Probably moot now - but Serious Norherners - what's in your car for winter?

[FriedClams]

I grew up in Boston but have lived in the Deep (deep, deep) South for my adult life. What do you guys stock in your car for safety during the winter?

[itsheresomewhere]

I always have blankets as we travel and my kids like to sleep.  I do keep some snacks in the car and an emergency kit.

[Sharpie]

I have a sleeping bag and extra blankets, a shovel, food (granola bars, chocolate & nuts), plastic grocery bags and paper towels.  I also have a couple of my kids sleds in there but they really have nothing to do with survival. :)  I try to remember to grab a water bottle if I'm headed out on a stormy day.  I think there may be an extra outfit for the kids too.  I know I saw some spare gloves this morning when I hopped in.  Some folks carry kitty litter (traction help) but I never have.

[AmandaVT]

I'm terrible - I always have a first aid kit in the car and a "just in case" bag for DS. He's very prone to carsickness and I have a change of clothes, paper towels, wipes, bottle of water and a puke bucket in a bag ready to go in case it's needed. Considering how cold and snowy it gets in VT, I should have some blankets in there at least. I think we get jaded up here though. It hit 18 degrees today and I didn't even bother zipping my coat or wearing a hat. I am going to think of a good emergency bag now!

[trinchick]

I'm in the Boston area. I have:

 

Ice scraper

Windshield washer fluid

Blanket (I've never needed it, but Mom always insisted I have one)

$20 cash in the glove compartment (since I often leave the house with no cash)

[chicagoshannon]

I don't have much, but probably should. We're urban though so if there was an issue we could take a very short walk to a store ect. My mom always keeps a small shovel, warm clothes, and kitty litter in the trunk.

[MooCow]

I always have a case of water, half a dozen fleece throws, emergency car kit (flares, jumper cables, etc), napkins, toilet paper, snacks, plastic and paper bags, scissors, calculater, febrezze, lotion, hand sanitizer, first aid kit, hair scrunchies, flushable wipes, gum, camping chairs, gloves, hat, cap, a map, pens, paper, barf bucket, and cardboard. :)

 

I like to be prepared.

 

Eta: and socks in case we go to a bouncy house place or buy shoes. Forks, straws, dh's cell car charger.

 

Edited again: a football

 

ETA: oh carp. I'm not a Northerner.

[poppy]

Nothing.   We don't have snow catastrophes like you poor buggers.

OK, I do keep my car at at least 1/4 tank during the cold season in case I get stuck somewhere. Nothing worse than being at the end of a long jam with the tank on E, especially when it's freezing out.

[DarlaS]

Ice scraper, jug of washer solvent, and I carry a phone and AAA card.

[Annie G]

An ice scraper, cell phone charger, plenty of gas,  and a ten dollar bill stashed in the glove box.   If we're just running around town or going to and from work, we're never more than a quarter mile from a house. Around here, people still stop to help folks out of ditches and will take stranded people in for the night or get them home on a snowmobile.   Now if we were traveling to dd's school or on a trip we'd have more with us. 

 

 

 

 

[magic]

We recently stocked my 17 year old son's car for winter.  We made sure he had:

 

a couple thermal heat blankets and several regular blankets

packages of hand and foot warmers

collapsible shovel

complete winter roadside kit- flares, cables, triangles, candles, matches, tire inflate canned air, and more

fully stocked first aid kit including ace bandages, splints, burn cream, first aid guide, etc (he is an athlete and needs this kit)

multiples of hats, mittens, and gloves

a poncho and hooded sweatshirt

flashlights with extra batteries

a tarp

a charged battery pack to charge his phone

paper towels, toilet paper, hand wipes, hand sanitizer, and a couple of towels

a couple bottles of water, granola bars, nuts, and suckers

a snow brush and several scrapers

roll of trash bags and small broom

 

I know that there are a couple of other things but I cannot think of them right now.  He also has AAA and we took his car in December to be checked over completely and make sure that it was winter ready.

 

We also have a backup power supply that we take in whatever car will be on the road- it can jump the car, has a weather radio, huge spotlight, and can charge electronics for a long while.

 

 

[skimomma]

I chuckle at the water.  Where I live it would be frozen solid for 6 months.

 

It is very snowy and cold where I live.  We do not see pavement for months on end.  I keep in each car:

 

 

a sleeping bag

 

a well-stocked first aid kit

 

ice scrapers in various sizes for both inside and outside windows

 

washer and radiator fluid

 

a few granola bars

 

a shovel

 

jumper cables

 

extra bulbs for a lights (in heavy snow, a missing light can be very difficult)

 

 

 

We also all ALWAYS travel, whether on foot or by car, with headlamps and cash.  The headlamp can be set to flashing red for using as an emergency "flare."  Remember that floor mats can be used for traction in a pinch.

 

 

[magic]

I keep our bottles of water wrapped in a towel inside an insulated cooler along with the snacks- the water rarely ever freezes that way.

