What to Keep in Your Car

It's amazing how many people don't know what to keep in their cars. You fill it up with junk but then when critical moment arrive you don't have the right tools.

Here is a list of things to keep in your trunk in case of emergencies.

All Purpose:

Jumper Cables -

When your battery has lost its charge, maybe because you left a light on or a door open or you battery is simply dying, you'll be lucky if you can get someone to stop and give your battery a jump. If you are lucky enough to get someone to stop and help, you really shouldn't rely on them having jumper cables. You're the one who needs help so why lose potential help by not having the correct tools.

Emergency battery charger -

You can buy these online or in some larger stores. They are basically little battery boxes that you can plug into your cigarette lighter and begin recharging without having to leave your car or wait for someone with a working car to arrive. They vary in price, size, and number of charges but it shouldn't be hard to find an acceptable model at a reasonable price.

And who knows, this might just save you from having to rely on the horror movie style "Good Samaritan."

Winter Weather: These are items you need only if you live in areas that are cold enough to have winters with snow.

Shovel -

If your car ever gets stuck in the snow you'll wish you had a shovel to dig your way out. A full size shovel rarely fits in the trunk but you should be able to find a smaller shovel that will fit.

Broom-

This is useful for removing large amount of snow from your car. Most scrappers have a brush built into them but any large amount of snow would take forever to remove with a brush that size. Just like shovels, a full size broom is unlikely to fit in the trunk but smaller models are usually available.

Scrapper-

This is the only practical way to remove frost and ice from your windows. It may be a pain in the butt to scrape your windows but it's a lot better then waiting for them to defrost from your car's heater.

Kitty Litter-

Don't laugh, I'm serious! Having either Kitty Litter or sand in your car will give you something to sprinkle in front of your tires to give you extra traction when you get stuck in the snow.

Heet-

I'm sure there are other brands of this product but I typically use Heet. It is a fluid you add into your gas tank every time you refuel once the temperature is below freezing. It helps to remove excess water in the fuel line and keeps your car running smoother and starting easier.

Lock Deicer-

You only need your door lock to freeze shut once and you'll know why you need this product. You can try fiddling with things for 30 plus minutes and hope that applying lots of force and heating you key with a lighter might loosen the lock or you can just spray a little of this solution into the mechanism and be done with it.

If you have all of these items in your car you should be able to get yourself out of most bad situations without much trouble. And yes, this is a list of things found in my trunk.