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Hit the Road as a Family {Free Bingo & Essentials List}

Do you love heading out road trips with your family?  We certainly spend a lot of time in our minivan in the spring and the summer.  We drive to and from the baseball fields all spring and spend more time each weekend with family as the weather warms up and we can get outside again!  Keep reading to hear how I get our minivan ready for us to the hit the road as a family.

Get your Car Ready to Hit the Road as a Family

First things first – to ensure your car is ready to hit the road you have a few standard maintenance items you should make sure are complete.

• Check the oil – make sure you get an oil change if you are due.
• Check the windshield wiper fluid.
• Make sure your cabin air filter is clean.
• Check your cars recommended maintenance schedule.  Complete any necessary work.
• Fill up the gas tank and hit the road!

Hubby is the car maintenance man – my skill levels include passing tools and holding a flash light if necessary.  We take the car to the dealer for its oil changes but other maintenance he takes care of himself.  He checked the fluids and then decided to look in the cars owner manual to see if there was anything else that should be done.  He saw that he should check the cabin air filter (Make sure you follow recommended change intervals as noted in your vehicle owner’s manual.)

I did a quick online search at Walmart to see what cabin air filter my car needed.  If you don’t know what filter you need or even if you car has a cabin air filter the search tool at Walmart is perfect for you!  I honestly had no clue we had a cabin air filter – and I found out they are frequently an overlooked part of routine car maintenance that you could easily do yourself.  I wrote the part number down and picked it up on my next trip to Walmart.

So…now you know you have a cabin air filter – but what exactly does it do for you?  Cabin air filters clean the air that you breath in the car.  With my quick  search I found that FRAM Fresh Breeze® cabin air filters were the best choice for me to help keep the air in our car clean and protect my family against dirt, dust, and allergens.  The FRAM Fresh Breeze® cabin air filter is the only cabin air filter on the market that uses the ARM & HAMMER® baking soda to provide a natural deodorizing of the outside air.

Ok – so now I’ve convinced you to change your cabin air filter and the big question is…how?  I will walk you through how Hubby (with me as moral support) changed our cabin air filter in our minivan but if you want directions specific to your cars make and model by sure to visit FRAMFreshBreeze.com to see the instruction guides they provide in the part lookup section.  These installation guides are great as you can watch a video or read written instructions.

Changing our Cabin Air Filter

1. Search on Walmart.com to find the part number for your FRAM Fresh Breeze® cabin air filter.
2. Order online (or write the number down to purchase the item in store on your next visit).
3. Once you have your FRAM Fresh Breeze® cabin air filter get ready to install.
   1. Find your installation guide at FRAMFreshBreeze.com (you can even have this texted to your phone for ease of access during the installation process).
   2. Empty your glove box.
   3. Remove the new FRAM Fresh Breeze® cabin air filter from the packaging.
4. Our next step was to disconnect the arm on the left side of the glove box.
5. Once the arm is disconnected you release the glove box by pushing in on both sides of the glove box until the glove box disengages and swings freely towards the floorboard (it is still attached by the bottom hinge).
6. Locate the cabin air filter tray – this is towards the top of the compartment.
7. Once located unlock the tray by pushing in on the left and right side tabs.
8. To remove the tray pull it out straight towards you.
9. Remove the dirty filter from the tray.
10. Put the new filter in the tray with the air flow arrow pointing down.
11. Replace the air filter tray and ensure it locks back into place.
12. Reattach the glove box by putting in position and pushing in on both sides to re-engage the glove compartment stops.
13. Finally reconnect the arm on the left side, put everything back in the glove box, and close it.

Family Road Trip Essentials Kit

Now that your car is ready, I wanted to also share our families road trip essentials.  We have a tote in the back of the van that contains most of our essentials – others like snacks and the kids activities are in their seat back organizer or up front with me.  Take a peek at how I keep us organized and get a list of the essentials I wouldn’t leave home without before a road trip.  Since we have a dog I also always have a portable water dish and pet waste bags with us in the car as well.

Download your own free Road Trip Essentials Kit Printable below:

Road Trip Essentials Kit

Road Trip Car Bingo

Spring is in the air in Maine and we are just starting to think about spending more time out and about.  More time out equals more time in the car.  As a mom I like to have a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to longer car rides.  My kids are getting older but they still start to get a little stir crazy when they are cooped up for hours.  I decided to make a fun Road Trip Car Bingo game for the kids to play.  

Download your own Free version of Road Trip Car Bingo below:

Road Trip Car Bingo

I created four different game boards.  If you want the cards to last for more than one game I would suggest printing on card stock and laminating.  

• Print Cards on cardstock
• Laminate the cards
• Cut each sheet in half to make two game cards
• Use dry erase markers to mark the items found with an “x”

If you are gearing up for a big road trip make sure you take the time to complete all necessary maintenance and pack the essentials!