ByKate Antoniades Hours Updated
Comments 111 Comments

Coffee Break: Car Trash/Storage Bag

A reusable trash bag for your car isn't exactly essential, but I always keep this one handy — it's great for tissues (especially now that it's allergy season!), used post-it notes, etc. — and it keeps everything out of sight until you can empty it. (I would advise against, um, POURING YOUR COFFEE into the bag as shown in the photo, even though the description says it's leakproof.) I loop the adjustable strap around my car's gear shift on the passenger side, but the product photos show the other places you can put it (hanging behind the passenger headrest, etc.).

Even if you don't need something like this for daily use, it would be great for road trips — you could empty it at each stop. And the lining is washable, in case something messy gets on it. You could also use this as a “car essentials” bag, for a long trip or otherwise — use the main compartment and mesh outer pockets for tissue packs, phone charger blocks, snacks, first aid items, and so on.

The bag seems sturdy and well made, too. (A friend who recently rode in my car said it looks like a camera bag, so it's also not hideous.)

The bag comes in both black and beige in 2-gallon and 3-gallon sizes (I have the 2-gallon) and is $14.97 at Amazon (and there's a coupon for 10% off).

Readers, do tell: What are your favorite car accessories and supplies, for storage or other uses? Do you carry a first aid kit or other emergency kit?

Sales of note for 12.2.24 (Happy Cyber Monday!! See our full sale listing here!)

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

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111 Comments

  1. Hi all – I’ll try to remember to post this on the Moms Board tomorrow, but does anyone have ideas from either kids or elder relatives for some kind of way to call 911 without a cell phone or landline? I’ve heard that Amazon Alexa can work for this but the internet is failing me. Is there some kind of device I can mount on the wall? Thanks!

    1. https://www.lifewire.com/amazon-echo-call-911-4570955

      I know my husband has set up a skill for Alexa to call each of us, but we haven’t tried 911. Note that for the calling feature, the person has to say the name exactly the way you set it up, which was a problem for elderly relatives and could probably be for kids too. E.g., my FIL would say “call Joey” instead of “call Joe.”

    2. My grandmother had lifeline, or a similar medical alert system. It had a fall alert button she wore and a general daily check type thing. I think it worked through her phone line though, but I bet there is a way to get it through internet service now. It worked wonderfully, she fell several times and they got someone to her really quickly.

    3. We can “drop in” on our Echo Show and basically facetime with the kids that way. They can also call us by voice command “Call mom.” I don’t know if they can call 911 though and I haven’t tried. If your kids are old enough to stay home alone, I would recommend that you give them either a phone, or teach them to facetime on an ipad, which also works. I added my kids to a “family plan” and it’s been well worth it – it’s not just emergencies but to inform them about changes in plans (so and so will be driving you home, etc.), to hear about their day, to deal with emergencies that are not 911 worthy (e.g., the water faucet won’t turn off, there’s a weird sound coming from the basement, etc.)

    4. A cell phone without any data can still call 911. I’d get a cheap flip phone and keep it charged,

    5. If it is for an elderly relative, I would strongly consider Lifeline (or an equivalent). Both grandma’s in their 80s/90s had incidents where they needed to press their button and would not have had the strength to call out to Alexa or get to the phone. They both hated us for making them get it claiming they weren’t that old (… uhm you were 85???) and didn’t need it … until they did.

    6. More for the elderly than for the children, but there is a feature on an Apple Watch that if someone falls, they can press a button and it will alert 9-1-1. Here are details: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208944

      It’s pretty amazing — my elderly mother took a fall in her apartment (she was totally fine, just one of those stumbles) and it popped up with the message asking if it wanted to contact 9-1-1.

  3. Any tips on coping with living alone and WFH with no end in sight? FWIW, I am vaccinated and live in a highly vaccinated city where masks are required in most public places.

    Which risk is worse: the risk that I lose my mind from lack of social connection or the risk that I might get COVID from going to a coworking space or a cafe? I’m starting to think it’s the former!

    1. Definitely the risk that you will lose your mind is worse.

      You are vaccinated. Get out there. Wear a mask, enjoy this beautiful whether before it is gone. Sit outside at the cafe. Meet friends at parks.

