On The Go Summer Bag

by Kristen Kanoski

When I was s a nanny I had a backpack that I took to work with me every day.  It had everything we needed if we went out, whether if it was a planned outing or a spur of the moment outing.  Now as a mother I have a bag that I keep in my car for when we are out.  Sometimes with my son we will go out to run an errand and then we will stop by the park, for an unplanned trip and I want to make sure I always have everything I need.  I have broken it down into sections to show you what I have.  I like to zip them in Ziploc bags that are labeled with each category so I always know which bag to look in.  Some things I keep in a smaller Ziploc bag so the big bags don’t get messy.

First Aid Bag

Band-aids or first aid kit

Toothpaste (really great for taking the sting out of a bee sting)

Sunscreen (I keep a small travel size one just in case I haven’t put any on, or need to reapply)

Tissues

Old washcloths (to get wet to help cool off if too hot or if a really bad scrape needs to be cleaned)

Ear plugs

Citronella bands/skin-so-soft (I use these because I don’t like to use products like OFF)

Miscellaneous

Tide-to-go or Shout wipes

Pampers clean and go (my all time favorites) or baby wipes

Hand sanitizer

Big and small Ziploc bags

Plastic grocery bags (wet clothes, garbage, etc)

Hand-held fans (love the ones with foam blades, kids can’t hurt themselves, most dollar stores carry them)

Beach towel

Picnic blanket (love tuffo)

Water bottles (I pack a reusable one so I can buy a big water bottle and then we can share, if I happen not to pack some water to drink)

Clothes Bag

Hats

Sunglasses

Water shoes/sandals (so much easier to clean after being in a sandbox)

Extra shirts and shorts

Toy Bag

Bubbles (love the small bottles)

Chalk

Balls

Sand Toys (laundry mesh bags are great)

Water squirters

Coloring pad, coloring book, pencil box, with stamps, crayons and markers)

by Kristen Kanoski

Kristen was a professional nanny for 20 years. She is now a full time mom to her son Jack but she still stays involved and in touch with her colleagues in professional nanny field. She is  an independent consultant for Tastefully Simple