It is so easy to make a mess in the car. You’re driving and eating, driving and talking, driving and dealing with a dog in the car, driving and listening to music… very rarely do we just get into the car and drive somewhere in silence without touching any other object. Thus, our car gets dirty. CD cases, pens, change, grain pellets from a drive-through wildlife safari, name tags from old jobs, magnets, newspaper, fast food bags, beverage bottles… these are all things I recently removed from my car.
Get ready for some terrifying before photos.
I started by going through everything in my car and sorting it into several categories:
- Garbage
- Recyclable
- Relocate
- Belongs in the car
Garbage was thrown away, recyclables were put into recycling, and the “relocate” pile was taken inside for its fate to be decided. But I knew it didn’t belong in the car. My car is not a docking station for excess stuff. Things that belonged in the car were organized. Cords were kept in individual baggies so they didn’t get tangled when I needed them. CDs are in my visor CD-holder (still too many CDs, but at least they are not all over my car).
Now for the good stuff, the after photos:
If you think there is still a lot of stuff in my car, wait til you see what I took OUT of my car:
Ridiculous. Good riddance!
Is your car a clutter magnet?
Caitlin Liz Fisher 
This is one area that’s never been cluttered for me- perhaps because my parents never left stuff in the car that was not specific car stuff, and never let us do so either, so I have always been in the habit of removing things as I leave. I do have to try and persuade my boyfriend not to leave junk in his car though, as it drives me mad to sit in piles of receipts!
Mine always has stuff to move off my seat too! I didn’t grow up with super strict car rules, I guess… I just get lazy 😦
If you get in the habit of taking it all out as you leave, it’s super easy! (as with all tidiness habits I suppose!)
I need to get better at vacuuming and washing mine, it accumulates a lot of mud inside and out!
I seriously need to vacuum, I feel you on that.
I don’t have to worry about car clutter because I don’t own a car. 🙂
Nice. In theory I could do it, but not without some major restructuring – it’s a 40 minute drive to work!
haha Looks great ! My car could DEFINITELY use a good clean out.
Do it before the weather gets any crazier!!
Alright, you’ve motivated me! I tend to hoard stuff in my Mazda when other people want to throw a recyclable away and I “graciously” offer to take it to a recycling bin for them. Uh huh. Four months later… the car smells like cardboard and beer bottles. Like a homeless person. This is changing today. Thank you for the post.
You are very welcome! Good luck!