Outdoors

By Marilyn Bohn

Do you feel you practically live in your car? Americans spend an average of 2 ½ hours per day in their cars. They are often command centers when we run errands, act as a shuttle driver to take children to school, chauffeuring to sport activities, music practice, or running back to school to take forgotten homework. We make grocery store runs and stop at the local nursery for gardening supplies, we have car pool days not to mention taking kids to play dates, taking the children to the park and maybe squeezing in time to meet friends for lunch.

If you use your car like a second home, cars can also get over run with stuff. Here are some great organizing tips for clutter control. It is important when driving to keep distractions and searching for things at a minimum. Create a system to help with clutter control where you keep everything you need at your finger tips without having to search under or between the seats or on the floor.

The Front Seat: The front seat is home to a family of things; chargers for cell phones and other electronic equipment, water bottles, magazines, sun glasses, books, cell phone, maps, directions to where you are going and snacks. But where do these end up? If your car is like a lot of cars these things are all over the front seat and are all jumbled so you can’t find anything.

Here’s an organizing tip to help with front seat clutter control: containers. A universal center console organizer conveniently holds all of the items mentioned above plus much more. It can fit on top of the passenger seat or between bucket seats. This web site at ebags.com has many different organizers for all types of vehicles. If an organizer is placed on the passenger seat it can be easily be moved when you need the seat and everything from there will stay in one place.

Another web site caselogic.com also has a wide selection of organizers. Their front seat organizer sells for $10.49. They sell glove box organizers, electronic organizers and MP3 Player or cell phone organizers. Also check your local variety stores for organizers.

Another organizing tip is to have a sturdy trash container you can easily remove and empty. This is essential to keeping clutter control in your car. Some trash containers strap to the back seat, or others fit between bucket seats in the front and back on the floor. When everything is assigned space then it is easy to stay on top of clutter control.

The Back Seat: If you have children that need something to keep them occupied when they are in the car a hanging organizer behind both seats holds CDs, school supplies, toys, books, snack containers and drinks. Behind one seat a removable tray could serve as a table for games or doing homework. A hanging trash bag could be secured on one side, not just a plastic bag, but a sturdier bag. By having things in easy reach of the children makes clutter control simple and yes, even easy.

Insulated seat back organizers that hang from the front or back of any seat keeps drinks chilled and snacks within reach of the child. An entertainment organizer that has pockets to hold videos or DVDs and CDs can be found at thebusywoman.com.

Trunk Area: Items scattered about such as a diaper bag, sports equipment, work out bag, hazardous road kit, first aid kit, or groceries can be efficiently contained in compartmentalized systems that make use of vertical space for clutter control. Place as many containers as needed to keep everything organized and in its place.

I recommend a bucket or trash basket in the garage so each time you pull into your garage you or your family can immediately take the trash out of the car. This is a good habit to teach children from the time they are about two years old. They will look forward to doing it and will feel so important from the praise they will receive.

With all the clutter control you have done you now have a “second home” you can be proud of.

About the author:
Marilyn is a creative organizer who helps women, seniors & their families to create space and end clutter in homes and offices by setting up custom made systems. Visit her website www.marilynbohn.com for free organizing tips.

Trunk Organizer – oversized

Front Seat Organizer-Black-Reinforced Sides

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