Carmentary.com

For some people, cars are pristine places meant to be kept free of junk and personal items. for others, cars are a house on wheels. They are mobile units that may hold any number of items from old fast food wrappers to clipboards to soccer schedules. If you have ever been embarrassed when someone needed a ride in your car, then you are in the second category.

Why is it so hard to keep our cars in order? It should not be, and it would not be if we simply cleaned it out after each time we drove. The problem is that most of us do not keep the needed equipment to clean the car after each use. Nor do we have the time to clean the car after each use. We hop out and move on to the next scheduled event in our lives. If you are that way, then try to use the upcoming new year to encourage yourself to keep your car cleaner.

First take a few minutes and a little money to invest in getting the proper supplies for your car. You should get some paper towels or napkins for your car. You can use them to mop up spills or to wipe down the car when needed. Then get some type of cleaning wipes that work on the type of interior you have. You should try out the basic all-purpose anti-bacterial wipes as they tend to be great for just about any spills.

You also will need hand wipes. (You cannot use the cleaning wipes for dual duty.) Even if you do not have children, you will want to get a few wipes because they come in handy when you get something sticky on you in the car or when a drink spills. Also pick up some trash bags for the car. There are little triangular pieces that you can get with a hole in the middle. You simply pull a small trash bag out when needed, and the container is only about one inch on each side.

These basic necessities will help you to keep your car free from clutter. You just need to begin to use them. If you are busy, try to start working the car cleaning in during down time. When you are waiting in traffic or at lights or for the kids to come out of school, you can take a few seconds (that really is all it takes) to wipe down the dash of the car or to pick up soft drink bottles accumulating in the floorboards. If you have kiddos, make them pitch in as well. They should not leave any trash in their seats, and they can pick up the car while they are in the backseat.

Once you have mastered this part of your organizational system for your car, you can move on to the big stuff: tissues and change. If you look in most cars, you will find a crumpled up box of tissues in it somewhere that the owners have to hunt every time they need. Instead you have three options. You can get a regular-sized box and put it in a behind-the-seat compartment. You can get pocket-sized tissues and place them strategically around the car, or you can pick up the rounded containers that are made to fit in cup holders. Any of these choices will improve the organization of your car and allow others to sit without stepping on anything.

Loose change also lives in most cars although I am not quite sure about how it gets there. If you are one of those people who could pay the electric bill out of change from the car, then you should think about collecting it all. If you do not have the desire, tell your kids they can have the money if they do the job. Get all of the change picked up and then get a small change purse (one with a zipper or easy-to-close top and put it in the door on the driver side of the car. Then you can put change from meals and other purchases there. Empty the purse once a month to keep it from getting out of control. It is convenient and oh-so-organized.