I like being organised. It certainly makes life much easier especially when travelling. One of the places that I hate clutter and rubbish accumulating is in the car. Cars don’t always have great storage available and what there is, is often very small. I have a few items that I like to keep close at hand when we travel. The easiest place for me to store these is in the glove box. My best tip for glove box organisation is to use a small make-up type bag that you can put all your loose bits in.
Luckily our BT50 has a good sized glove box so all my road-trip essentials fit in neatly. Having everything I need in a small make up bag means it’s easy to take with me if I need to.
My other top tip is, when you are travelling try getting into the habit of always putting everything back in the same place it came from. That way next time you need it, you will know exactly where to find it. This is particularly important if for example, you require regular medication.
I have put together this list of what I keep in our glove box. They are all things that I use on a regular basis.
CAR MANUAL
Our car service record and warranty details are all in a folder that stays in the glove box. If you are travelling in the long term you could also keep insurance information and your road side assistance membership in this folder.
LIP BALM AND SUNSCREEN
Sitting in air conditioning makes my lips dry out so I always have lip balm in the car. I usually use ‘Blistex’ as this has SPF15 in it as well. I also have a small tube of sunscreen for my face that I can put on before we stop somewhere. As I have had some Basel Cell Carcinoma’s (BCC) removed I need to be sun safe all the time.
HAND CREAM AND NAIL FILE
I must admit I like having long nails but it’s really easy to break or chip them when putting the camper trailer up so I always have a nail file around. I also find that the backs of my hands in particular get quite dry. A sign of aging I guess, so I like to have some nice hand cream to put on.
NOTE PAD AND PEN
Where ever we go I always have a notepad and a pen handy. We might see a sign for something that we want to check out at a later date or I might get an idea for a blog post. Either way a notebook is handy even if its just to make your grocery list out on.
GLASSES WIPES
I have to wear glasses all the time and Brenden wears sunglasses when he is driving. I hate trying to look through dirty glasses so always carry some cleaning wipes to give them a quick once over. Very handy if you have been at the beach and you end up with salt spray on them!
MAGNIFYING GLASS
As I mentioned above I wear glasses all the time. In fact my eyesight is very poor and I can’t see anything clearly without them. A couple of years ago I found a great little magnifying glass at Jaycar which is perfect for reading maps with.
TORCH
We carry a small LED torch in the glove box. It is super bright and good to have in case of an emergency. Or to find your way to the loo!
TISSUES
I get dreadful hay fever at anytime of the year and just start sneezing . It’s not unusual for me to sneeze 15 or 20 times in a row. Hence the need for tissues. If you have little kids you could add wet wipes as well.
MEDICATION
If you require regular medication you need to keep it where you can easily access it so the glove box is the best place. I generally keep some paracetamol and hay fever tablets handy as well.
GARBAGE BAGS
A roll of small garbage bags come in handy for more than just rubbish. Think muddy shoes, wet swimmers etc.
HAND SANITISER
I usually carry a small bottle of hand sanitiser in the glove box as there is not always water around to wash your hands. The last thing you need is to get sick whilst you are travelling somewhere.
Finally if you do have a few loose items in your glove box put a folded up piece of cloth in the bottom so you don’t end up with annoying rattles. A micro-fibre cloth works really well.
Listen in to their podcast episode https://allaroundoz.com.au/podcasts/travelling-and-working-around-australia/
My centre console is well stocked, but one thing that drives me crazy is when my sunnies get dirty and I have nothing to clean them. Going to use one of your tips and get some lense cleaner!
I end up having to clean everyone else’s glasses as well so I have a stack of wipes.