Is Your Car Driving You Crazy? Tips for Keeping Your Car Organized!

My car is like a second office. With everything I need to keep on hand, it can get cluttered pretty quickly. Therefore, I have to be creative with such limited space. Here is what I have learned over the years.

Get a clean start! When doing the initial organizing, give your car a good deep cleaning! Once your car is clean, it will make you think twice about cluttering it up. If possible, use your home vacuum cleaner. The ones available at service stations just aren't up to par. Also, your vacuum cleaner most likely has all the attachments that make it necessary to get into all those crevices. If necessary, shampoo the rugs and upholstery (it might be easier to take it to a professional for this service). When I do a deep clean, I use glass cleaner to wipe down all the windows and surfaces. It really makes the car sparkle. Lastly, get a nice air freshener. Cars can develop odors quite quickly and a nice aroma will make it a pleasant place to be in.

Get down to basics. Think about what you use your car for the most and store only those items that are related to those functions. If you use your car as an office, use a portable case to contain files. Other things to keep handy are a few pens and your cell phone. Invest in a good work bag to contain any other items you might need such as your appointment book, laptop and loose business papers. Use a thin binder for mileage forms and stow it between the seats for quick access. Make a point to write down mileage every time you start and stop your trips. Waiting until later makes for a lot more work.

If you use the car for toting around the kids, you might want to have some activity books, crayons, snacks and drinks on hand to keep the little ones busy. Another handy item to keep in the car is a canister of baby wipes which are great for cleaning a variety of sticky messes.

Be creative with the existing compartments of your car. Use extra cup holders for holding pens and a small pad of paper. I have re purposed the ash tray for a place to store my cell phone. Also remember to consolidate items if possible. Take CDs and DVDs out of their cases and store in an disk organizer. They will take up a lot less space and reduce the potential for clutter. If your car doesn't have many built in storage options, consider purchasing products specifically designed for the car. Here are some links to products that might be useful.

http://www.organizeyourride.com/site/990177

http://www.spacesavers.com/auto-organizers.html

http://www.lillianvernon.com/catalog/thumbnail.jsp?parentCatId=3&catId=31

Check out this cool product! http://www.spacesavers.com/superstickypad.html

Be prepared! There are certain things that are helpful to keep on hand regardless of how your car is being used. I recommend having the following: kleenex, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, a few pens and a small pad of paper, empty grocery bags for garbage (store these in an emtpy kleenex box), first aid kit, emergency car kit (blanket, flares, reflective signs, flashlight), and bottled water.

Regular maintenance. The key to keeping the car organized is regular maintenance. When you leave your car for the day, take a few minutes to gather trash into a plasic bag and wipe down any surfaces that have spills or stains. Also take time to put items back into their places and re stock items like snacks and empty bags. The few minutes it takes will be time well spent! Schedule deep cleanings on a regular basis. I do this on the same day as I do a deep cleaning of my house (refer to previous post..http://simpleorganizing.blogspot.com/2009/03/routine-cleaning.html). Remember that keeping organized is about building habits!

Happy Organizing!