How to Organize Your Vehicle

If you’re a busy mom or a business owner, you are familiar with your car being like a second home. Shuffling kids to activiites, running errands, pulling over for client calls, driving to consultations - we spend a ton of time in our vehicles! The sheer amount of papers, empty chip bags, and gum wrappers, are enough to drive anyone crazy. With a few strategic organizing solutions, we can create a clean and functional space for on the go.

Here is a step-by-step guide to organizing your car, complete with must-have items like a trash can, organizers for your consule, and emergency supplies.

Start with a Clean Slate

Before diving into organizing, we have got to clean out that hot mess car! Listen, there is no judgement. Here’s a secret, organizers have the messiest cars of anyone I’ve ever met. Don’t ask me why. It’s a thing.

So empty it out. Yes, completely. The glove box, the console, the trunk, all of it. Toss the trash and take anything inside that doesn’t belong in your car. Give it a good wipe down and vacuum, and maybe add a smelly good.

Check out this car vacuum on Amazon. Great reviews, and it has a blower option too!

Organize the center console

At this point, you’re looking at an empty clean car and a pile of items that need to come back into the car. Decide what items you need easy access to in the center console. This is prime real estate, so choose wisely.
This is what I keep in mine:

• Tampons

• Backup Sunglasses

• Pens

• Extra business cards

• An envelope for business receipts

• Charger

• Hand Sanitizer

• Chapstick

I use these home edit organizers to keep things neat and tidy in the console. These are a game changer!

Organize the glove box

Truly, there isn’t much organizing that needs to be done here. The only thing I recommend keeping here is your vehicle manual, insurance card, and napkins or wipes as these often don’t fit well in the center console.

Organize the Trunk

There is very little that should be kept back here, if you can help it. The reality is, when hauling kids around, sometimes you need to keep some basics in the car. Plus you need some emergency supplies. Here’s what I keep in my trunk.

• Jumper cables

• First-Aid Kit

• Basic Tool Kit (for work)

• Trash Bags (for work)

• Kids’ necessities (extra change of clothes, minimal amount of toys)

• Car cleaning items (wipes and small vacuum)

If you have some hidden storage cubbies in your car, utilize those. If not, I like these trunk bags that keep things stored nicely.

Add a trash can

Car trash with kids is a major problem. Solution: add a trash can and empty it every time you get gas. I really don’t care which trash can you get, just get one that works for you and place it where you can actually reach it. Here are a few trash cans I like:

Maintain your organized car

Now that your car is nice and clean and organized, let’s keep it that way! Easier said than done, right? It’s all about building new habits and creating a routine. My suggestion is to pick a day of the week that works best for you, and complete the tasks listed below. This may be Sunday afternoon when you’re already working outside in the garden, or maybe its Friday after the kids get home from school, or maybe its after soccer on Saturday. Whatever feels the most natural for you.

• Empty the trash

• Bring items inside that belong inside

• Wipe + Vacuum

• Restock supplies

Enjoy Your Organized Ride

Pat yourself on the back and enjoy!

Hi, I’m Naomi!

Founder of Charming Spaces, professional organizer, wife, mom of three and passionate advocate for women.

I hope this blog is everything you’re looking for, but feel free to shoot us a message and follow us on Instagram!

Five Organizing Products Professional Organizers Say NOT to Buy

The organizing industry is booming, and with that comes an endless stream of products promising to solve all your clutter problems. Some of these will be useful. Others create more issues than they solve and ultimately lead to more clutter. As professional organizers, we’ve seen it all—closets overflowing with unused bins, pantries cluttered with “organizing solutions” that don’t actually work, and garages stacked high with well intentioned purchases that only ended up adding to the chaos.

So before you fill your cart with yet another organizing gadget, here’s a list of a few products our team recommends you do NOT to buy.

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1. This toy storage solution

We have never seen this work well. Here’s why these end up in the donation pile.

• Kids don’t put things back. The number one goal of an organized playroom is that the kids can clean up after themselves. The way this shelf is set up, they end up just throwing toys in random bins and it becomes a catch all.

• It doesn’t maximize storage space: this design limits the type and size of toys that it can actually fit.

• It looks bad. I mean honestly. This multi colored look is only adding to the visual clutter. Plus, even after it’s “organized” it still looks messy because everything is on display.

Try this Instead

A cube shelving system. These are so versatile and hold a ton of items. You can use them for storing items for every age group from baby and toddler toys to video games to college text books. Bonus: they’re about the same cost as the plastic toy storage organizer.

2. Hanging Fabric Closet Organizers

These organizers hang from a closet rod and seem like a great idea, but they are not. Here’s why.

• You lose hanging space. Often these are added to already small and cramped closets to add storage space. The problem is now you are losing precious hanging space.

• They encourage stacking items. Stacking items is rarely a great way to organize things. Stacking makes it difficult to get to an item on the bottom and difficult to put items away neatly.

