10 Essential Things You Should Always Keep in Your Car

1. Car Jump Starter

Credit: Suaoki Credit: Suaoki

The only thing worse than having no jumper cables around when you need them is having your cell phone battery die when you need to contact someone with jumper cables. Suaoki solves both those problems.

Suaoki is a multifunctional jump starter with USB ports for charging your phone or tablet. It peaks at 500 amps to give your battery the boost it needs and works for cars, motorcycles, and ATVs with 2.0-liter engines. Just connect the mistake-proof jumper cables directly to your vehicle’s battery.

It also has a strong built-in flashlight so you can use it to see what’s under your hood or to send SOS signals for help.

Credit: Suaoki

Portable Car Jump Starter – $49.99 Buy Now

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4. Money

Most of us don’t carry cash on us anymore, but we should at least keep some in our vehicles. Now don’t go carrying around a briefcase full of bills. You don’t want someone to think you just robbed a bank. You also don’t want to run the risk of getting robbed yourself. A few small bills should do. Even a roll of coins could be helpful. You never know when you may be in a situation where you need to purchase essentials, but for some reason your plastic card–be it a credit card or a bank debit card–isn’t cooperating.

TIP: Stash your cash in a safe place that is not in plain sight.

4. Flexible Flashlight

Credit: clever scope Credit: clever scope

Vehicle breakdowns do happen and usually, it seems, it’s at the most inconvenient time. This flexible flashlight can help you see what’s happening under your hood at night and through inclement conditions.

Clever Scope has not one, but two super-bright lights that turn on and off independently by just twisting the neck, so you can work hands-free. You can wrap Clever Scope around your wrist or hang it over your shoulders, and it will hold its shape, pointing the light where you need it most. If you like multi-functionality, this flashlight contains a super-strong magnet, great for retrieving car keys or tools that slide between a hard to reach the spot.

Credit: CLEVER SCOPE

Clever Scope – $12.99 Buy Now

12. Emergency food and water bottles

Depending on the path you are traveling on, you should carry emergency food. If you are going on a less traveled route, consider carrying melt-proof, non-perishable and high-calorie food. For example take granola bars, energy bars or dried fruits.

Always have water in your car. It will help you fight dehydration when you are stranded. The bottles should be sturdy enough to withstand extreme temperatures.

5. Ice Scraper

It is a must-have for people living in snowy areas. What would you do when you wake up and find your car is iced over? Chances are, if you are beating a deadline, you can’t wait for defrosters to kick in.

9. Female Urination Device

What’s worse than being stranded for hours on the side of the road? Needing to use the bathroom at the same time. For men, it’s as simple as going in an empty McDonald’s cup. For women, on the other hand, urinating in a vehicle is not so easy. Thankfully, there is a solution: GoGirl. GoGirl is a funnel-shaped female urination device that lets you go while standing up (the funnel directs urine away from your feet). It’s discreet, reusable, soft, germ- and moisture-resistant, hypoallergenic, and even travel friendly (i.e. TSA-approved).

Things to Keep in Your Car for Babies and Toddlers

While most moms and dads carry a diaper bag with extra goodies, it's always good to have some fundamentals on hand in case this gets left behind somewhere

• Wipes and extra diapers – essentials you can't go without if your diaper bag gets lost or you simply run out
• Disposable diaper bags – for getting rid of fragrant surprises or simply to collect trash that needs to be disposed of
• Portable changing mat – for hygienic and safe baby changes when you're out and about
• An extra toy or two – in case you leave his/her favorite teddy behind by accident, and to entertain them during the car ride
• Safety seats – age-appropriate car seats that ensure your little one's safety at all times

23. A 100-piece first aid kit packed with bandages, butterfly closures, gauze pads, ointments, examination gloves, an instant cold compress and more for any emergencies that don’t (hopefully) require a trip to the emergency room

Amazon Promising review: “I bought this first aid kid with the intention of keeping in the car. Having kids, accidents always happen. It is the perfect size to keep in the trunk. It has everything you could need. However, I wish it would have come with more of the normal size or even bigger Band-Aids versus the extremely small ones. But for the price, it was worth every penny!” —Julie H. Get it from Amazon for $8.99.

