Today’s post comes to us from Barbara in Rivertown.
Our 2008 Prius finally gave up the fight on Sunday, September 7, thankfully on the way HOME from our Unitarian Church Service. It started up from a stop light hesitantly with little power, made it a couple blocks and then I had to pull over. After I turned it off and on again, it got us home, but I didn’t trust it farther than around the block.
uckily, we had already been looking at a used Prius at Hi-Tech Auto on the edge of Rushford, MN, half an hour from here. We got through the the rest of the week through the kindness of friends – getting rides and borrowing cars – and managed to buy our “new” 2015 Prius on Friday, September 12th.
Parts of those 5 days were spent cleaning out the old car, and after 16 years of ownership, just imagine what we found! The following list is mostly from the glove compartment, and that “well” between the seats.
- 5 partial packets of Kleenex
- 15 plastic forks and/or spoon sets
- 35 take-out napkins
- 5 pairs of pierced earrings (for when I forget)
- 2 first aid kits and one sewing kit
- my spare pair of glasses (former prescription)
- 4 emery boards
- 2 tire pressure gauges
- lotion and hand sanitizer, Chapstick
- tiny tape measure
- corkscrew, church key
- packets of Off repellent
- and of course, loose change
If you cleaned out your car, especially the glove box, what items might you find?
Trail Baboon 
In the glove box.
Gloves
7 years of registration documents.
Oil change paperwork.
Tire and mechanical receipts.
Nissan handbooks
Flares
Birds of North America Field Guide
Small binoculars
Paper and pens
Utility knife
Hand-wipes.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Hand wipes, hand sanitizer, a mask, maps, lip balm, small lotion sample, small sunscreen sample, a list of station numbers for MPR stations around the state, instructions to get to my brother’s home in North Oaks (that neighborhood is a maze.) I also have map gazettes for Wisconsin and Minnesota in the car.
OT: I have two condos listed for sale right now! My little condo up at Superior Shores, the first one I bought, has been listed since March. I knew it would be slow to sell. Now my former home is empty, clean, and listed with Remax. There’s a showing scheduled for Saturday. And wouldn’t you know, I forgot to take the garbage out yesterday! Dang it!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I hope the old condo sells quickly. You are nearly through the process!
LikeLiked by 4 people
Yes! I’m starting to see the light at the end of this tunnel.
LikeLike
I usually have a list of MPR stations, too…
LikeLike
Sorry about the “death” of your Prius, Barb. You’ve mentioned it a few times here, so I know you liked it. Congratulations on the “new” one!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Rise and Shine, Baboons,
There is not much in the glove compartment–just the manual and the fancy tire do-dad that allows you to change a tire, and an air gauge, proof of insurance cards. The center consul is where the action is: box of kleenex, change, phone power cords, a package of generic wet wipes. Everywhere: dog hair, ( I have to vacuum the car to get the rest of it before the puppy arrives. Corgis shed like crazy), crumbs of snacks, a skittle or two, plastic fork, kleenex wads (allergy season)more change.
Nice car Barb. You two must have been some of the first Prius buyers.
LikeLiked by 3 people
And a Partridge in a Pear Tree….
LikeLiked by 5 people
I guess the first ones to arrive in the US were 2000, so we knew several folks who already had one by 2008…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I plead the fifth.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Snort!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Took me a while…
LikeLike
Several years worth of insurance cards, manuals, probably an tire guage in the glove compartment.
It’s the other random storage places that have all the misc stuff. Tape measure, directions to a random place I took straw outside of Winona… magnetic flashing yellow light I put on the car when doing township stuff.
And don’t look in the backseat of the truck!
LikeLiked by 4 people
I don’t think you can see the rust in front of the back tire, but you can see one of the dents above that tire. It’s definitely had a good run, and we thank it… Now just waiting to be towed by the Rushford guys, or they’ll see if they can drive it there. It’s worth keeping for parts, and has some good new tires.
Maybe I’ll try and come up with a name for the new one – any suggestions?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Prius
LikeLike
Snort! Kind of like I call our parakeet “The Bird”.
LikeLike
Why the name “glove box or compartment”?