• They look bad. The shelves sag under weight and the items on the shelves are on display, causing visual clutter.

Try this instead

Add baskets to your closet to hold the same items. Try adding a smaller storage cube shelf to the floor, or using an over the door organizer.

3. Hanging Fabric Gift Wrap Organizers

Another well intentioned product that just doesn’t work. Here’s why:

• The pockets aren’t the right size. They rarely work for gift bags.

• They don’t hold enough. We often see these overflowing with bows and bags that don’t properly fit.

• They’re cheap and often the weight of the wrapping paper ends up tearing the pockets.

• They look bad. Again, all of the items are on display adding to the visual clutter.

Try this instead

Over the door Elfa Gift Wrap Solution - only if you have a minimal amount of gift wrap. If you have a collection, try storing in bins, separated by type (holiday, paper, bags, bows, etc).

4. Stackable Can Organizers

Pantries can be challenging to keep organized. These look like a dream solution…until you actually use one.

• They often don’t fit standard pantry shelves and hang off the edge, causing a safety issue.

• They only make sense if all the cans in each row are the same item.

• They are difficult to re-stock and therefore, not practical.

Try this instead

3 tiered shelf for larger amounts of cans or turntables for a more minimal amount of cans. Both of these options give you more visibility and accessibility to your inventory, making them a more functonal option.

5. Pre-Packaged or Varity Packs of Organizers

These might be a pack of nesting baskets, a variety pack of pantry canisters, or a variety pack of drawer organizers. In any case, steer clear of these.

• The sizes aren’t practical. We often purchase these because we need one or two of the items and we think, why not get a set? With a set, many of the items included are the wrong size. You rarely need itty bitty plastic canisters, for example.

• Varying sizes of organizers often look like visual clutter when actually in use.

Try this instead

Measure your space and get exactly what you need at a place like The Container Store, where you can purchase the exact size in the exact quantities for your particular project. The more your products match, the more appealing they will be to the eye.

Hi, I’m Naomi!

Founder of Charming Spaces, professional organizer, wife, mom of three and passionate advocate for women.

I hope this blog is everything you’re looking for, but feel free to shoot us a message and follow us on Instagram!

How To Save Your Kids’ Artwork, While Also Saving Your Sanity!

Do your kids bring home entire backpacks full of art projects and worksheets? Don’t let this pile overwhelm you! Let’s look at some easy ways to cherish some incredible art and then introduce the lesser pieces to the recycling bin!

Before we try to create memories from the masterpieces, let’s pull out what doesn’t need to be saved. I know we all love our kids and want to treat everything they do as special, but for the sake of your home and mental well-being, you do not need to keep every worksheet and coloring-book page they’ve ever scribbled on. Only keep and organize the art you want to look at again. Do you only want to keep the Mother’s/Father’s Day cards they’ve made?-- That’s ok. Do you only feel sentimental towards the crafts with handprints?—No problem. You get to decide how much or how little stays! 

Now that you’ve filtered out the crumpled worksheets and crayon doodles, it’s time to organize and preserve the treasurers that remain. There’s no point to saving something if it is not being stored in a manner that will prevent damage. Additionally, your storage method should reduce the clutter around your house, not add to it. Let’s look at some of our favorites!

• File Box

As Houston-area professional organizers, this has become our go-to method for organizing artwork. It consolidates all of the art into one simple filebox and neatly organizes it by school year! Perfect!

• Create A Book

Ready to go paperless? There are many great services that can create beautiful books of your child’s art. Several of our clients have had success organizing art with ArtKive. Alternatives like Scribble and Shutterfly offer a more DIY approach and they include the ability to include photos of your kids. You’ve just replaced messes of paper with a beautiful coffee table piece! Magic!

• Google Drive

For a completely digital option, you can create a folder in your Google Drive. Just like a file box, this gives you the option to organize by school year. And you can do it all from your phone as soon as the art comes into your house. This completely avoids clutter on your counters! Easy!

• Document Box

What if you can’t bear to part with the originals and some of the art is too big for a file? Create a box specifically for art. Underbed storage boxes are the perfect size for larger art projects. Or, elevate the look with a document box from The Container Store. Everything just goes right in the box! Simple!

Document Box from The  Container Store

• Display Wall

Want to enjoy your child’s art without cluttering up every surface with paper stacks? Turn it into whimsical decor with frames. A display wall is the perfect way to encourage your little Picasso! Fun!

Organizing your kids’ art will solve two problems at once. It will remove clutter from your home and allow you to properly store these precious childhood memories. So go ahead and tackle this before all those beautiful creations turn into a crumpled mess at the bottom of a backpack!

Hi, I’m Meghan

Professional organizer, mom, former educator, wife, and auntie. I am dedicated to minimalism, greener living, and community service.

I believe organization can relieve stress and help all aspects of your life function more smoothly. I hope the information here can help you create a more peaceful home and lifestyle!