If a penis was involved, it’d better be attached to a man and he could carry all this crap in HIS vehicle.
We have/had a poster whose sig line was something like “Vagina: never leave home without one.” Sadly AFAIK we can’t search for sig lines so I can’t post a ref to her (?) user page.
Living as I do in suburbia my EDC list is pretty much my smartphone, car key (singular), & minimalist wallet with ID, CCs, and a couple emergency cash. The car has a phone charger, a flashlight, some extra cash & jumper cables that haven’t been used in a decade or more.
When I go biking or beaching I have dogtags with emergency contact info and that’s about it. No keys or wallet needed. Oh yeah, and as mentioned a few posts ago, pants. Shirts are optional.
Since I travel a lot my suitcase has a few more extra things, like wall chargers & pens & vitamins & kleenex. But barely 8 oz. worth of stuff total. I could go on a month long safari *and *an Arctic expedition with less baggage than I see our flight attendants dragging on 3-day trips involving only warm weather destinations. Boggles the mind it does.
I had someone ask me for a jump recently. We were the only two cars in a parking lot late at night. I asked which side their battery was on and pulled up alongside them, then popped my hood. Then I found out they didn’t have cables. I no longer carry any, preferring to call AAA. I assumed requesting a jump meant they had cables and needed a battery.
I offered to call AAA for them, but they weren’t members. I offered to call a service station, but they said they couldn’t afford it. I offered them a ride, but they didn’t want to be without their car. ?
Instead of a phone charger, which would be bulky - you should take one in a car, but otherwise it would be cumbersome - take a spare battery and keep it charged.
In your car and on your person are very different questions.
On my person, the everyday essentials:
Asthma inhaler (went out without one for the first time in years recently, by accident, and it didn’t turn out well)
Keys
Mobile phone
Debit/cashcard
Oystercard (for public transport)
Spare pare of contact lenses and/or glasses
Cover-up stick and lipstick
Taxicard (for disabled people’s access to taxis at a discount rate)
There’s other shit in there but it’s just other shit, really. I mean, my wallet has about ten memberships to various museums but I know from experience that I don’t necessarily need the card.
In the car:
A blanket
A cushion
Oil
A map of the UK
Various other things that take up half the boot in a bag. I don’t drive. None of the things is a spare wheel. I honestly have no idea what these things are since they’re not a blanket or oil or a map and we live in London.
In the bag we take into the car:
My blue badge
The satnav
nm
According to the seminal research work “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, you should have a bath towel.
In my pockets:
Pocket knife (3" lockback), cell phone, flashlight, wallet (with credit cards, $100 emergency bill, whatever other cash I have, etc…)
In my truck:
Emergency flares/extra bright lightsticks (for road placement)
Lightsticks for passengers.
Toilet paper (I’m surprised I’m the first one to mention this)
Emergency blankets (those crinkly reflective mylar things)
Emergency tire inflator (like Fix-a-flat, but non-flammable) for full-sized spare.
Jumper cables.
Spare quart of oil.
In the “saddlebag” on the arm of my power chair: cheap cellphone/charger/Swiss Army Knife/6 feet of rope/duct tape/tissues/flashlight/billfold with money&cards. Other odds&ends of whatever I find interesting on the road… pecans/nails/nuts&bolts and funny rocks
When I’m not in my house or office, on my person I always have:
[ul]
[li]Some cash[/li][li]ATM card[/li][li]Insurance card[/li][li]Credit card[/li][li]ID[/li][li]Phone[/li][li]House key/car fob[/li][li]Handkerchief (you’d be surprised how handy they can be in a pinch)[/li][/ul]
In my car I always have:
[ul]
[li]Auxiliary/backup cell battery/charger (which I stick in a pocket if I’m going to be away from my car & electricity for more than a few hours)[/li][li]Phone charging cord[/li][li]Flashlights[/li][li]Leatherman multi-tool[/li][li]Umbrella[/li][/ul]
I’m not sure there’s been a situation in the last five years that between the two lists I needed something I didn’t have.
Cell phone goes without saying.
Scissors. The ones in my car could cut up a chicken. And unlike knives they don’t seem to make people uneasy. And I use them all the time.
iPhone cable. You can buy a charger anywhere for $5, but a cable can be hard to find,
A watch or clock.
Paper and pen
An extra pair of shoes. I used to fly SEL and one of my instructors said, ‘always wear shoes that you can walk out in after a forced landing’. I keep ‘walking out’ shoes in my car and at the office just in case I need to ditch my sissy shoes for some real walking.
Flashlights. I feel a little obsessive with this, but I have flashlights in my cars and in every room in the house, plus a couple of lanterns hanging at the top of the basement stairs, and emergency lights next to the front and back doors. I am not wandering around the house in the dark looking for a flashlight when the power goes out. It’s just stupid not to be prepared.
Duct tape.
A screwdriver.
A bag to carry stuff in.
When I lived in the desert I used to keep a couple of gallons of water in the car, but I’m over that now.
I absolutely hate having things in my pockets, so my everyday carry is my wallet, and even so it is a slim one. I will also have my phone with me, but not in a pocket unless it’s winter.
My car is a different story. I was a Boy Scout, so I must “Be Prepared”!
Inside my car are:[ul][li]A Complete ANSI first aid kit, augmented with some of my stuff from Wilderness First Aid (super glue, SAM Splints, etc).[/li][li]Wool blanket (Swiss military surplus).[/li] [li]12V air compressor and tire plug kit[/li][li]Morakniv 4in fixed blade knife[/li][li] Firesteel[/li] [li]Dickies coveralls (in case I need to get out and fix something)[/li] [li]Basic tool kit[/li] [li]Bic lighters[/li] [li]4 bottles of water and handful of protein/candy bars[/li] [li]Leather work boots [/li][li]REI Flash daypack[/li] [li]Gerber multitool[/li][li] 100 lumen LED flashlight[/li][li] LED headlamp[/li][li] GMRS handheld radio[/li][li] Extra batteries [/li][li] Probably some other stuff I forgot[/li][*] Everything on iiandyiii’s list plus a duck[/ul]