WFMW: Car Edition

When I was a kid, we traveled back and forth between Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and Georgia a lot. We always went by car, so I am happy to join in Shannon's Car Edition of WFMW.

~ I always keep old beach towels under the seats of my car. They come in handy during unexpected rain storms, when kids get muddy, to cover wet or cold bleachers at games, for sitting on after swimming, for impromptu picnic blankets and many other situations. I'm always surprised at how much I use them every year.

~ The first thing DH and I do before we go on a car trip is cover the back seat with a neat sheet. You could also use a regular sheet, but I'd suggest putting a mattress liner or crib pad under that.

When you are done with your trip, all you have to do is gently pull the sheet out from the back and roll it up and all of the french fries, cracker crumbs, crayons and pieces of everything will be lifted out with the sheet.

~ When we go to Canada every year, we start out in the evening and drive past Toronto (we skip all of the traffic in the night) to get a hotel room. When I pack, I pack one overnight bag with a set of clothes for each of us and our toiletries. Then I don't have to dig through 4 bags and search for everything at 1 AM when we get there. We leave from there and drive the rest of the way to the cabin.

~ Pack extra bags! I take a few extra bags with us to bring souvenirs home in. Tote bags are great for this, but any bag that folds flat will do.

~ I take three laundry bags with us. We use one in the kids' room and one in ours. When I am packing up, I dump them out and sort my clothes into light colors, dark colors and sheets/towels. When I get home, the first thing I do is toss in a load of laundry.

~ Pack a lunch bag with small items for the kids. Each hour or every so many miles, give them a treat from the bag. It can be a new movie for the DVD player, a new game for a handheld device, a pack of gum, a bag of chips, a notepad and crayons or whatever you can think of.

~ Keep a stash of plastic handled shopping bags in the car. Toss your trash in it as you go along and when you stop for gas, throw it out.

~Two words... headphones ... earplugs! :o)

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