Car Organization

I do not like riding in dirty, messy, trashy cars. Who does? I really actually don't understand how people can have fast food wrappers, pop cans, papers, clothes, mugs, and junk strewn around their car. Go figure, I like my car to have only the essentials and to be spick and span and regularly vacuumed. It's certainly not necessary to be as compulsive as I am, but at least have some common decency. Oh, and kids are not a valid excuse to having a messy car!

As with just about any other organizing endeavor there are tons and tons of different strategies and systems to use when organizing your car. What you use really just depends on how big of a disaster area your car is. Newer cars seem to come more equipped to help you stay organized in your car since they have larger storage compartments throughout. Minivans are a godsend to parents simply for the space and organizational capacities they provide. So, step one is to seek out what is already there. Use the pockets behind the front seats, use the glove box and center console, use the overhead storage compartments if your car has them, and use any of the compartments on the doors to store your stuff.

If that doesn't solve all of your needs, consider moving into the trunk. I have an emergency kit in my trunk that encompasses a lot since I drive through the mountains a lot. Instead of having a dozen random items in my trunk I keep everything nice and tidy in a duffle bag in the trunk. If you like keeping a spare set of clothing, your golf ball collection or all of your CDs with you in your car, consider storing them in a bag or a clear plastic container inside your trunk. In doing this, they are out of the way and collected together.

I love things like CD holders, garbage pouches that attach to the center console, storage compartments that fix onto the front seat, under-the-seat storage, extra cup holders and clear plastic bins in the trunk. There are several options for making your car your storage warehouse while still keeping it organized.

As I say for just about everything, maintaining an organized car comes from you following through with the organization of the space. Your McDonald's wrapper doesn't magically end up in your trash pouch, just like the mud from your kids' boots doesn't get vacuumed by the clean fairy. These things fall on you to stick with. Clean out your car, decide what is necessary to keep in there, implement your organizational system and stick with it. If you fall behind, it's okay to start over again!