I want to preface this post by speaking to all of the Moms that have little ones at home. Do not read this post and think you’re a bad Mom because your car is never clean and organized! When I had 4 kids under the age of nine, my VAN was a wreck. There was no telling what you would find rolling around in my car. I once found a bottle, half full, under one of the seats…I wondered why the van had a funky smell- Duh! You Mommas will have plenty of time to keep your car how you want it when your kids are older and in school all day!! OK, lecture finished….on with the blog!
A few weeks ago, when the temperatures were above 40 degrees I decided to clean the winter muckety- muck out of my car. I dreaded this day like the plague, but I know it needed it so badly! Each time I got in the car, I saw the dust piled up on the dashboard, the doggie nose prints on the windows, but the thing that bothered me the most was ALL OF THE SALT on the floor. Thank goodness I had great floor mats that caught most of the salt, dirt, melted snow and candy wrappers from the months previous! I started with cleaning the floor mats…taking them out, dumping them in the grass and then washing them out. What a huge difference that made!
I then vacuumed out the rest of the car without the mats in there and found massive amounts of dog hair, bobby pins, and pens- now I know where all my pens went!!!
Here are the floor mats all clean…
and how they look back in the car! Can you hear the Halleluiah chorus singing?? I can!
I then took the time to ORGANIZE my car. *insert giddiness
I started with the door compartments. Umbrellas for both sides and books on CD for long car rides.
The glove compartment was next. No gloves here! haha!
The most used part of my car, without a doubt, is the console between the front seats. It stores a multitude of items that are needed on a daily basis!
My cup holder section is very simple. It’s simple for a reason…it’s saved for water bottles, sunglasses, garage door opener, and my phone. BUT. this is also the place that trash (dirty kleenex and wrappers) collect. I try really hard to keep it cleaned out, but it’s a challenge!
Last, but not least, was the trunk area of my car. This area is usually empty most of the year, but with Spring being here and weather being unpredictable for my daughter’s softball games, I need to be prepared! Right now I carry a basket and a bag in the back. The photos below show what items I keep in each container. I’m sure I’ll add more things to the basket- sweat shirts, jackets, gloves, etc. as the season progresses.
Thanks for taking the time to check out my post- I LOVE sharing with you all!!
See you again on Friday for my Week in Review post!!
It looks so nice, clean and very organized…..
Let’s hope it stays that way!!!!
My grandkids are getting a little better, I still find matchbox cars, single mittens, and a while back I found an extra clean pull up, stuck in the pocket, the joys of our children. I so enjoyed this. I love your blogs. Lol.
Very great ideas! Your car is well organized. I would love it if you joined and contribute your awesome posts at my link party at City of Creative Dreams, starts on Fridays 😀 Hope to see you there at City of Creative Dreams Link Party.
Just a quick safety note.
Don’t leave your registration documents in the car:
a) Thieves steal the garage remote and note your address from your registration paperwork. While your car is parked at work or the mall, they help themselves to your things. This is particularly bad if you have an attached garage. The doors between garages and houses are often left unlocked, less secure than external doors and/or easily compromised in the extra time provided by privacy of your garage. Also bad if you are out of town on a road trip. (Similar to having a home address on luggage — lets thieves know that the odds of you being home are low.)
b) Your registration document is needed to transfer title (at least where I live.) Your signature can be forged, the transfer made and your car resold before you know it is even missing.
c) If there is a school logo or team name on things in the soccer bag, creeps will know the approx. age of your daughter, her home address and school (or sports club.) Potentially dangerous info in the wrong hands.
Sorry to be a bit of a downer, but there are some awful people out there. Unfortunately most of us aren’t aware when we leave ourselves vulnerable.
Other than that, it looks awesome. Great job!
Excellent idea to use bins to organize your console. I can never find what I need, so am going to adopt your idea.
If you want to free up your sunglass cupholder, they have sunglass clips that attach to your visor. They aren’t the prettiest, but do work well.