Irresistible Ideas To Organize Your Car
Her name is Lilly. She has been in our lives for about 13 months, and we couldn’t be happier to have her. She is my Chrysler Town and Country minivan. We bought her when she was two, and she seems to adjust beautifully to our family. I am grateful to have her, so it is important to me that I keep her neat, clean, and organized as I plan to have her for many (MANY) years to come. I have said it before and I will go ahead and repeat myself here. Organization saves money. It does. I believe this all the way down to my toes. Let me show you how to organize your car and what supplies you should keep in it. This is how Lilly and I stay organized!
Small Town Living
Just like many of us, I am in my car a lot. Most things that I need to get to are at least a 20-minute drive. Groceries, Target, BJ’s, the bookstore, and any kind of entertainment like movies and restaurants are all in neighboring towns. Our little town has the important stuff. A small market that is too expensive (but has some excellent sales) resides in the center of town along with a drug store, two discount stores, a pizza place and an excellent bakery. Everything else that you might need, you need to travel to the neighboring towns.
It is a great place to live. You get that small town community feel where everyone knows everyone and if there is a family struggling, the entire town comes together for pancake breakfasts, car washes, and any other fundraiser that we can think of to help. But we are just a short ride to larger communities for shopping, movies, and date nights as well as museums and concerts.
If you travel a little further, you will encounter the capital city of NY just an hour away. Here, you have bigger malls, bigger museums, and more shopping as well as the airport.
Because of our location, I wanted a car that could fit all the things that I might need when I am traveling to these destinations. Because, let’s face it, if you are 30 minutes from home and you get a headache, the last thing you would want to do is drive back to grab some Advil. More than likely, you are going to run into Target to buy some. And we all know what happens when you run into Target for JUST ONE THING!!!
Organize Your Car
There are three storage places in my van that I have organized and that I will be focusing on in this post. The way back (as we call it) behind the third seat. The glove boxes and the center console. I have it laid out in a way where not only does it look tidy but it also serves a purpose. There are other places in Lilly that have useful storage spots like under the seat that stays above the floor. This area just holds supplies for my Special Needs son.
Lilly has two bucket seats and a bench seat. One bucket seat stays up, and the other is stored. If the four of us are in the van, my oldest sits in the bucket seat, and the youngest sits in the bench seat so he can stretch his very long legs out and plug in his phone. I know…go ahead and roll your eyes. I am as I type this! This gives me a lot of floor space behind the driver’s seat to put my Aldi hauls, Target treasures, and any other treats that I may pick up.
By the way, the back to school stuff is out! I love back to school stuff. I spent a good chunk of my fun money yesterday at Staples. They had my favorite pens on sale, and I needed smaller post-it notes. I was also there for supplies for a gift basket I am putting together for the Youth Theater Group here in town to raffle off.
The Glove Boxes
We have two. One on the top and one on the bottom. The one on the top holds two pairs of fuzzy gloves to use when I pump gas in the winter. My favorite gloves are white, and I don’t like wearing them to pump gas. They also come in handy in the summer to hold the ice cream when you and your husband go out on date night and buy Ben and Jerry’s ice cream at Target and eat it sitting in the van with the air running in the parking lot because it is to dang hot to eat it outside!!
I also keep a roll of travel garbage bags in there. I think they are intended for pet poop but they are perfect for the car and they came in this cute aqua polka dot case. Napkins from drive-through coffee places are kept in a semi-transparent plastic envelope to keep them clean and neat. There is also a glasses case in there. My sunglasses have a special place above the rear view mirror but if I am walking around outside, I may want to bring them with me. And they are prescription.
The lower glove box holds two umbrellas, a safety tool, a flashlight, and my husband’s sunglasses.
The Way Back
Back behind the third set of seats is a smaller space. My oldest uses a wheelchair most of the time for outings as he gets tired fast if he is walking around. I found this great transport chair that is lightweight and folds up nicely for the back of the van. My reusable shopping bags and thirty-one large utility totes live there also. I have a basket that holds travel coffee mugs, my car wipes, and the grocery bags. I have a blanket rolled up just in case! I also keep a shawl folded up on the side if I am feeling chilly!
It is important to me to think of the environment as well as saving money. There are stores in my area that charge for grocery bags so I make sure I have my own. And most places will charge you less if you bring your own coffee mug!
My Favorite Place
This may be the entire reason I bought this minivan. It is the center console. My last SUV had a very small compartment and one (YES…ONE!!!) cup holder! This center console has two compartments and FOUR cup holders! There is also two more in a slide out. Total selling point. Bravo Chrysler Marketing!
In the small top storage, I keep a little makeup bag filled with dental floss, a hairbrush, emery board, lotion, migraine meds, nail clipper, and tweezers. On the side are my business cards, Advil, deodorant, a plastic box with bobby pins, hair ties, and safety pins.
This way, I know I won’t have to stop someplace to buy these things if I find I am in need of them.
The basement level holds a lot of stuff! Pens, scissors, markers, a spoon (I know. Is that odd?), tums, gum, a small bottle of water, some travel size Norwex cloths, a reusable shopping bag, emergency coffee money, oil for my diffuser in with some spare change, and my phone charger. There is another makeup bag that holds a small bottle of hairspray, hand wipes, shout wipes, post-it notes, and a measuring tape. Being able to organize your car with all of these great nooks and crannies makes me happy!
Water in case of a dire need to take an Advil and to wet a cloth to wipe up a spill. Most of these things are here “just in case”. I would rather not spend money on something if I do not have to!
Saving Money
Having all of these things available to me in my car allows me to be prepared for many opportunities as well as minor disasters that might come up in my travels. Whether it be a quick jot over the mountain to Hobby Lobby or a road trip with the family, if it happens, I may have a solution within arms reach. It is important to me to show you how to organize your car so you are prepared for situations that may come up. It has saved embarrassment, uncomfortable moments, frustration, and most importantly, money. Organization saves money!
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