Super-size Your Stow-N-Go

Food is very important if you want happy campers in your car.  I have two sweater boxes in one stow-n-go.  They hold individual fruit, Jell-o and pudding cups; shelf-safe dinners, casseroles and sandwich spreads; hot drinks, instant oatmeal, instant soup and cold drink mixes.  I also keep lock-n-lock containers of cheese or peanut butter and crackers and cookies.  And the most important—my candy bucket.  Comfort food is very important in an emergency.  I don't know why, but the stow-n-go compartments in my van stay cooler in the summer than the rest of my car, so foods don't lose there shelf-life because of the heat.

There is also room along side the sweater boxes to keep other items:  winter clothing, laundry supplies, personal hygiene items, dish washing supplies, rain gear, a solar shower, camp stools, a hammock and a pop-up dressing room (underneath the buckets).  Each category is placed in it’s own zipper pouch.

In my other stow-n-go I keep all my car appliances, our road side kit, auxiliary battery, inverter, lantern and tools. The road side kit has a blanket, air compressor, jumper cables, first aid kit, flashlight and tow strap.  I added rain ponchos, a compass, folding shovel, hatchet, folding saw and headlamp.

While stow-n-go compartments were not necessarily intended for this purpose, it is surprising how much you can store in your vehicle that will help you make your van or SUV the first line of defense when you are in an emergency, or just had a change in plans.  I hope this post will have you seeing your vehicle's storage potential differently.

Good Luck on Your Adventures!

Mary Ann Wilcox