I am 100% guilty of this and delighted to know I’m in good company.

Almost ¾ of Irish adults have admitted that they use their cars as a storage facility in which to keep their clothes and toiletries. A new survey completed by Carzone, tracked the responses of more than 500 Irish adults. The practice is so common that they’ve coined the term ‘cardrobe’ to describe the behaviour. I feel included. Convenience is the main reason we keep items in our car with over 1 in 5 admitting they are too lazy to unpack their car on a regular basis. Turns out a tonne of us also use our motors as a hiding place. Over a third say they have used their car to hide expensive purchases from their partner but before you go making snide remarks, it would seem men are more likely to hide expensive items than women (43% men vs 28% women). Survey respondents admit that the value of the things they store in their car amounts to at least €400. And while my mother will absolutely kill me for admitting this, I am amongst the 48% of people who are unsure whether their insurance would cover the theft of these items. Carzone also asked people what was the strangest thing they have ever kept in their car. A goldfish, a bale of hay, a concert sized xylophone, a cast iron cauldron and a Christmas turkey are just some of the weird and wonderful things we have kept in our cars. One respondent also said their fiancé stored her engagement ring under the car seat while he mustered up the courage to propose! Commenting on the findings, Ailish Tully, brand manager, Carzone said: “It’s clear from the findings that the cardrobe is here to stay with many of us using our car as a second home. While it may be a handy place to keep items, we would urge people to consider the value of what is being stored in their car. Many insurance policies do not cover items stored in your car such as a phone, laptop or handbag and with the average person keeping up to €400 worth of items in their car, these items could be costly to replace. Our advice is to keep valuable possessions out of plain sight in your vehicle and to always check your insurance policy so you know what it covers.”