This is an I-Heart podcast.

Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of IHeart Radio.

Good morning. This is Laura.

Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

Today's tip is about some smart things to stash in your car

so that all trips or waits are more comfortable. Unless you live in a few big cities, if you've

got to commute or kids or both, you probably spend a fair amount of time in your car. I used to

think I didn't. I work from home,

and my kids' schools are less than 10 minutes away. But then I started tracking my time and realized,

wow, all those short trips add up. That's one reason I started the Before Breakfast podcast. I wanted

to give people something they could get through

on a short trip. Anyway, after my recent episode on using up gift cards, I got a note from a listener

named April. She wrote that I kept ending up at Target or CVS or some other store on an errand

and realizing I didn't have the gift card, or running home

for an in-and-out gift card before we made a rare, impromptu gift card stop for dinner.

So one day last summer, I grabbed a credit card wallet I had and put all of the gift cards

I might use outside the house in it, then put it in my glove compartment. Now, if April needs to stop by

Target, she can just reach in there and grab the cart. This got me thinking of all the other

things that it's wise to keep in the car. I don't think it's a coincidence that my family has gotten

sick less frequently since we started keeping bottles of hand sanitizer in the cup holders of our

cars. We also keep some paper towels for the inevitable messes and a small garbage container in our

family minivan. There's a bottle of water or two for hydration emergencies, usually some granola bars,

...