Car essentials kit

So I have been making slow progress on the car challenge. However, you will be glad to know that I have (ahem Mr PTC) vacuumed the car and it is now on our monthly cleaning schedule. I'm not optimistic enough to think this would get done weekly - besides I'm not sure I care that much! We have a bin (more on that in another post), and I've drawn up a list for items to go in the car.

So here is the fun bit. The list! I love lists. They make me happy! So here is the car list:

It started out as a "what documents should we have in the car" and ended up in a general "things for the car" list. However, it has proved useful. If you plan to do a similar thing take some time over it. Think about how you use the car, where you go and what generally ends up in the car despite you constantly removing it. For example I always need a pen in the car, so I am going to start keeping a pen in the car rather than taking it out each time I clean. I keep ferry tickets in the car as we regularly visit a Scottish island and buy tickets in bulk. They are only ever used in conjunction with the car, so they might as well stay there!

The important things are obvious - emergency contacts (do you really think you will remember those all important numbers if you have just had an accident? And do you trust that you will have a mobile phone signal or that the phone has a battery?), insurance details etc. However, it is worth noting that the DVLA do not recommend keeping your license counterpart or V50 forms in the car. If the police ask for them they will give you 7 days to produce them to any UK police station. However, if you car is stolen these documents can be used to transfer ownership illegally and fake documents. Advice is different for different companies so check what your local government advises before storing sensitive information in the car.

I also have decided to keep maps in the car. I regularly print out addresses and google-map directions, so from now any printouts will have a space in the car for future reference. I will have a sheet to jot down addresses for the sat nav as well (yes I have Sat Nav and maps - I just don't trust that machine and she lies!!! Yes it is a she - Mr PTC calls me Mrs Nav, so clearly I'm better at directions that the Sat Nav anyway. Ahem). I have created two nice little documents for emergency contacts and addresses. I might add other documents if I find we regularly need some information that isn't otherwise stored on these sheets.

So I've collected all these documents/items together and I now need a nice (cheap preferably free) storage solution. Watch this space!

You can find the PDFs (if you prefer to write by hand) and the original word document for personalisation in the links below.

Download PDF of "important contacts" here.

Download PDF of "useful addresses" here.

Download docx format containing both documents here.