      Get outside every day.

      4. Yep. Definitely enjoy your masking, vaccinated city! Go with friends to a museum, eat outdoors at a restaurant, have a picnic with others. Any outdoor theatre in your neck of the woods?

    2. I would try not to think of either or. Work outside somewhere and schedule outdoor coffee dates if friends or colleagues live nearby. On off hours, schedule outdoor walks or dining with friends. And stop thinking “forever” so much—if your company has gone fully remote, you can always look for a hybrid or in-office gig again once things are better controlled (or the tides may shift and you’ll be called in again). Stay connected with friends and family with video or phone. Look for an outdoor hobby.

    3. I’m in a Covid hotspot with a low vaccination rate and live with an unvaccinated child. My family is basically prioritizing work (I can’t WFH), school, and health, and cutting out all other optional activities.

      Since you’re a vaccinated person living in a highly vaccinated city with mask mandates, get out there! You’re extremely unlikely to get seriously ill from Covid. If you wear your mask, you’re doing what you can to protect unvaccinated people, including young children and others who can’t get vaccinated. Support local businesses. Enjoy gathering with your vaccinated friends. Keep your sanity!

    4. I am super cautious as I take immunosuppressive medication, but I am getting out a bit and I encourage you to do the same! Can you work outside at a cafe if that makes you feel safer?

    5. At this stage in the game, if you are vaccinated, I think it’s fine to sit at a cafe. Keep your mask on, but ok to take it off to sip your coffee and eat your scone or whatever. Make sure you are meeting people outside for walks and visits. People seem to be keeping their distance in general, so you’re likely fine.

    6. I’m in a similar boat but not planning to go to the office until after the run of fun stuff I have in the next month (a music festival and two weddings). I get outside every day and try and see friends (outside) both weekend days. I’m doing a lot of outdoor dining and beer gardens, and it is good for the soul. Prioritising spending my risk budget on that over going to the office.

      1. Sorry, but I think categorizing cautious behavior as an “anxious syndrome” is pretty gross. I don’t think of myself as a very social person (I have a relatively small group of friends) and yet a bunch who are vaccinated have still gotten Covid (although not hospitalized) and are having problems weeks and weeks after. Not ending up hospitalized or dead is great progress–but that’s not the only marker to measure risk.

        There’s something in between making sure you get more social contacts/having fun experiences in life and deciding to work inside a coworking facility with a bunch of random public for no true resource need.

  4. My most useful car supplies include a little garbage can, lots of charging cables, and a small but powerful portable battery that can jump start my car. I have jumped my car a dozen times this year, because I rarely drive now due to COVID. These things are so cheap and easy to use that everyone should have one in their car.

    1. We bought an emergency kit. We also always have water and protein bars. We thankfully have not had to use it, but it does provide peace of mind.

    2. My brother got me a pencil tire gauge and portable air compressor. Easy to use from the comfort of my own carport.

    3. The portable battery is so great. I actually had mine delivered to my office via Amazon same-day in an emergency (pre-Covid).

  5. How is COS sizing and quality? I’ve been eyeing some items on their site, but I’ve never shopped there.

    1. I think it is cut for the straight of hip. If you love Theory, you are in business.

    2. I’ve bought a couple of coats and found they ran large, but both were somewhat oversized by design. The quality was OK. For example, one is a puffer coat and cold comes through the zipper (vs. my LL bean puffer that has a little insulating layer behind the zipper). The other is a trench coat, and disappointingly unlined. But I love the style of both coats enough that I was willing to overlook those details.

    3. COS is my favorite store! I find the quality to be consistent with the price point … I would say it’s similar to old J.Crew, when things were lined and lasted many years with decent care. The sizing is true to size, but given the cut and construction of most of their items, you have a lot of wiggle room and may want to try sizing down for some of the more voluminous styles. I love their stuff … I try to avoid going in to the store because I always find something I love whenever I stop in. Several of my favorite pieces are from there.

      One thing to keep in mind … they’re very slowly integrating their online and in-store operations. So if you buy online, there are only three physical stores that will accept your online purchases for return/exchange. If you don’t live near one of them, you’ll have to return via mail. I’ve returned via mail in the past and it took a little longer than some places, but it wasn’t terrible.

