Winter Kit for the Car - explained (Part 1)

As promised, I want to discuss a few of the items that my wife included in her Winter Kit that she put in her car.

You may remember that she put together a winter kit when she realized that she didn't have one yet, this winter, after I mentioned it in a posting about the mid-west ice storm. What she put together was:

• plastic shopping bag from _____ (pick any grocery or chain store here)


• plastic trash bag (big, black one)


• bottle of water (pick your favorite brand) sealed in


• quart-sized plastic bag (just in case the bottle freezes and splits)


• polar fleece wrap (blanket may be substituted)


• fuzzy hat


• "magic" gloves (these are the knit gloves that stretch forever)


• two votive candles


• clean, empty flat can (like a tuna can or a cat food can)


• disposable butane lighter (to light candles)


• energy food snacks (just a few)


• disposable latex gloves (to waterproof magic gloves)

Understand, that I am not saying that this is what everyone should have, or that it is the perfect kit, but it is a quite adequate kit for our area (North Central Texas).

Some of the items may be quite obvious to most people, but a few may be obscure to the uninitiated in emergency preparedness. So, if this is old hat to you, please just bear with me.

Small can (yes, you can)

For the rest of you, you may be wondering about the tuna can. It serves a couple of purposes. In a pinch-say being stuck out on a deserted snowy road because your car suddenly quit running-you may want to use a candle to provide a bit of heat (and light). You might not want candle wax all over your car. Put the candle in the can and now you have a bit of protection for it. You could also use it to melt ice or snow (use the candle for heat) for whatever purpose you need water. The standard cautions apply to combustibles (candle) in enclosed spaces (keep a window cracked for fresh air supply.)

Some of you may be saying to yourselves, why not take an unopened can of tuna and then you have your food and your can in a smaller package. That is great thinking... unless you need the can but aren't hungry for tuna at the time. While I generally advocate items that can do double duty (see the entry on gloves below), this is one of those times that recommend a little more separation of duties.

Magic fingers

The "magic" gloves and the latex gloves can work together to provide a pair of waterproof gloves that will keep your fingers warm in the event of having to clear off ice or snow from the windshield (or other similar chores). Sure, you should have an ice scraper in your car and a pair of winter gloves, too. But, if you managed to get away without those-or you had to let your freezing kid sister (or freezing kid) borrow yours-you have a way of improvising your own.

Naturally, you can also use either pair of gloves alone, too. The knit gloves can provide warmth by themselves if they are kept dry. The latex gloves can be used if you are having to change a tire or work on your engine. When you are done, strip off the gloves for relatively clean hands.

Fire when you need it

A disposable butane lighter is preferable to matches (even the waterproof ones) because you get a lot more fire for the same space and weight. And it works, even if it gets wet. For the survival minded, even after the butane runs out, there is a sparking mechanism that can help you build a fire if you know what you are doing. (Ask any pyromanical Boy Scout. No slur intended. I used to be one. And I raised a couple. Most boys have a fascination with fire and the Boys Scouts gives an outlet for it.)

In part two I will discuss a couple of other items.