I had my car inspected recently and while I was looking for my proof of insurance card and the receipt that said I\u2019d paid my taxes, I ran across a whole bunch of other stuff \u2014 stuff that I have no idea why it hadn\u2019t been thrown out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cars used to have glove compartments \u2014 a little door on the dashboard in front of the passenger seat and that\u2019s where you put stuff, like the owners\u2019 manual. Well, actually, that little compartment still exists \u2014 the door is pretty much where it\u2019s alway been, but I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ve ever opened that little door more that once or twice since I\u2019ve owned the car. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the cars now have another compartment between the drivers seat and the front passenger seat \u2014 that\u2019s where all the stuff goes in my car \u2014 not the \u201cglove\u201d compartment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While I was looking for my insurance and tax forms, I ran across a roll of quarters \u2014 Claire put them there in case we needed them for a parking meter, two cell phone chargers that fit into a cigarette lighter socket \u2014 my car doesn\u2019t have a cigarette lighter \u2014\u00a0 it has a USB outlet for phones, a bag of cough drops, a flashlight, a \u201cwonder tool\u201d that has about a dozen \u201ctools\u201d \u2014 kind of like a Swiss Army knife. A pack of Kleenex. Two tire gauges \u2014 one analog, one digital. A listing of all the sirius radio channels. A large pack of coupons from Bed, Bath & Beyond \u2014 mostly expired, some in 2016. A couple of old Covid masks. A USB charging cable that actually fits my phone, a couple of pieces of paper of unknown origin, an emergency flasher, and a couple of loose coins. There was no owners\u2019 or operators\u2019 manual \u2014 that\u2019s the only thing in the glove box on the dash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I suppose I should probably get in the habit of cleaning out this storage console more regularly \u2014 maybe at least every year when I get the car inspected\u2026 kind of like changing the batteries in the smoke detectors when you change the clocks for daylight savings time \u2014 but at least that happens twice a year, my car only gets inspected once a year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve always tried to keep my cars relatively clean and clutter free \u2014 even the \u201cglove\u201d compartments and the trunk. But I have to admit that lately I\u2019ve let both of these areas get a little messy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It occurs to me that my car has lights and warnings for just about everything \u2014 if my seatbelt isn\u2019t fastened, the door or window is open, if I forget to hit the \u201coff\u201d button (it\u2019s a \u201chybrid\u201d) when I get out, when the car needs maintenance or an oil change. It seems to me it wouldn\u2019t be so hard to add some sort of notification to clean out the glove box periodically\u2026..
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I had my car inspected recently and while I was looking for my proof of insurance card and the receipt that said I\u2019d paid my taxes, I ran across a whole bunch of other stuff \u2014 stuff that I have … Continue reading