      1. I hadn’t heard of this brand before and I love what I’m seeing on the website. Do they ever have sales?

        1. COS is a fancy H&M – owned by the same company. Quality is about the same as some of the more high end H&M products. They do have occasional sales.

    4. I wear a size 8 and am usually a small at COS, so I think it runs large generally. Also I am 5 foot 4 and need to get most of the pants shortened.

  6. I’ve had two experiences with two different doctors lately where both got angry that I brought up more than one issue in the appointment. The first was my PCP, who said with obvious annoyance (at my annual physical) that “you should really make more than one appointment if you have multiple issues to discuss.” The second was a dermatologist who insisted that we could discuss either my broken capillary issue OR do a mole check, not both, and who practically shouted at me that this is “one ten-minute visit, what did you expect? you have to make another appointment!” Neither doctor had clarified this policy before the appointments. I’m high-risk and had put off both appointments for a long time due to the pandemic. It’s not an easy thing for me to come back multiple times.

    I’m in health policy and I understand the pressure to bill for more appointments, to rush through crowded schedules, etc. – but I also understand the push for patient-centered care and this wasn’t it. The doctors outright refused to answer my questions (although to be fair, the PCP grudgingly answered some of them) and showed obvious hostility. I felt belittled and disrespected and honestly, a little teary – it’s been really stressful putting off care during the pandemic and trying to navigate life as someone for whom the vaccine doesn’t work and then I got yelled at! Is this happening to anyone else? I had never had this happen before in my life, but now it’s happened twice in 2 months.

    1. Yeah, my PCP took me to task for piling up a bunch of questions to ask her at my physical. I thought my physical was when I was supposed to deal with the miscellaneous stuff. And then I got billed for two visits that day, the physical and a consult. I totally don’t understand how to deal with her moving forward.

      1. Isn’t it, though? I totally don’t understand doctors’ position here. It would be one thing to call and make a specific appointment for something like a sprained ankle and then want to talk about your blood pressure and cholesterol and pregnancy plans, but the annual physical is literally to “review your systems,” isn’t it?

    2. I tried to make an appointment for a physical in July and soonest I could get in was October. So yes, Im sure they are overburdened with pent up demand. Although I’ve also had a doctor tell me to make a second appointment for a secondary issue even pre-COVID. I think maybe you need to adjust expectations with the bigger picture in mind. Next time, try to mention all the reasons upfront when it is being scheduled so the person scheduling can allot more time. It may seem minor, but if everyone brings up secondary or tertiary issues (on top of things they find that they weren’t expecting to) you’ll have even longer wait times and be rushing someone else’s visit.

      1. OP here and for the derm, I did mention it both when I made the appointment (on the phone) and then again with the medical assistant today. No one EVER indicated a problem until the dermatologist came into the room and started getting angry.

        1. That completely changes things then. Yes, I’d be absolutely raging. What in heavens could they want then? Expecting someone to take time off and drive somewhere twice for no actual reason is ridiculous.

        2. I always used to bring a list of small questions for my appointments! The GP never seemed to mind. They were associated with the clinic at my work/in my office building, so maybe they felt more pressure to have patience. However, I really don’t see why that should be a problem, especially if there’s time… I’m sorry you had to deal with that.

    4. With an understanding that being a doctor right now probably sucks – both of these providers were out of line. The skin check at my derm takes ~2 minutes. And if you can’t bring up general complaints at your annual physical, where else can you? It’s one thing for a provider to say “hey, lets talk through these two issues and then schedule a follow-up for the rest;” it’s another to be so dismissive.
      I’d email the network they’re affiliated with and let them know what happened.

      1. Yes, and most health systems or even some practices have a patient advocate. Talk to that person.

      2. Skin check is a medical preventative service covered by insurance. A broken capillary is cosmetic. Completely different billing codes. They can’t be combined in 1 appointment.

    5. I haven’t had this exact thing happen, but I’ve had doctors warn me about how my bill would change. So if I go in for a physical/checkup it’s fully covered, but if if they find anything to treat or investigate, it becomes a different appt. type and may be expensive, so I guess they’ve taken to warning patients in advance about that.

