mini lint roller, a handheld fan, a few pony tail holders, his and her toothbrush and toothpaste, his and her travel deodorant, mouthwash, sun block, travel size Advil and Dramamine, a packet of Tide detergent and a stain removal pen. Oh, and a deck of cards! One of my and Greg’s favorite memories is when we were driving through Charlottesville last fall and happened to come across a beautiful picnic area near Monticello. We decided to stop and smell the roses… and play a game of cards at one of the picnic tables. It’s the little things that make great memories. Back to the Car Kit!

On the outside of each lid, I attached an inventory list using a laminating sheet {if you don’t have a laminating sheet, clear packing tape works really well too!}. That way, we’ll know exactly what’s missing and be able to replace things as needed.

The remaining room in the basket was perfect for a tire inflator/jump starter, a warm blanket, a first aid kit, and three bottles of water. The water is in case we need it for the radiator {water kept in the car is not good for drinking!}. Since the water is just for the radiator, I simply took empty bottles and refilled them with tap water.

Now that the trunk was organized and geared up with the necessities, I thought the glove compartment could use a little TLC. I bought this small expanding file from Target for about $6. It comes complete with a handy pad of paper {good for jotting down notes or exchanging insurance info in case you’re involved in a fender bender} and five file sections. Due to my labeling obsession, once again I added a small metal bookplate to the front of the notebook. Greg mentioned we could just write on the front of the notebook, but you and I both know that wouldn’t have been as cute!

I divided the necessities into five categories: 

• Registration: If you get pulled over, the police will likely ask for proof that you own the car you’re driving. Unfortunately, I know this. No more fumbling through the glove box wondering where that little piece of paper is. Let’s just hope I don’t have to pull it out again anytime soon!
• Insurance: These days, most states require you to have car insurance. In Virginia, you have to show your driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance when the police officer pulls you over.
• Cheat Sheet: In this section, I put a quick guide for things like tire pressure, oil amount, oil and coolant types, gas tank capacity and the type of gas we use in the car. I also put together a key for all of those weird symbols on the dash. This will come in handy so you won’t have to search the bulky manual for the information- though we still keep the car manual under the seat just in case. Some of this information may seem really unnecessary, however, if someone is borrowing our car, they’ll appreciate it.
• Maintenance: This section has a list of things that need to be checked or replaced on our car every so often and when they need replacing {Air filter: 15k miles, Coolant: 60k miles, etc}.
• Emergency Contacts: In case of an emergency, it’s a good idea to have a list of your emergency contacts and all of their contact information {phone numbers, addresses, etc}.

Well, that about wraps up out DIY Car Kit project! If you’re planning on making a kit of your own, be sure to tailor your Car Kit to your family, the area you live in and the roads you travel. For instance, if you have kids, you might want to include a few car games. If you live in an area that has long, hard winters, drop in an ice scraper, a small bag of sand and maybe even some tire chains. The key is having your needs and wants organized and easily accessible. After all, organization makes the world go ‘round, right? At least a lot smoother anyway ;)

So, how about you… Do you have a Car Kit in your trunk? What’s your definition of a “bare essential”?

"I'm Ashley from 7th House on the Left - a blog where my husband, Greg, and I talk about renovating, decorating and living in our first house here in Hanover, Virginia. I’ve been an interior design enthusiast and a long-time fan of all things organizing. Yep, I was the kid with the perfectly arranged Disney stuffed animals, alphabetized coloring books and the categorized and color-coded sticker book. When I'm not busy writing or doing projects around the house, I love classic TV shows (particularly I Love Lucy) and curling up with Greg, Bentley (our 9-pound Pomeranian), a blanket and a good black and white classic movie – I’m a complete sucker for Audrey Hepburn, Doris Day, Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant films. I'm thrilled and honored to be a part of the IHeart Organizing team and excited to get to work!"