Fall Organizing for Your Car

Fall has arrived in North Texas! Now that school is back in session and kids’ activities are ramping up, it’s a great time to declutter your vehicle. We always say that a clean car is a happy car … and that makes for happy passengers!

A little organization goes a long way toward improving mood and helping you get more done in a day. It’s not easy to keep a neat and organized vehicle when you have family commitments, a daily commute, work, kids’ activities and a daily schedule, but we have some tips that can help make the grind a little easier!

Start with a clean slate. Designate some time to declutter your car by removing everything from the major compartments. Make three piles: keep, trash, relocate. Make sure everything that’s IN the car actually belongs in the car. Then thoroughly vacuum and clean the interior. Use spray cleaner and a microfiber cloth for the hard surfaces, and make sure to wipe out the cupholders, map pockets, console trays, etc. Relocate the items that don’t belong in the car to their appropriate homes.

Sort and store. After you thoroughly clean out the car, it’s time organize the “keep it” items according to who uses them and how often you need to access them. The major clutter spots in most vehicles are the center console, the glove compartment and the trunk or cargo area. To organize these areas, steer clear of just throwing like-sized items into each space. Instead, create zones where similar items belong in the vehicle so that you can always access them when needed. You can find inexpensive bins, containers and trays in a variety of sizes at a dollar store, Target, Wal-Mart or Amazon.

• Instead of the center console being a catch-all for spare change, phone chargers, hand sanitizer, sunglasses, medicine and other sundries, use small trays , plastic containers or even clear reusable bags to sort like-items together.
  
• Need snacks for the kids? Stash a container of easy, non-perishable snacks away under a seat for on-the-go.
  
• If you usually stuff your auto-related receipts and paperwork into a pile in the glove box, instead grab an accordion style coupon folio or an auto-specific glove box organizer to stash records, proof of insurance and other paperwork.
  
• Sort and store larger item like jumper cables, bungee cords, folding chairs for weekend soccer games, even diapers and wipes in a trunk organizer or lidded plastic storage tote.

Want more car care ideas? Check out this blog post on fall car care or this post on how to tackle your car’s hidden funk