      I did get fired by a doctor once though, since she said she simply didn’t have time to coordinate care with my specialists. I’m sure this was true.

      Life must be hell for doctors right now in so many ways. Insurance companies made a ton of money last year and are desperate not to suddenly become less profitable now that people are seeing doctors again.

      1. That’s so absurd though. Who goes to a physical and has NO issues uncovered? It’s such a money grab.

    6. Omg, no. Never in my life. I think you should complain directly to the medical/hospital system and to your insurance. I would also be switching doctors. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this, but I do not think this is your fault. (And, yes, I’m sure being a doctor sucks right now, but I’m in a really big hotspot and have had to go to dr. appointments over the last few months and have not had any doctor be too short to deal with my questions!)

    7. Yeah this happened to me with my current doctor and I need to find a new one. It was a 10 minute annual physical. She looked over my chart and updated my prescriptions, which at the time was an inhaler I hardly ever use. She also counseled me about my weight, which I didn’t ask for advice about. They charged me for 3 different appointments. When I called to ask why, the office said wow you got a lot of stuff done! No I didn’t. She literally looked at my chart and asked if I another scripts, I said sure why not just in case, and then harangued me about my weight. I guess it’s a fat tax? If you go in for a physical and you’re overweight by 5 lbs you should be prepared to pay for 2 appointments?

      2. hmm, interesting. I was a bit taken aback that at my last physical I was up 15 lbs, blood sugar up, cholesterol up, and the doctor said not a word about it. Personally I took it as a wake up call but maybe she was trying to not to stress me with a surprise bill?

    8. Wow, this has never happened to me and I am sorry it happened to you! I think, like most people, I “save up” minor issues before going to the doctor because making an appointment, going to the appointment, doing the follow-up stuff, etc. is time-consuming (and can be expensive). I’ve never had my doctor tell me I need to make separate appointments for each concern, especially if it’s something like “can you look at these broken capillaries and also do a mole check” which seem at least tangentially related, to me? The doctors you saw were out of line, IMO, and especially should not have yelled at you. I know people in health care are under a lot of stress right now but there’s always a different way to handle something than yelling or making someone feel bad for asking a question.

    9. OK, thanks all. I appreciate the gut check and the confirmation that this isn’t quite right. I’m getting a referral to a different dermatologist and will have to deal with the PCP next time I see her too.

    10. I’ve had a dermatologist tell me that I needed to make a separate appointment for a mole check when I went in to have a skin tag removed. She did answer a question about a separate issue, though the answer was basically that it wasn’t dermatological, and she couldn’t help me, so it didn’t take long.

    11. I’d say it’s out of line at your PCP, but my dermatologist now (and actually, now that I think about it, all of the ones I’ve had since I was in NYC) advised that a full body mole check was a separate appointment from any other issue and would advise me to ask the front desk to book a longer appointment or book a mole check plus consultation if I had any other issues. Maybe because dermatologists know that ‘mole check’ = fully covered visit (and I presume they don’t get a lot of $$ out of it) but consultation often is not fully covered and therefore is easier to bill separately?

    12. Unless you are being really high maintenance or demanding, I think you should look for new doctors. I just saw my PCP (annual physical) and derm (annual skin check) in NYC, and in both cases brought up other concerns that were on my mind and had no problems getting quick answers. E.g., I asked the derm about getting a mole removed and she said I should talk to a plastic surgeon and gave me a name. For the PCP in particular it seems really obvious they should be answering random questions at a physical; often they will answer questions over the phone anyway. If a pediatrician tried to do what you are describing, I can’t imagine what would happen – we used to call ours ALL.THE.TIME with concerns!

    13. I am with a group practice. My primary care doc left the practice in 2020. I decided to stay with the practice and was not picky about who they reassigned me to. Well, to be officially a patient of the new doctor, first I have to have an intake appointment which is separate from my physical. I have no idea why this should take two appointments. Especially since it’s the same practice and presumably the new doc has access to all my records from the previous doc.

      Fortunately I can afford the time and the $25 copay, but it makes me cranky. Oh, and the last physical I had was crap. They listen to you breathe, take your weight and BP, go over any prescriptions, and that’s about it. My gynecologist does a more thorough physical at my yearly appointments, so at this point I only have the GP for my blood pressure meds and I guess if I get sick.

