My love for a clean car was instilled in me by my dad. He taught me the importance of taking care of your vehicle and how to wash a car to ensure it is actually clean and looks like-new. {Start with the roof and work your way down. Always clean the tires last. Use a soft chamois to dry the car.}
Several funny memories from my childhood involve cars and my dad. As one story goes, I was about five years old and my dad had finished washing his police car in our driveway. The car had lovely pin striping down the side, like most vehicles did in the 1980’s. Well, my dad went inside and I decided to peel the pin striping off the side of the car. It all came off in one long piece. I remember how cool it was to see this long strip come right off the car. I wish there was a camera to capture the look on his face when he saw that! I’m not sure what trouble he may have been in, but he did go on to have a long career, retiring after 35 years as Chief. Here he is a few years after the incident leaning up against a newer police car. {Notice the absence of pin striping!}
I’m sure there was a firm discussion about how my actions were inappropriate! But, that didn’t deter my dad from making sure that I was well versed in how to wash a car! A year or so later, we were washing one of our cars and I pointed the hose at my dad to pretend I was going to squirt him. You can probably guess what happened next…the hose went off and I soaked my dad! We still laugh about that all these years later!
You can see that peeling the pin striping off his police car and squirting him with the hose didn’t effect our long-term relationship. We love spending time together having coffee, going to Red Sox games, and Jimmy Buffet concerts. And he was beaming with pride on my wedding day.
On a recent trip to Walmart, I spotted this great Armor All Car Care Gift Pack 10-Piece Bucket and had to pick one up! I know my dad will L-O-V-E it! The Armor All Car Care Gift Pack 10-Piece Bucket can be found in the automotive section for just under $20. The products and bucket in total are valued at more than $30, plus there are coupons inside! To save event more, print this $2.00 off coupon (available while supplies last)!
If your dad is anything like mine, he loves road trips! For the last few weeks, my dad is making his way across the country via Routes 6 and 66! What a fun adventure; and something he’s been talking about my entire life. He made it to the end yesterday!
With all the road trips that he takes, I thought it would be great to whip up a Road Trip Toiletry Kit for him to take on his adventures. It’s a quick project and a great way to use up some of your fabric stash.
fabric scraps {if you’re not using scraps, be sure to pre-wash your fabric before beginning this project}
fabric interfacing
coordinating thread
hair elastic
button
You’ll being by cutting your fabric and fabric interfacing into squares. Because I want this kit to fit in the glove compartment, I made mine a bit smaller than a typical toiletry kit. I cut each of the squares 8 inches.
Face the two pieces of fabric right sides together and place them on top of the piece of interfacing. Pin together.
Sew almost all the way around leaving a two inch gap. Snip the corners. Turn your project right side out and push the corners out gently with a chopstick or the eraser tip from a pencil.
Add the hair elastic and stitch all the way around.
Fold the bottom of your fabric up one-third of the way from the bottom and stitch the sides closed.
Add the button. Be careful! I stuck myself with the needle several times! Ouch!
Slip in your favorite road trip toiletries, pop it in the glove compartment and you’re ready to go!
Need some inspiration for which essentials to include in your road trip kit? I’ve included a list below:
pain reliever
antacid tablets
bandages/first aid cream
gum/mints
tooth brush/tooth paste
tooth picks/dental floss
eye drops
deodorant
Wow! That is awesome that your Dad has had the chance to explore Route 66! I remember washing the car with my Dad when I was a kid, too…and he always used Armor All. Thanks for sharing! #client
That is such an awesome idea!!
Awesome ideas thanks for sharing your story
Awesome! I just wish I saw this before fathers day. Bookmarking for future reference from our website.