What’s in my Road Trip Tote + License Plate game
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If you follow me on snapchat (add me @cwhit145) then you might have seen a snap a couple weeks ago about another big change that’s coming up for my little family.
We’re moving. Again.
Remember that time we moved three times last year? Yeah? I sure do. And, we’re crazy people and adding another move to our resume this year. Dustin is going back to his summer sales job in Louisiana and we’ll be heading out to Layafette the first weekend of April. I’m not going to lie; I’m not very excited about this move. I love, love, love our home in Arizona and the people we’ve met here and the church we go to here. So, our plan is to come right back in September, like snowbirds! Knowing that we are going to come back makes this move a little less bitter, and with any luck, this job will help us pay off the last of our student debt. Plus, I’m excited to try real Southern food and to live five minutes away from my blogging pal, Taylor at Dear Friends.
It’s all about the bigger picture, am I right?
Since we’re about to add our fourth move to our list in the last 12 months, I wanted to share some of my road trip essentials. After moving from Idaho to California (April 2015,) California to Boston (July 2015,) and then Boston/Idaho to Arizona (September of 2015) and doing 90% of those moves by car, I feel like definitely have road tripping down to a science. So, if you are preparing for an epic road trip/move, here is everything I keep in my road trip tote that has been essential to our sanity and our safety!
Sunnies- We’ll be driving from Arizona through New Mexico and Texas and I expect to be driving through a lot of sunshine. I always have a pair of sunglasses in my road trip tote because they help protect my eyes from the bright light and prevent me from getting headaches from squinting! I love love love these cat-eyed sunnies I picked up at Target just a couple weeks ago to add to my collection; they are fashionable and have a great filter against the sun!
Headphones- Dustin and I take turns driving in 3-4 hour shifts, and while one of us is driving, the other one is trying to get rest. Since Dustin loves to listen to techno music while driving and since techno music isn’t very conducive to sleeping, I need headphones to block out his music so I can sleep!
Dentastix- Thankfully, Dustin and I were blessed with the world’s most perfect road tripping pup. Rosie handles long drives really well, as long as she has her puppy bed and her hedgehog toy in the back. Still, I always keep some Dentastix on hand (some of her favorite treats) to keep her occupied if she gets restless and to help her breath not stink. Trust me, there is nothing worse then being stuck in a car with a panty puppy who has stinky breath!
Mini Lint Roller - Another must when road tripping with a dog! Rosie tends to shed more when traveling from the stress, so we end up with dog hair everywhere. When we stop for dinner or at our hotel, the last thing we want is to drag in excess dog hair. So, I always keep our mini lint roller in my travel tote so that we can quickly get off before going into any public place.
Deodorant- I don’t know about you, but after spending 18 hours in a car, I feel pretty grody. I always, always have to have deodorant in my travel bag tote so that I can make sure that I feel as fresh and clean as possible after spending hours in the car!
Makeup Wipes- This goes hand in hand with the deodorant: my face feels SO grimy after driving for a few hours and eating fast food. Even though I don’t normally travel with makeup on, having the makeup wipes to take off any grime and refresh my skin is so important to my sanity while moving. If I don’t try to take care of the excess oils, I will break out a few days after getting to our new destination and that is NO fun!
Chapstick & Lotion- Like I said, my skin tends to freak out if I don’t take care of it while road tripping. My skin gets more oily and I break out and my lips get so chapped and my hands dry out. It might be the constant change of climates or just extra stress, but I need need need to have chapstick available at all times to prevent split lips.
Extra® Gum Spearmint & Polar Ice® 35-stick packages- Gum is probably the most important thing I keep in my road trip tote and for good reason. First of all, we eat a lot of fast food while road tripping (#sorrynotsorry) so it’s important to have lots of gum to keep our mouths feeling minty fresh. Second of all, chewing gum is a really good way to keep yourself awake and focused on the road while driving. Normally, Dustin and I have to buy 5-6 packs of gum to get through our road trips, so I was so, so excited when I saw that Extra® Gum released a new Extra® 35-stick pack! That’s SO MUCH GUM in one package!
Also, the packaging is way more conducive to traveling because it’s durable and it snaps close. No loose gum sticks floating around in my tote, thank you very much.
Plus, since these new packages have so much gum, Dustin and I can split the packs between my tote, the glove box, and our License Plate Game!
DIY License Plate Game:
One of our favorite games to play while road tripping is the License Plate Game! I’m sure everyone has a version of this they play: you look for all the license plates from the different states and try to collect ’em all!
Dustin and I like adding some competition into our License Plate game to help keep us awake and focused on the road. Before every road trip, I take a few minutes to put together our License Plate game and having the new Extra® 35-stick pack helps put a fun touch to it!
Here’s how I make it:
- I print out a blank map of the United States!
- I take some colored markers and outline groups of states in different colors (I shoot for 8 groups of states)
- I tape 8 pieces of gum at the bottom of the map and create a tally for Dustin and I
How to Play:
- Whenever one of us spots a new license plate for the first time, they win that state. Whoever is sitting in the passenger seat puts their initials in the state!
- Whenever a group of states is completed, the person with the most states in that group wins a new piece of gum and can replace their old piece!
- When we get to our destination, we tally up the states we each got and the winner gets dibs on the remaining gum in the Extra® 35-stick pack!
Make sure you keep your eyes open at the check out line while you’re making your 3rd Target run of the week (#thestruggleisreal) for the new Extra® 35-stick pack.
So, there you have it. The Carrs are hitting the road again and are on to our next adventure. I’m sad but excited at the same time. After all, as long as I’m with my pup and my husband (and we have enough gum to share between the two of us) I’ve got all I need.
Any tips for me as we get ready for our next move? What would you add to the road trip tote? Have you tried the new Extra® 35-stick pack yet?