      But even then – I came down with shingles a couple of weeks ago, could not get a same day appointment with the practice, so I made an appointment at the urgent care for a couple of hours later. And I am very glad I did, as was able to start meds that same day and I came through the shingles with minimal pain and damage. I really don’t understand the point of having a GP these days.

      1. I literally only do because my health insurance requires me to go annually for a physical and blood work and to have a GP on file. Without that, I def wouldn’t.

    14. I had a GYN do this to me once: she left the room twice, and then she billed for three “visits.” One was the well-woman check, which is billed and paid “low,” so I guess she wanted to recoup her time with the other six-hundred-dollar charges. She was also dismissive of other things (on a first visit! how can she know me!?), so I changed doctors.

    15. I’m sorry—your experience sounds terrible.

      My PCP always asks if I have any other questions during my physical and my derm also asks if I have any other questions during my mole check. If it’s something complex, I might need a follow up, but I thought these annual check-ins were the time to raise questions for these docs. If I discuss medication management for my chronic illness at my physical, my insurance does get billed for that and I have to pay a copay.

      In your shoes, I would try to find new doctors, possibly in a different health system. How awful if they’re under that much pressure from their employer.

    16. You should write a note to the practice manager. I’m in the field; patient experience counts and the only way they know you are unhappy is to have documentation.

      I could go on and on about the reasons for what happened to you, but the point is, something has to change. The scheduler has to schedule you differently, or the process needs to tweak his/her attitude, or whatever.

      Write the note. You’ll get attention.

      My friend is the CEO of a smaller hosptial and she reads nearly all patient complaints. Seriously! She even responds on our nextdoor.

  7. Has anyone had a (real, not a keyboard) piano while living in an apartment or condo building? Did it drive your neighbors crazy?

    I have a weighted keyboard and it’s fine, but of course the sound doesn’t compare to the real thing. But the best part about it for multi-unit living is that I can turn down the volume or even wear headphones with it and practice during very early or late hours without bothering anyone. I’m assuming I’ll have to put my piano-owning dreams on hold until get a single-family-home, but curious if anyone has made it work!

    1. I had an old upright piano while living in a two flat apartment. My landlords lived above me. I asked them if it would be OK and they said they’d love to hear piano music (they were classical music lovers) so they OK’d it. I am not sure they were prepared for the realities of what piano practice sounded like but they were always very kind about it. I did keep my hours reasonable though, no super early mornings or late nights.

      Since it was a San Francisco two-flat building, I also shared side walls with other flats, but no one ever complained.

      After that piano, I bought a Yamaha U1 (base level upright) but it had the Clavinova electronic piano built in. So I had the best of both worlds in terms of having actual hammer action but I could also play silently with headphones – it was as simple as shifting a pedal to dampen the keys and turning on the electronic bit. I don’t know if they still make this one but you could certainly find it used.

      Now I live in a house and have a grand piano because after 20 years of lessons my piano teacher felt there were things I couldn’t really master on an upright. But honestly, I kind of miss my Yamaha!

      2. I had no idea hybrid pianos were a thing. You learn something new every day!

        1. It’s a thing and they’ve been out for at least 20 years (as that’s when I had mine!)

          https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/pianos/silent_piano/index.html

          I like the explanation on Yamaha’s website.

          Yamaha is honestly the gold standard for upright pianos. They also make grands and some pro artists insist on Yamaha grands (which I suspect is due to brand deals) but I went with an antique Steinway for my grand. Partly because I got a really good deal on it.

    2. I agree up in a Manhattan apartment and learned to play on an upright piano. It’s very common in NYC! The main things are 1) make sure it doesn’t share a wall with another apartment and 2) be extremely courteous about hours you play. I was a kid, so basically limited to after-school hours. No one ever complained, but if you’re concerned, you could give your neighbors a heads up about the hours you plan to play and be flexible if they have concerns about those times.

    3. I have had an upright piano in an apartment and now have a tiny baby grand in my condo. My apartment was not well sound-proofed but my condo is. I limit my playing to reasonable hours (generally between about 5pm-8:30pm) and don’t play for more than 60 minutes or so at a time and haven’t had any complaints. And of course if anybody did complain, I would be totally happy to accommodate.

