Sometimes I feel like I take my prepping overboard… and my car is no exception. I literally have stuff shoved everywhere, from the nooks and crannies of the spare tire well to the glove box, under seats, and in bins and bags in the back. Sometimes I wonder if I could actually fit more stuff in there. 😉
Obviously, that sounded like a challenge to me and so I finally decided to try and put my door pads to good use. Unfortunately, door pads don’t offer much space to make use of and certainly come is all manner of sizes (e.g., depth, length, width). My particular doors pads were just big enough to add the following:
Though I couldn’t add much I still was able to add a few items that I felt could be most useful to me should I ever happen upon an accident. In this case, I included items that would allow ME to stay safe when dealing with others who could contaminate me while rendering aid but also to help avoid contaminating them. Of course, with Ebola being a concern that factored into wanting to add these particular items but, in reality, the more likely use of these safety items is for protection from general bodily fluids.
With that in mind, I added the following:
- N95 mask x 2 – though even a basic face mask would work, I figured I had plenty of N95 masks and adding two could be useful for protection from bodily fluids in my mouth but for other uses too such as from airborne particulates.
- Disposable latex gloves x 2 sets (kept in a sandwich bag) – I figured I should include two sets so that I could either put them both on myself for better protection or to give one set to a passenger.
- Clear safety glasses – in the future I may want to upgrade these to goggles but at least glasses protect from direct hits to my eyes such as from somebody coughing up blood.
- Emergency mylar blankets x 2 – I read somewhere that good Samaritans who cover a person with their jacket or other supplies can’t get them back when the EMTs arrive because they don’t know if the jacket you used is really yours or if you’re trying to steal it! As such, I figured adding two mylar blankets (of which I wholly despise by the way) would be a good compromise and I wouldn’t miss them whatever happens.
- Compression bandage (e.g., Israeli bandage) – I thought both about adding a second compression bandage and/or a tourniquet but ultimately settled on just one bandage due to space restrictions.
- Mini flashlight – obviously things happen at night too and being able to see in the dark is a must. I may eventually choose to swap this out with a headlamp so that I have both hands available.
And here’s what it looks like when added to my driver’s door pad:
I’m still not sure if I want to keep the flashlight there since I already have a Maglite that’s next to the driver’s seat that’s easily within reach; Regardless, I may still add a headlamp since I have a few laying around. I might also choose to put the N95 masks in a bag to keep them from getting dirty or dusty over time. Other than the above I couldn’t think of much else to add.
Ultimately the idea was to add items that I may need at a moment’s notice within easy reach in order to respond to an accident and to keep me safe while doing so. What about you? What would you add?
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