Van Necessities

Exciting news for the Brittish household... we got a new van!

Honestly, I feel a little guilty about it. Did we need a new van? Heavens, no. Except maybe we did. I don't really know. Our old van had a few problems that we didn't really want to deal with. The fobs never worked, for one thing, and what joy is there in having a Mormon mobile if you can't push a button that unlocks the doors? Also, it made a noise that made me nervous (and a little embarrassed). I kept thinking I would end up dead because of that noise... whatever it was.

We started looking at new (used) vans last August (I blame an assignment for my money management class that required me to find and compare two vehicles with loans and interest rates). After doing the assignment, I was totally set on getting a new van, and I'd even found "the one." Scotty went to look at it the next day, and it had sold. We watched for something similar to come up, but everything was too expensive and the wrong color (I would have bought the wrong color at the right price, but I never found one).

After a month or so, we stopped looking so diligently and accepted that we would spend some more time with our original van, the Gold Nugget. Then last week, I got an itch again, and lo and behold, we found "the one," and it was a better color than "the one" we found in August, so it was obviously meant to be.

I look at our new van and pray that we'll be diligent in keeping it tidy. As much as I claim, "No food in the van" it always gets sneaked in there somehow. Yesterday I looked back at Zoe and she had a bag of goldfish. How is it that my kids are starving all day and whine about how there's no food in the house, but the second we're in the van, they produce a buffet from their jacket pockets?

Anyway, having a new van gives us a bit of a fresh slate. Since the van is nice and clean(ish) (there are already traces of dirt and mud from a little adventure we had on Sunday), I've been slowly putting necessities inside. Here are some of the things I consider "van necessities:"

• A stash of diapers and wipes
• Emergency supplies (roadside kit, small first aid kit, etc)
• Picnic blanket
• Book of Mad Libs
• Scissors and tape (Someone out there has to know how crucial these are. Anyone? Anyone?) 
• Napkins (My mom always stashed napkins in the glove box, so I adopted this from her. We only made it a few minutes from the car lot before we needed a napkin, and there wasn't one!) 
• Tire gauge
• Garage door opener
• Mailbox key
• Small bottle of lotion 
• Pens
• Book of Mormon

My list is a little longer in the heart of winter when I haul around an ice scraper, ice melt, a small shovel, a traction strip, and a few extra blankets (I'm not sure if I should put my winter stuff in the van or not. We seem to have a freak snow storm every April, so perhaps I should be prepared).

So what do you think? Do we have similar lists? Is there something unusual you insist on having in your vehicle at all times?

{Photo from our first van adventure 3/6/16}