What to keep in your vehicle...

 The longer we walk this journey the more I realize how wonderful it would have been to have someone to give me helpful pointers and suggestions to just make life a whole lot easier.  That's why the Made Special Life community has been born. To be that voice, that friend that comes along side of you and suggests things that could potentially make your days smoother and easier.

So today we are focusing on what I've learned through the years to be helpful to keep in our vehicle.  I realize it may seem a bit simplistic but having the right tools help make every job easier.  I'm hoping these ideas may be a help and a blessing to your days.

As the seasons change and the children grow the items in our supply have changed as well. When we had 5 children under the age of 7 we had diapers, wipes, blankets, diaper bags, kids music CD's, snacks, sippy cups, bottles, formula and a potty chair. Yes, you read that right, a potty chair. I'll cover this more when we talk about potty training.

Today if you looked in my van you would just see kids! Lol! No, seriously, we still have a supply of items we keep on hand. 

We learned the hard way (too many screaming/angry car trips) with our son who has to eat in regular intervals of 2 1/2 hours or his blood sugar plummets and he becomes someone you don't want to be around.  We began stocking crackers, goldfish and pretzels in the car to give to him when we weren't able to feed him on time. This was a game changer!! It made going away so much easier! 

Having wipes is a necessity. They are good for cleaning hands before eating, for wiping faces afterwards, for cleaning surprise vomit and for wiping sweat off of dirty faces. 

We started keeping water bottles in our van at all times. We have a child that must drink a certain amount of water a day for her body to function correctly and if we were running errands and she didn't drink it would cause issues later for her. So I've tried various water bottles and Bubba brand bottles but ultimately what has worked best for us is just plain water bottles. 

I keep a whole roll of paper towels in our supply. We did keep napkins but found this to be much easier to store and for everyone to throw away. Paper towels can be used as a plate if you forgot paper plates, to sit on if child has had an accident, to soak up big spills when a napkin won't cut it and I've used them when we were camping as a dish cloth to wash dishes. 

Let's talk about the first aid kit. There are many different sizes but we purchased several small ones from Walmart.  They are the perfect size and have the basics of what you may need in a pinch. When we are doing outside activities I will take the small one from our van along with us in my backpack. We also have a full size first aid kit that we keep in our van at all times. You never know when someone will need it and I've been thankful many times over the years that it's been there. Pro tip: Just remember to check it occasionally and restock as necessary. There have been times when a crying child needed a band aid to help console them and we would go for the first aid kit and find it empty. 

One more thing I'd recommend, if you have room, is a garbage bag. Now that they are older, one of my rules is that all trash gets carried out of the vehicle each time we get home. Trust me, the mess adds up fast! One too many times I've had to clean up their trash in the van. So, I instituted that rule. It works, well... most of the time. 😊

Hopefully this gives you some ideas that you could use in your situation. Maybe you already have this nailed and can offer some other tips that work well for you in the comments. That's our goal to come alongside one another and offer help, encouragement and resources. 

Remember friend, there is joy in the journey...we just need to look for it!

Lisa💕