While a reliable toolkit is one of the handiest ways to ensure you’re emergency-ready, ensuring the contents of your toolkit cover all possible emergencies is the tricky part. So what to keep in your car during winter?
- Phone charger: Having your phone’s battery die on you when you need it the most is not only more likely during the winter (low temperatures are not kind to Li-on batteries), but also the most horrifying of times to lose phone juice. A phone charger with a plug that’s compatible with your car is worth much more than its actual price, and you won’t regret throwing it headfirst into your toolkit the moment the first snowfall strikes.
- First-aid Kit: This is actually the first answer that should come to mind if asked what to keep in your car during winter. A first-aid kit is most handy when you’re going on a long drive. To be on the safe side, always carry a first-aid kit in your car that’s stocked with bandages, disinfectant, antibiotic ointment, gauze, and any other medications you and your family frequently use.
- Blankets: Dead heater? Long traffic jams? Just extra-chilly? All of the above? It’s safest to carry a few blankets in your trunk, along with a few handy winter clothes, just in case.
- Shovel: What to keep in your car during winters to save yourself from being stuck in a snow pile or mud puddle for hours? A handy compact shovel. Use a shovel that occupies little space but is just as reliable as one of those large shovels that need lugging around so that tight spots like snow piles and puddles don’t need to bother you anymore. But what if your car has crossed all possibility of being rescued and needs to be disposed? Not worry, because you can still receive cash for clunkers at the right location for a great price.
- Flashlight: Thanks to Daylight Savings and the complete absence of natural light after 4 PM during winters, a flashlight can be really useful when you need to dig through your trunk, signal other drivers, or any other emergency. A flashlight should be your go-to when it comes to what to keep in your car during winters.
- Ice Scraper: Perhaps one of the most necessary items on this list, an ice scraper helps you clear your field of vision when an unprecedented snowstorm hits or your windshield decides to freeze under an opaque layer of ice. Adding a snow brush to the mix wouldn’t hurt either since a snow brush is to your car what an ice scraper is to its windshield. Cars that have suffered through too much from the snow, however, might be beyond repair. It’s best to dispose of such cars and receive cash for junk cars at the right agencies in your locality, regardless of their condition.
- Jumper Cables: When in doubt (about your car’s battery), have a jumper cable in hand. Low temperatures are not a car battery’s best friend, so a jumper cable can jumpstart your battery back to life in an emergency.
- Bag of Sand: Tires easily get stuck in sticky situations during the winter, and most of these situations can be resolved with enough friction/grip and a sturdy surface. Though you weren’t expecting this to be on a list of what to keep in your car during winters, a bag of sand brings all of that and then some. By shoveling sand around a stuck tire, you can easily give your car enough traction to get moving, thus saving yourself from a very uncomfortable situation. What if my car is in an inextricable situation and can’t be salvaged? I would then junk my car, because it’s better to dispose of such a car than spend excessive amounts on repairs or endure another such incident
A few runner-ups:
- Water and Non-perishable Snacks
- Reflectors
- A Rope or Chain
- A Can of Gas
