Organizing Your Car
Brought to you by Joan Kosmachuk,
Professional Organizer and Personal Life Coach

“Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.” Unknown

On a recent episode of Oprah’s “Messiest Homes in America,” a very disorganized and messy van was hauled in for a makeover. There were great groans from the audience when the back door was opened to reveal piles and piles of stuff. But this couple is not alone. I see these cars, vans, SUV’s parked all over North America. So many parents spend half their day shuttling kids from one activity to another and all the accompanying clutter that goes with them. By the time everyone piles out of the car at the end of a busy Saturday, it is all too easy for everyone to choose to leave the clutter behind. So here are a few simple steps for organizing your vehicle’s interior:

Step One: EMPTY IT.

Place several bins, boxes or paper bags alongside your vehicle. Mark them as follows: “Trash”, “Belongs in the house”, “Belongs Elsewhere (library books, store returns, items borrowed from friends etc.) “Belongs in the Car”. Be sure to go through the ENTIRE interior of your vehicle including the trunk and under the seats, glove compartment etc.

Once your car is totally empty, take the trash to the trash bin and place the “Belongs in the House” bin in the house. Set the other two bins in your garage and we’ll deal with them in Step Three.

Step Two: CLEAN IT.

Vacuum your car’s interior. If you aren’t able to do this at home, you can find one at your local carwash or pay for a car wash that includes an interior cleaning.

Step Three: SORT IT.

A. Take the “Belongs in the Car” bin and sort the contents into smaller piles of “like with like”.

Some common categories are Maps, Emergency road kit, First Aid kit, Tools, CD’s, Car seats, glasses, travel mugs, electronic devices such as cell phones, chargers, GPS, IPOD etc.

Depending on your lifestyle you may have other “unique to you and your family” items as well. Sales people often have need for a mobile office; coaches keep sports equipment, medical supplies for a special needs child and so forth. Make sure you have clear categories for EVERY thing that you’ll be storing in your vehicle on a regular basis.

B. Take the “Belongs Elsewhere” Bin and separate it by location i.e. Store Returns, Returns to friends/family, Rental Returns etc. Then label paper shopping bags or canvas tote bags for each category. Place your items in the totes. Make a “to return list” for yourself for the current items so you won’t forget they are there.

Step 4: CREATE A HOME FOR IT

This step may take a little thought and ingenuity and it may require some additional products for your vehicle, but if you make sure that EVERYTHING has a suitable home in your vehicle, you will find it makes a huge change in your ability to keep it organized.

Portable Office containers, trunk trays, over-the- seat pouches, visor clips, smart pads and so forth can all help to keep things in order. Be creative and use what you have around home but invest in products you don’t have as well – EVERY item stored in your vehicle needs a good home!

Don’t forget to leave space to store your “return” totes as well. And place your “to return” list in a dashboard or visor clip where you can check it each day as you head out.

Step 5: KEEP IT CLEAN

Be sure to return all used items to their homes when you arrive at your final destination.

Make sure your car has a trash bag and that everyone uses it and empty it several times a week.

Shake out floor mats weekly and vacuum as often as needed. Dust your dashboard.

If you feel you can’t manage this task, assign it to the teen that wants to borrow the car, or pay for a carwash service to do it for you. A clean car motivates everyone to tidy up.

If you need help organizing your vehicle, consider getting professional input by hiring a professional organizer. To hire the services of Joan Kosmachuk, please email your request to info@simpleeffects.com or call 617-784-0707.

If you found the information in this newsletter to be of value to you, please feel free to forward it to your friends and colleagues; you'll be helping them organize their lives.

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