      That said, I think it’s possible to get a silent piano where a bar stops the hammer from hitting the keys. Might be worth looking into.

    4. My downstairs neighbor has a piano and he and his kids practice often. It bothered me just once over the course of last two years (when someone wa practicing very poorly the same 6 notes over and over and over and over for 1.5hrs on Saturday early morning – I put on headphones and went for a walk), so I say go for it.

    5. I used to share a wall with a neighbor who played piano and I loved listening to them practice.

      2. +1. My old neighbor was a professional pianist, and it was awesome to hear her practice. Felt like a free concert at times.

    6. As long as you aren’t spending 8 months a year practicing Christmas carols, you’re probably okay. *glares at my neighbor*

      1. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

        Sorry, that’s obnoxious.

        My neighbors’ teenage daughter has been learning piano for several years and she is getting really good. I listened to a lot of scales for the payoff we’re getting now!

    8. My former downstairs neighbor had a piano, we hardly ever heard it (live in a ~1900s brownstone though so pretty well insulated). She inspired me to start playing my flute in my apartment as well. Both of us seem to informally follow a sort of ~6-8PM rule on weekdays and 9AM – 8PM on weekends, though admittedly neither of us play all that often. She would sometimes have an ensemble practice in her apartment, with a trumpet and maybe a few other woodwinds. Never bothered me.

    9. My former neighbor two floors down had an upright piano and I HATED IT. My neighbor was very, very good at the piano, and I think probably had students, but it was terrible. Even worse was his love of classical music radio during the night. Almost legible contemporary symphonic music is so, so bad at three in the morning.
      This was an older apartment building, and the central heating pipes carried sound very easily.

      My current downstairs neighbor also has an upright piano and it’s fine. She plays during daytime only, and this building is a very sturdy new build, no shafts or pipes amplifying the sound.

  8. My fifth wedding anniversary is coming up and I had the idea that I’d like to do a photobook for a gift for my husband. What online sites are you all liking these days? I’ve used Shutterfly in the past. Any others that are good and easy?

      1. +1, but don’t pay full price, they rotate their offers pretty much daily so you just have to wait them out.

      1. +1. I made my husband a board book of photos of him and our baby for his first Father’s Day, and was very impressed with the quality. Also impressed with the customer service – the first iteration arrived with two tiny imperfections (not a huge deal, but on a $60 item, I was hoping for at least a discount). They overnighted me a new one for free.

      2. Seconding Artifact Uprising. Have been using them for years. We did the layflat album for our wedding album about 5 years ago. Pro tip – if you call them and say you are on a tight turn around, they can normally tell you which books/combinations will print the fastest.

      3. Third, fourth, fifth Artifact Uprising. It’s hands down the nicest of all the DIY options.

    4. I still just use Shutterfly. I used Printique (Adorama Camera’s site) for my wedding album and they screwed up the first book (printed a page twice). They fixed it, but honestly the quality wasn’t that much better than Shutterfly to justify how much more it cost.

      1. +1 I prefer Shutterfly. Our wedding album is Artifact Uprising and it is indeed more “luxe,” but Shutterfly has far more layout flexibility. Their software is also marginally less buggy than AU.

    5. I have used both Mixbook (for annual photo albums) and Milk Books (our wedding album). Milk books is hands down the highest quality DIY album I’ve ever seen. I signed up for emails to be able to capture a ~40-60% off coupon, which you can buy anytime during the promotion and then just hold on to until you’re ready to use it.

  9. Do you all buy travel insurance? I have an opportunity to travel to France and stay free but the ticket is expensive and who knows what with COVID. Any company recommendations?

    1. No, because the exclusions – especially related to Covid – make the policies pretty useless. Even if you splash out for “cancel for any reason” coverage, you typically only get back a portion of your nonrefundable expenses that you booked within a certain window. So if you get airline credit and hotel credit to reuse sometime in the future… that doesn’t count as nonrefundable.