2. A can of WD40 EZ Reach Spray, because it can do just about anything, from loosening extra tight lug nuts on wheels to removing leftover residue from embarrassing “Honk if you’re…” bumper stickers

Amazon Promising review: “Always used WD-40 and it’s clearly superior in the field, but what makes it even better is when the introduces the dual-use head. where you can spray it out of the normal sprayer, or lift the arm up to use that. They’ve gone a step further and made that arm flexible. The best part about this new arm is while flexible, it holds the shape you bend it to well, and can easily be straightened out when done. There’s also a trick to this nozzle: You can purchase this one, then purchase the non-bendable version going forward and paying the normal amount. just remove the head when this bottle runs out, and replace the heads of the cheaper versions with this one.” —JT Thompson Get it from Amazon for $9.12 (originally $19.98).

Car Jack

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Car Jack Must have a jack in the car. Which will help you to change the wheels while the tower is punctured? For this, even if you are alone, you can change the tower of the car with the help of jack.

Fire extinguisher

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Fire extinguisher It would have been extremely important to have a firefighter in a car. A firefighter is a red box that you may have seen in many of your public places.

But the fire extinguishers of your car are small in size and you can be kept anywhere in your vehicle easily.

So we will highly suggest you to always keep the firefighter in your vehicle if there is a fire in the car during the journey, it proves very helpful in extinguishing the fire.  

In the Trunk or Back of the SUV

Grab a tote and pull together more supplies.

• Old towel or blanket–never know when you have to rescue an animal.
• Extra cords and cube for technology. In addition to the ones in use.
• Extra pair of shoes, in case you break your flip-flops.
• Disposable rain ponchos
• Extra set of keys.

Whats in your Glove Compartment?

Stock your glove compartment with items you need to keep within arms reach in case of any misadventures. It’s a great place to stash some key emergency kit items like:

• AAA membership card, or other travel insurance card
• Copies of registration and car insurance card
• Car manual
• Flashlight with fresh batteries ($17 on Amazon)
• Window breaker and seat belt cutter, especially if you have small children in car seats
• Matches or lighter
• Car maintenance log
• Multi-Purpose Tool, like Leatherman
• Tire Gauge

Related: Best Podcasts to Listen to While Driving (Because We Love Multitasking)

A well-stocked first aid kit is a must for everyone in every car. Photo: Pixabay

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FAQs

What things are you required by law to keep easily available in your car?

While there are a lot of things you should keep in your car, only a select few are legally essential. You must, at all times while operating a motor vehicle in the USA, have a valid driver’s license, a copy of your car registration, and your car insurance information.

What are the most important things to keep in your car?

A simple beginner’s checklist of things you should always have in your car includes: a car emergency kit with a spare tire and tire-changing tools, a properly stocked first-aid kit as well as your medical information in the event that paramedics need to rescue you, legal documentation such as your license and registration, a fire extinguisher, and emergency contact info in case you lose your phone and need to call for help.

How do you keep things cool in your car?

The best way to keep things inside your car cool, is to keep your entire vehicle cool. There are some pretty simple ways to do this, as well as a few life hacks you may want to consider. Firstly, be sure to avoid parking in direct sunlight whenever possible. Covering your dash and steering wheel also helps to keep the ambient temperature down, and using a sunshade or window visor further helps in this regard. You can also rely on a solar-powered fan when on the move, since it won’t draw from the car’s electronics, which can actually increase overall heat instead.

How do you keep things in your car from freezing?

In particularly cold areas of the US, it is actually possible for certain liquids to freeze inside your vehicle. When it comes to the water flowing through your engine, you should be using anti-freeze. However, for bottles of water or other liquids inside your car, you may need to resort to a cooler. Yes, you hear correctly. Coolers are more climate-controlled than a steel box. The plastic maintains the internal temperature far better, especially if you warm it up before storing your food and drinks inside. This will help offset the slow cooling process a bit and prevent your goods from freezing or potentially exploding.

What are the essential things to keep in your car in case of an emergency? In the event of an accident or a breakdown, there are a number of tools and gadgets that can make your life a lot easier. A fire extinguisher will come in handy if you have a particularly explosive accident or your engine overheats to the point of combustion. If you simply have a flat, some sealant and a tire pump might solve the problem, or you can replace the tire with a spare and your tire jack. In either case, a reflective emergency triangle will help steer other motorists away from your vehicle and reduce the risk of further harm. Should you break down in the middle of a blizzard, attaching some colorful material to your car antenna can help emergency teams to locate you, although flares do the job even better. If you live in an area where it can sometimes take days for emergency response teams to reach you, it is imperative that you keep enough non-perishable food and water on board to carry you through.

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