We recently bought a new car and I have been asked several times 'how do you organise your car?'...in particular 'the rubbish'! So I thought I would share with you how I organise our Honda Odyssey Absolute, and a few tips and ideas I have found online that you might find helpful as well.
'PARENT ZONE'
I like to call the front of the car - 'Parent Zone' - this simply means that there is to be no child-related items in the front of the car. Our car is fairly new, so keeping it clean and organised is a priority (well for me it is). I have a retractable car charger (purchased from KMart) for my iPhone, so I can charge my phone when I am out and about or on long road trips - it's handy to have.
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| 'Parent Zone' |
THE MINI COMPARTMENTS
We have quite a few mini compartments built in our dashboard. I have put a notepad and pens in one - just in case I need to quickly jot something down, and I put a little bottle of hand sanitiser in another - which I like to use when I've finished at the gas station. The other mini compartments are currently empty.
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| Mini compartments |
THE GLOVEBOX
The only things I keep in the glovebox are a dust mitt, to wipe down the dashboard when it gets a bit dusty and I also have our synthetic chamois to wipe down the outside of the car, after I have washed it - once it's dry I return to the glovebox so I know exactly where it is. Note: In New Zealand we have our registration displayed on our windscreen. I don't like to keep any papers in the glovebox that has our mailing address on it, mainly for security reasons. I am looking into buying a little first aid kit to add to either the glovebox or put in the back. If you have a first aid kit in your car, where do you put it?
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| Glovebox |
THE MIDDLE CONSOLE
Our middle console is fairly small and the whole console collapses on it's side, so I have decided to keep this area clear of items. I only use it for water/drink bottles. If I collapse it, I can put my handbag in the middle of the seats, but most of the time my handbag sits on the passenger seat. If we are travelling as a family, my partner can put his phone and wallet in the compartment.
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| Middle console |
THE DRIVER'S DOOR
The only thing I keep in the driver's door is a small hand-held umbrella. In my old car this is where I used to stash all my rubbish and it wasn't a good look when I opened my door. There is also a space for a drink bottle if needed or I might actually buy a little cylinder-shaped box of tissues for this space.
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| Driver's door |
THE PASSENGER DOOR
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| Passenger door |
'KID'S ZONE'
This is what I like to call the 'Kids Zone'! I have two children, 11 years old and 2 1/2. My daughter (11) is responsible for keeping their area clean and tidy. When we go on road trips, my daughter uses a tote bag that she keeps all her crafts, books, pens, notepads etc in. She also takes her lap tray to use as a little table. Our son will have a few of his favourite cars, diggers and maybe a book or two for long trips, but most of the time, he's either asleep or happy to look out the window.
My son is still rear-facing and will probably be front-facing in Summer (due to weight and height restrictions of the carseat). I put his day care bag and shoes under his carseat (behind the passenger seat) and take it out when we get home.
My daughter usually has her school bag next to her on the chair or on the floor by her feet. Again, when we get home, the bag is taken out.
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| 'Kid's Zone' |
THE KIDS ZONE - DOOR
The door on my daughter's side is where we keep the wipes, and a plastic bag for rubbish or could be used as a spew bag (you never know). The bag is kept in this nifty slider compartment. It's also a great place to store her pencil case and other small bits and bobs for when we go on long journeys.
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| Kid's Zone door |
THE BACK SEATS
We keep this area clear because I tend to fold the seats down when we do our weekly grocery shopping. It's quite roomy back there and we look forward to filling the seats with friends and family this Summer, especially when we go to the beach! There is a place for a drink bottle on each side and has a mini compartment too.
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| Backseat |
THE BOOT
I usually keep our small stroller (not pictured) in the boot for when we are in town shopping, some spare plastic bags tucked away to the side and this white flexi-tub container (more details below).
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| The Boot |
FLEXI-TUB
I decided to use a flexi-tub to store our items in the back simply because it's easy to take in and out of the car. They are really handy to have at the beach or park - I usually put all of the stuff we need in this tub and carry it to the beach or park, that way everything is corralled together and makes transporting to and from the car a lot easier.
Our Flexi-Tub consists of:
- picnic mat
- grocery organiser
- nappy travel pack (includes nappies, wipes, a mat and some nappy bags all rolled into this little organiser)
- A change of clothes for the kids (kept in a plastic bag)
- A spare towel (not seen in picture)
- First Aid Kit (to be added)
- Note: I will be adding baby powder to this tub in Summer (it helps get sand off easily)
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| Boot Organisation |
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| Boot - with seats folded down |
As you can see there is a lot of room in the boot area. Like I said above, I fold the seats down when we go shopping, and will probably do the same when we go on road trips to during the school holidays. Most of the time, I have the back seats up and my daughter occasionally likes to sit right in the back.
THE RUBBISH
I mentioned earlier that in my old car I used to stuff the rubbish in my passenger door, well that is not going to happen, not in this car! In the past few weeks, we have got into the habit of cleaning out the car when we get home each day. The rule is: what ever goes into the car, must come out...if things stay in the car, that's when I find it starts to get out of control.
As for rubbish, I don't have a rubbish bin/bag left in the car. We have plastic bags in the car that we do put our rubbish in, especially if we go on a road trip, but when we get home, we take the rubbish bag out and put it in the wheelie bin or kitchen bin, depending on how much rubbish we have.
We do a quick sweep of the car - I do the 'Parent Zone' and my daughter does the 'Kid's Zone', my son likes to help too, then our car is clean and tidy, ready for the next day. It's a nice feeling jumping into a clean car, and I think the systems we currently have in place, it's going to stay like this.
We do a quick sweep of the car - I do the 'Parent Zone' and my daughter does the 'Kid's Zone', my son likes to help too, then our car is clean and tidy, ready for the next day. It's a nice feeling jumping into a clean car, and I think the systems we currently have in place, it's going to stay like this.
SOME MORE HELPFUL TIPS
Katrina from The Organised Housewife has some great tips for 'keeping your car organised' over on her blog, and Kathryn from Do It On a Dime shares 13 amazing tips for your car on her YouTube channel, in fact, I might adopt the 'essential oil peg' car diffuser idea. They each have different ways of organising rubbish - so be sure to check them out.
I hope you found these tips and ideas helpful.
I would love to hear how you keep your car organised or let me know if you are planning to implement any of these tips/ideas mentioned - in your car.
Happy Organising,
Charlene
