The pleasant temperatures of spring and fall provide the perfect opportunity for garage clean-outs, but it’s also a great time to give a little TLC to the #1 object that should be in your garage: your cluttered car, van or truck!
Does your vehicle bear a close resemblance to a junkyard? Take heart and read on for tips on de-cluttering your car, cleaning your SUV, and keeping your van organized.
THE CLEAN-OUT
Grab a trash bag, a large shopping bag, and a box. Start at the driver’s seat and move clock-wise through the entire vehicle, taking out everything. Garbage goes in the trash bag, items that belong in the house go in the shopping bag, and things that will go back into the van sit temporarily in the box.
THE CLEAN-UP
Wipe the dashboard, seats, and inside of the doors using a rag and a vinegar/water solution in a spray bottle (baby wipes work well, also.) Shake the floor mats and spot-treat stains with rug cleaner. Vacuum the floor, the mats and the seats; then put the mats back in the truck.
THE CLUTTER SOLUTION
Separate the things you’ve placed in the box into categories based on where they need to live in the car.
- What needs to be at your fingertips while driving?
- What items come in handy and should be nearby, but not necessarily easy to grab while driving?
- What can be stored in the trunk?
Use containers to prevent items rolling around and getting lost. Collapsible bins in the trunk are perfect for the jumper cables and reusable grocery sacks; an over-the-seat organizer keeps the back-seat items easily accessible; a small cosmetics bag corrals lipstick, gum and hand sanitizer. Put your auto insurance card and registration in a baggie in the glove compartment so you can quickly access them in the case of an unfortunate mishap.
THE CLUTTER PREVENTION
Get in the habit of taking items that belong in the house with you every time you arrive home. Put an empty tissue box filled with plastic grocery bags under your front seat—now you always have a bag handy to carry everything into your house. The addition of a reusable trash collector will keep candy wrappers and tissues off the floor. Consider this bin or something similar.
Like it or not, Americans spend a lot of time in our vehicles. A cluttered car brings frustration and invites disaster if any of that clutter ends up under our feet while driving. An organized one makes life more efficient and our daily travels more pleasant.