 

[trulycrabby]

I went to high school in Indiana, and we always had an emergency kit, window scraper, blankets, water and granola bars, a shovel.

 

I don't know if they are legal now, but we always had studded snow tires in the winter, and kept tire chains in the trunk for emergencies.

 

I am an experienced snow driver, but the south is completely different because there is no snow removal equipment, and the streets are not treated., the ice and snow stays on the roads. I just stay home when it snows in the south.

[Carrie12345]

This is a good reminder to double check my stuff this weekend, lol.

 

Off the top of my head, I'm confident I have

jumper cables

various scrapers and brushes

flashlight

glowsticks

diapers

wipes

plastic bags

2 large blankets

juice boxes, milk boxes, and water bottles (frozen liquids don't bother me at all)

mini camp stove and sterno

mugs and plastic spoons

instant oatmeal

peanut butter

graham crackers

power bars

kitty litter

first aid kit

... and a ton of random junk that my kids leave in there.

 

I would *love* to find a way to store extra clothes while still leaving room for groceries. And people, lol.

Dh has one of those external phone batteries in his car. I really need to get one of those.

 

[Mnemosyne]

First aid kit

ice scraper

blankets and clothes

diapers and wet wipes

plastic bags

food and water bottles

chains

glowsticks/flashlight

jumper cables

 

[Saddlemomma]

We live in northern ME.  In our car during winter we carry the following:

 

• Shovel
• Sleeping bag & space blankets
• Canteen
• First aid kit
• Flares
• Flashlight
• Windshield scrapper

In addition, when we go out and it's a longer drive on a less populated road (happens often here), we bring our ski pants, rabbit-fur hats, good mittens, scarves, and snow boots. Usually we're already wearing long John's and a mid-layer. If the ride is over an hour one way, we add some snack food. These are all loaded in the back in case we get stuck.  

 

We routinely have temps -30 below (-50 below this year in our area a few times).  It pays to be ready for the worst. 

 

[73349]

We keep a lot of the above (from the North but now living in the South) but don't venture out on days like today: the road is not plowed and snow tires are not even available for sale here.

 

Tip: lollipops for the kids! A few calories, a nice distraction, and they don't freeze.

[Upward Journey]

My husband and I are southerns living in the far north i.e. above the 49th parallel. I have no idea if I'm carrying the right stuff in my trunk, but we have a shovel, a long handled scraper with a brush at the other end, window washer fluid that's good down to -40F and a large Costco bag with extra jackets, scarves, hats & gloves. We have a purchased winter emergency kit, but I'm not sure what all is in there (flares, flashlight, emergency blanket, hand warmers...) I just realized that we don't have chains, which we always carried the couple of years that we lived in the PNW. And jumper cables, 2 sets actually?

 

We also have many pairs of skates, helmets, hockey sticks, and a puck ;)

[Upward Journey]

I keep our bottles of water wrapped in a towel inside an insulated cooler along with the snacks- the water rarely ever freezes that way.

It only took 15 minutes for my daughters pop to freeze solid while errand running :o I think that's when we realized that yes, we live in the far north.

[Plink]

Wow.  I'm feeling really under-prepared now.  

 

I keep a blanket, and scraper.  That's it.

[skimomma]

 

We also have many pairs of skates, helmets, hockey sticks, and a puck ;)

 

Skis, snowshoes, and ice skates too!

[Mergath]

A scraper and jumper cables. We only ever drive around in town, so if the car died or went in a ditch we'd just walk to a store or house.

[magic]

It only took 15 minutes for my daughters pop to freeze solid while errand running :o I think that's when we realized that yes, we live in the far north.

 

Yesterday it was -9 when my son left for school and the water had not froze.  It did freeze two weeks ago when it was -20.  My husband parks right next to my son and his water always freezes but he does not insulate it.  He commented the other day that he could not believe how rarely the water freezes when it is insulated. 

[SproutMamaK]

Jumper cables & tow chains (though those are for year round use)
Hand wipes (also for year round use)

Washer Fluid (same)
Scraper
Shovel
spare socks, gloves, and hats
salt
sleeping bag
blankets (since not everyone could fit in the bag)
hand warmers/heat packs
flashlight
radio (powered by a hand crank, lol)
First aid kit
 

Most of those just stay in the car year-round, although except for the first 3 we would only expect to use them in winter.

[redsquirrel]

I live in a small city so for every day carrying around I just have a scraper and an emergency blanket. Oh, and jumper cables, but I always carry those. And I make sure to keep the wiper well filled etc.

 

If I am going on a long drive or out of town then I take more care of course.

[Starr]

We have a wool blanket across the backseat in the winter and a beach towel in the summer. The trunk is, as my canadian friend says, our cabin. We are outfitted and ready to go. As well as much of what is listed above we are careful to bring snow gear with us when we travel across the mountains. You know, real boots and not just the cute light weight ones you might wear for getting in and out of the car.