It’s week 25 of my Declutter 52 Things in 52 Weeks Challenge. If you haven’t signed up yet, join me today as I help you remove all those things in your home you no longer need or use.
The family go in it everyday, and so does a lot of other things. Food packaging, coffee cups, discarded tissues (ew!), toys, artworks from school, discarded shoes… the list goes on. Decluttering the car can very quickly feel like an overwhelming task, but with this week’s step-by-step declutter task it will hopefully feel a little less daunting.
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Decluttering Task #25
The Car
You probably know by now that I like to keep organised, and my car is no exception. I like to use storage containers to help organise my centre console. I’m very lucky to have a nice big deep centre console, but if you don’t you can use storage containers to utilise the space in your boot. I keep a nail file, lipgloss, tissues, pen, gum, hand sanitiser, moisturiser and an umbrella in my centre console.
The glove box is another area that can easily get full of papers, food and other things.
TODAY’S TASK: PURGE AS MANY ITEMS FROM YOUR CAR AS YOU CAN
- Put a plastic bag on each of your wrists, clean the contents on the front and back seats and floor, all the kids excess clutter, rubbish, and don’t forget the centre console and glove box! Put rubbish in one bag and items that need to be returned into the home in the other.
- Give the inside of the car a clean. My stick vac has a handheld attachment to make this process easy.
- I use my homemade wipes to clean the centre area and the dashboard.
- Determine what items you don’t mind keeping in the car.
- Add any new and/or current storage products to your car to help keep it organised.
- Place items you don’t use often in the back of the car.
MY TIP: I always feel so happy when I get in a clean and organised car, which is why I also recommend instilling this one simple rule (so that your car stays clutter free!): if you bring it into the car, it’s your responsibility to take it out again at the other end of the trip.
15 comments
Just in time Kit. My car really needs “the treatment” particularly after transferring the Grandchildren’s car seats to Grandads car. I have been putting it off for days. Thank you for the Nudge.
Hehe, you are very welcome Margaret! 🙂
Hi Katrina…yes clean and tidy cars are great to get into. Keep a couple of bags in your glovebox at all times so you don’t put off clearing the car out…but remember to replace them when you do. I also keep a microfibre cloth in the centre console for doing quick wipedowns of the dashboard and the inside of the front window.
Great advice Vanessa! I think I might do that 🙂
Great ideas, I am needing to do this. Any suggestions for keeping the car smelling fresh? Thanks
I’m not a fan of car air fresheners Donna, so instead I put a tube of fabric softener under the front passenger seat which gives the car a really nice smell. Kat x
What do you mean softener tube ??? Great idea
This is such an inspiring and motivating blog post! Love that you mentioned clearing out your car as that’s one many people forget about, but a tidy car makes car journeys so much nicer.
Glad you enjoyed it Francesca – thanks for the feedback 🙂
Always love your blog posts.. so motivational..
That’s so lovely to hear – thank you Sonia x
I loved doing this! Since my 3 kids leave sports gear in the boot I used a laundry basket to put it all in for them to bring inside and sort.
Your description above with kids artwork in the car leads me to ask, what do you do with it? I have so much, and new ones each week.
Glad this task helped Emma! Regarding artworks, I used to get a lot of them when my kids were younger too! I kept some of them, and filed them away for safe keeping. With the extra artworks, you could use these as wrapping paper – grandparents and other family members in particular love this!
Hi Kat,
My question is have you found a car that you’re happy with, I mean size wise?
I also have 3 kids, two of which are 6 foot and over. ?
I’m asking everyone in the same situation so I can make an informed choice down the track.
Thanks,
Danielle
Danielle my car has heaps of leg room, and that’s actually why we got it – so the kids weren’t cramped on long road trips. Now that my kids are older and I’m not driving them around as much as I used to, I find it a bit too big. Hope this helps 🙂 Kat x