LikeLike
I think maybe in the old times of open cars, especially touring cars.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is purely speculative on my part, but when gloves were customarily worn in social situations, having a clean pair of gloves was more important than having clean hands. You wouldn’t wear gloves to keep your hands clean, as we do. It would be therefore necessary to have a place where one could keep a pair of gloves pristine, especially when driving in an open car. We inherit the term as we inherit “icebox” (does anyone still say icebox?)
LikeLiked by 3 people
As a much younger man, before I learned better, I believed that MG roadsters manufactured in the 1950s were worthy of being used as regular transportation on the freeways around Los Angeles. I remember that they had different names for most things, like the boot, the bonnet, the windscreen, and there was another term for the thing that we’ve been calling the glove compartment. None of my 3 or 4 roadsters (2 were vehicles I actually used, the other 2 were parts cars) was so equipped, but a friend’s car had one. I just can’t recall the term.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Search results suggest roadsters had a “glove box”, a “map pocket”, and a “parcel shelf”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just did a search – cubby hole, or cubby box?
LikeLiked by 2 people
My glove compartment is kind of boring. User manual, insurance cards, tire, gauge, and several pairs of sunglasses.
The rest of the car? Books, books on CDs, dog treats, first aid kit, assorted shopping bags, Kleenex, charging cords, emery board, ice scraper, quarters.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I found an expired MN handicap parking permit I got from my best friend whenI took care of her a couple of years ago when she had knee surgery in Waconia.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Reminds me: I forgot to add to my list: my mom’s expired Iowa handicap permit!
LikeLiked by 2 people
The inventory in my car involves far more than just the glove compartment. I’ve used my vehicle for my gardening work for a couple of decades, so every time I’m forced to change vehicles, the list of items to be moved is long. I have typically carried in my car a full set of tools – lopper, hedge shears, hedge trimmer, electric chainsaw, pruners, a sprinkler, weed wrench, shovel, lawn rake, merlin rake, broom, rubber mallet, heavy duty expension cord, and various supplies like landscape fabric and staples, twine, soft rubber plant ties, gloves, and stakes. Also paper towels and at least one terry towel and an extra pair of shoes, because you never know when you’re going to get wet or extremely dirty. Also some plastic pots and garden soil if transplating is needed. A wire cutter is a good thing to have, also a utility knife, bungee cords, a rope, and tape measure.
Dog treats. Always.
Then there are the reusable cups and straws and bags, and a couple of plastic containers for restaurant leftovers. The sunglasses, and a magnifying glass, and extra pair of reading glasses. Snow brush/ice scraper. If I’m coming or going from a fix-it clinic, sewing supplies and a needle nosed pliers.
Coupons and gift certificates, bandaids, antibiotic ointment. Gym bag.
This is, most unfortunately, only a partial list.
I used to have jumper cables, but I think at some point I forgot to move them from one vehicle to the next. I can no longer find them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You win, Linda!
LikeLiked by 2 people
my entire car serves as a glove box also
i have a backpack full of stuff for my course at hennipen tech in architecture. another full of gym workout stuff
computer cords headphones and chargers, battery pack massage gun extra shoes sportcoats hats raincoats unbrells gloves tools. glove box is where i go to look for insurance info when i get pulled over. my door pockets hold money napkins air pressure guages cds trumpet mouthpiece thermous or two, forks and glasses i drink tea out of and a banana box full of misc stuff i throw in there with everyintention of sorting through as i add more stuff to it.
i have always emptied stuff into a box and put it in the trunk. i have no idea where those boxes and that stuff is today. lots of missing memories but i cant remember what they were
vinny died quietly in his sleep tuesday
i expected to bring home his ashes in the glove box but the vet jerked me around so i buried him in my daughters back yard seeing as we will likely be outta here in the not too distant future. they quoted me a price i complimented them on then when i arrived they doubled it. too bad. i thought i found a good vet. im not sure they are intentional schmucks but it feels like it. sad ending
dylan got added to farm aid saturday
what a treat. i bought a ticket as a big splurge the day they came out and i am going to enjoy it
LikeLiked by 3 people
Very sorry for your loss, tim. I’m glad Vinny passed away so peacefully!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My sympathies. He was a lovely boy as a puppy and even lovelier as a a sweet old guy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
oh tim…. so sorry to hear the news. Vinny was the biggest ole sweetheart I’ve ever known. Hope Nala doesn’t miss him too much.
LikeLike
she seems ok but with a side of lost
LikeLike