What should I have in my car?

[curly_kate]

I have a pretty awesome first aid kid (thank you DH), but I think I'm going to get a duffel bag & stock it & stash it in the trunk.

 

[TanksHill]

Justy... Do you keep the keyboard in the car as well???

Farmresh what is a Twitch??

Skr8pn I was going to say the same thing, but I refrained!!!

I guess my problem is I don't keep this bag in my car. I never go far from home, unless we are in the camper. It has double everything. If something did happen while I was out and about, I could probably walk home in just a couple hours.

But still I should probably throw it it there.

There was a good trick I learned when I went to a LDS Emergency fair. This is really for the grab and go in case of an emergency in the middle of the night. They used a pair of nylons or tights and hooked them to the head of the bed. So they would be easily found in an earthquake or whatever. In the stockings were extra shoes, gloves, money, water oh and two more things. I will have to check my notes. All very basic but for us in an earthquake with broken glass, debris really important things.

I guess like Makay said, tailoring your needs to your environment is very important.

 

[Farmfresh]

Farmresh what is a Twitch??

A twitch is used to restrain an injured or panicky horse. You squeeze their upper lip in the twitch and they are pretty much immobilized - just staring at their lip. In the past I have had a few instances where I happened upon a horse with a leg in barbed wire or otherwise entangled or injured. The twitch can be quickly applied and then you can safely work to solve the problem at hand. That is also another use for all of my extra rope. I have had to assist loading a horse, catching a horse or lots of other emergency needs that a rope came in REALLY handy.

One time I used my small tie down ropes to make a sling harness carrier for an incapacitated ground hog! You just never know.

 

[TanksHill]

Dang that sounds handy!!!

 

[Henrietta23]

I am skimming but could add:
a blanket year round (animals in shock, etc)
a couple of spare dog leashes
plastic grocery bags for any number of purposes

 

[country freedom]

A hand cranked flashlight.
A hand cranked weather radio.
A bag of candy - whether it be hard, chewy - for emergency sugar needs.
All the good stuff already mentioned, plus any others that'd be mentioned.

 

[Henrietta23]

This time of year we also keep two camp chairs so we don't have to think about it and we always have one if we need it.

 

[hennypenny9]

What's "Fix-a-Flat"? Someday I will learn how to change a flat tire, but in the mean time, does that stuff make the tire so you can drive a little ways?

I'm never very far from civilization, so all I have is a standard emergency car kit. Our electric company sold them at a good price. It has the essentials. Food, water, blanket, flashlight, toilet paper, glow sticks, etc. Only once have I had a problem. I was at a gas station in Sea-Tac (a little creepy), with NO gas left. I turn the plastic gas cap, and the top BROKE off. I couldn't get it back on, and I couldn't put any gas in it either! The mini-mart was closed, and my parent's an hour away. Randomly some scary looking guy came around the corner and I asked if he had ever had this happen before. Thankfully I'm not dead, and he pried out the rest of the cap. Even now I don't think I could have prepared for such a weird event!

 

[DianeS]

The main troubles here involve people getting stranded during an unexpected snowstorm.

So besides the usual first aid and tire-changing stuff, I have TONS of cold-weather gear. Clothing like an old coat, scarves, waterproof gloves, an extra pair of jeans, wool socks, heavy boots. Stuff for the car like snow brushes, ice scrapers (even one that heats up when you plug it in to the cigarette lighter), kitty litter (for slippery spots), and towels/rags. I also keep energy bars, water, and books in the car - something to eat and drink if I'm there long enough, and something to do so I don't go stir-crazy and try to do something dumb like walk 5 miles in a blizzard.

I want to get an emergency shovel (to keep the exhaust pipe clear), but haven't yet.

Did you know that terrycloth towels can be used to get you out of a shallow icy ditch? Lay the towels out on the ice, stuffing the last couple inches under the tire as tightly as you can. Then pour a little bit of water over the towels so that they actually freeze to the ice below them. Then start the car and s-l-o-w-l-y inch forward, driving over the towels. The towels are frozen to the ice so they won't move, the part you stuffed under the tire is dry so the tire gets that first inch without a problem, and the rough surface of the rest of the towel gives traction to keep moving. If it's doing a freezing rain you can throw some kitty litter on top of the towel for extra traction above the towel.

I like using towels because after you're out, you can go back and get the towel and reuse it. (Or leave it behind if you must.) It's neither something you can run out of, nor something expensive that you must retrieve.

 

[ducks4you]

Farmfresh and DianneS--read your lists expecting EVERYTHING but you both forgot two wintertime items: lockthaw (for frozen locks) and windshield de-icer. I like the idea of the rags--have to remember that--I have LOTS of those at home.
Also, my neighbor showed me that you can use floor mats under your tires for icy traction--you don't have to buy these for your kit!