design finch

When my besties Christian and Bethany were in town last weekend they were laughing about the random assortment of items I keep in my car and decided I needed to blog about it. So you actually have them to thank for this post!

Before I show you the junk in my trunk, let me first give you a little background. We live way out in the boonies so I spend about 2 hours each day in the car commuting back and forth between home and work. Fortunately, it’s a scenic drive and the speed limit is 70 mph most of the way with very little traffic….unless you count the deer. The sun is usually just coming up when I cross over the lake on my way to work and, now that the days are getting shorter, it’s already completely dark when I return home. I really relish the morning commute because it gives me time to wake up before I have to be “on” for the day, but the evenings are a different story. Most days I’m too tired, hungry, and anxious to put on my PJs to enjoy the scenery very much. Plus, Oklahomans don’t know what it means to drive “Texas Friendly”. But don’t get me started on that.

Since I practically live in my car these days, I’ve found its nice to bring along some of the comforts of home. This brings me to my third sanity-saving strategy: putting together a commuter’s kit so you always have what you need right at your fingertips. Mine is just a basket of a few essential items that lives on the floor behind the front seat where I can easily reach it.

• Magazines – Ok, I’m not advocating reading while driving here. I’m just saying that loooong red lights provide ample time to get caught up on Courtney Cox’s love life.
• Snacks! – While we have some healthy and delicious Soy Crispettes pictured here, I must admit that you can also probably find Goldfish swimming under the driver’s seat in my car.
• Coffee – The bigger the mug, the better.
• Hand Sanitizer – Because filling stations…eeewww!
• Tissue – Just to ensure you’re not that guy picking his boogers.
• Slippers – Have you ever tried to drive in high heels?

Other handy items I usually have in my console or trunk:

• Burt’s Bees Lip Gloss
• Breath Mints
• Picnic Blanket
• $20 Bill
• Reusable Shopping Bags
• Windex
• Paper Towels
• Jumper Cables
• Bag of Quarters
• Eye Glass Cleaner
• Colgate Wisps

I guess you could say I’m like the Boy Scout of commuting….always prepared. So, what random things do you keep in your car?