Your car is often your home away from home. According to the US Census Bureau, the average Baltimore commutes 29.7 minutes to work each day. Since, on average, we spend almost 5 hours in our car driving to and from work each week it’s important that our car is a place where we are comfortable, relaxed, and productive. That average figure doesn’t include going to the grocery, driving the kids to and from summer camp, summer vacation, etc. So in reality we spend a lot more time in our cars – is your car organized enough to make traveling enjoyable and productive?

Clean and organized car

On The Oprah Show on July 1st (a rerun of the March 18th episode) Peter Walsh, professional organizer, and Oprah showed us a family’s SUV that was not only filthy but overflowing with trash and items that simply put – do not belong in the family car. Even if your car is not as bad as this family’s car it’s important that you keep your car’s interior clean and organized to prevent your car from looking like this! An organized car makes a family more productive – they spend less time looking for ‘lost’ items, each family member has a seat in the car, and less money is wasted re-buying items because they forgot or can’t find the same item they already bought.

A visor organizer to store CDs in the car

Start by completely emptying out the car. As you empty the car sort like items with like items (ie. create categories of all the miscellaneous clothes, the sports equipment, food, trash, etc.). Once the vehicle is completely empty – take the time to clean it. Clean all the interior surfaces – dashboards, rugs, seats, etc.

Before you start putting all the items back in the car determine what items need to go in the car. Chances are clothes should go in your bedroom closet, not your car trunk! Next, designate one place in the car for trash. Consider using a side door pocket. Put a small plastic bag in the door pocket to keep the door pocket from getting sticky, wet, etc. Or make a rule that any trash that can cause odor or spill gets thrown away outside of the car.

If you keep CDs in your car, limit your selection to your current favorites and use a visor storage organizer. These are ideal to keep CDs confined to one space and they keep CDs from getting scratched. When you are ready for some fresh music selection, change out the ones in the car with a few from your collection you keep in your house. If you have kids in the car consider using 2 visors to store music – one for kids’ music and one for adults’.

Other items to store in the car trunk or glove box include a first aid kit, emergency road kit (flares, jumper cables, etc.), and 2 empty trash bags (in case you have muddy shoes you can use the bags to protect your carpeted floor mats). Double check to make sure your insurance card is up to date and your necessary registration papers are stored accessible in the car’s glove box.

This routine should be done each spring and each fall to ensure your car stays organized and clean. Make sure all family members pitch in to help and are aware of the new car rules! This will help your hard work pay off longer.

How do you keep your car organized?