Get Prepared for Winter – Car emergency kit essentials

Do you have a “winter car-emergency kit“? Many of these items are good to have in your car year round but now is the time to check your supplies.  This is a must before you hit the roads for the holidays.

Your kit could include

kitty litter or sand – stop spinning your wheels, sprinkle some kitty litter/sand for tire traction on snow and ice

a shovel or at minimum an ice scraper- there are some great fold-up shovels and gloves with scrapers built-in

Warm clothes – they call it a glove box for a reason.  No room in there? Grab a sturdy plastic container and toss in a spare set of gloves, a hat, sturdy boots, and a warm jacket.

Blankets to keep warm inside the vehicle (I keep one in my car year round, comes in handy for a picnic or to watch the kid’s baseball game).

Flashlights and extra batteries – if your battery dies at night, you have no interior or head lights

First aid kit – toss in a few of your necessary medications in case you are stuck on the road

Food – I  keep a few packs of nuts and some Luna bars, vacuum packed ready to eat tuna salad, snack sized apple sauce.  If you get stuck, you don’t know how long you may have to wait for help.

Water- bring enough for each person in your car and any pets

  • AM/FM radio – rechargeable or battery-operated to listen to traffic reports and emergency messages
  • Charged cell phone – charge your cell phone before hitting the road.  Don’t rely on your car charger to charge while you are driving.  If your battery dies, unless you have a charged USB charger, you have no way to charge your cell phone.

Here’s wishing you safe and happy travels!

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Comments

  1. I keep a jacket in my trunk. It came in handy back in January when I forgot to grab my coat as I was leaving the house. What a lifesaver that jacket was! It actually is my dad's …which means that it's super big and I'm sure I looked silly that day – but it kept me warm. =) Thanks for these great tips.

    1. Great idea Deb! I am sure there are plenty of folks on the East Coast who could have benefited from a car emergency kit last weekend. Seems like the DC area has already had it's share of winter weather AND it's still December. Thanks for commenting and your suggestion.

  2. The nut and tuna snacks are good products that can stay a long time in your car. You might consider a car emergency tool kit and a crank or windup radio/flashlight (yes intergalacticshipping.com does sell those) and a good first aid kit (no we don’t sell those) that you can enhanse with a supply of any really necessary meds you or the family might need.

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