      We “self insure” by purchasing only airfare that we get full credit for on airlines that we use regularly (i.e., American airlines rather than a foreign carrier that may only fly from the US to one country), and going with Airbnbs that have “flexible” cancellation policies.

    2. Based in Europe:

      I have normal year round travel insurance (in my union insurance deal), EU health certificate to get free healthcare in the EU, and travel insurance on my credit card travel purchases. My regular travel insurance is anything from going to the grocery store to international trips. I do think extra insurance is recommended for things like rock climbing or diving or going to the US.

      I don’t expect any of these to really help me with Covid cancellations because of national non-travel advice, but all flights I have booked the last 18 months have been more flexible than they otherwise would be.

    3. We always do, but more to cover health care or lost bags (we’ve definitely made claims for the former!) than for known risks like COVID. Ever since I saw a person need to be airlifted due to an accident abroad and not have insurance to cover it, I’ve been pretty rigorous about making sure I have coverage for airlift and repatriation of remains.

    4. I pay £13 or so a month as part of my debit account which gives me worldwide family travel insurance, U.K./European breakdown cover, and family mobile phone insurance. It’s also fee free abroad etc. The travel policy has changed now relating to Covid but in 2020 all three of our trips were covered for cancellation. It’s very handy to not have to think about travel insurance, and my parents have the same coverage and used it very successfully when they had a major health issue on the other side of the world.
      It may be worth exploring if you have access to anything similar.

  10. I am sorry, but why in the f*ck would you pour out coffee into a trashcan in your car that YOU have to empty??? That’s what the floor drain or planter in the parking garage is for.

    2. I would love to have this but the smallest setting (19”) is too wide. If anyone knows of a scaled down version, please share.

  12. Crowdsourcing all sorts of travel questions. If you had the choice in going to Europe and you had to do an overnight flight and a short connection (~2 hrs) flight, would you rather do the connection in the US (i.e. Chicago – New York, New York to small Euro city) or in Europe (Chicago to Amsterdam, then Amsterdam to small city?). Thanks!

    1. US, because then when I finally did get to wherever I was going I’d be there, instead of having to get on another flight after an overnight flight. The last thing I want to do after spending all night on a plane is waiting in the airport for a layover and then getting on ANOTHER plane.

    2. Keep in mind that the airport you land in from the US is where you will do passport control, and that requires time. Amsterdam passport control is usually pretty fast and well organized (I have been through this airport maybe 20 times and think the max I’ve ever waited there was 40 minutes in a line that looked insane but was actually moving pretty well).
      NYC Laguardia or JFK? Laguardia is more likely to see flight delays and issues, in my experience, than JFK, but at JFK 2 hours can feel tight if you have to switch terminals, if Chicago outbound is delayed, etc etc etc.
      Amsterdam airport means even if there is a problem, at least you’re already over, and is nicer also, so I’d probably do that.

      1. +1 to Schiphol being fast, but I wouldn’t doing passport control there with a two hour connection because of the risk of delays at origin. I’ve taken 4 flights this year, and 3 were delayed 1-2 hours due to mechanical issues/ late arrival of plane/etc. The airlines are really struggling to get ramped back up.

    4. Depends on which European countries.

      If your short connection is within Schengen and you don’t need to clear immigration more than once, I’d probably do the short leg in Europe, normally. Lovely to be over, more options if anything goes wrong.

      If your short connection in Europe has one country in Schengen and one outside, or two countries outside of Schengen, I might do the short leg in the US, though. The reasoning being that two separate passport control and immigration processes are never ideal, and absolutely not in Covid times, since you might have some layover Covid complications from formally entering more countries with different rules.

  13. Cold climate here, so for the car, essentials include salt and gravel, shovel, ice scrapes and snow brushes, thermal window blankets, warm blanket in case of engine fail, reflective vest, first aid kit and starter cables. The scrapes with an end mitten are very nice.

    For more universal nice-to-haves, umbrella, small bucket and plastic baggies for spontaneous berry or mushroom picking on outings, and a reusable Aldi style shopping bag. I have also been very happy to have had duct tape in the car, for taping mirror shards for emergency side mirror after a cracked one.

    2. This is brilliant – thank you. I have not heard of this blogger and too bad he doesn’t post more. Loved the one about undecided voters .

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