Organized Car

I love organized spaces and one thing that really needs a system in place is the car. I use it everyday and there is of course the tendency to stock things up in there until a friend rides with you and comments, "Parang dito ka na naka-tira." (It's like you live in here!) 

I vowed to only keep emergency items and to always put away stuff I won't need on a regular basis. Let's start with the middle console.

This contains items I use more frequently. I see to it that the items here are always standing up right so that I won't have a hard time reaching for whatever I need. Items here are...

Hand lotion, alcohol, calculator, and sun glasses. I do have my favorite sunglasses in my room which I bring with me depending on the weather, but I leave a pair in the car just in case I forget to bring mine. I also have here a pouch which contains the following...

I also find myself reaching for these quite often and it gives me a sense of fulfillment knowing that I'm prepared like how a girl scout should be :)) Here I have a comb, sanitary napkin, breath mints, petroleum jelly, blotting film, pony tails, and pens. I love that it's compact and easily fits in the pouch which allows the whole center console to be as compact but organized as possible...

Next is the glove compartment. In our past cars, this area most often than not becomes a junk drawer of all sorts and I didn't want that here. It just holds car documents and receipts.

All car documents together with the manual are in the black pouch, and all receipts and insurance papers are in the plastic receipt organizer, both of which I got free from the past owners of the car. Thank goodness they're also as OC as I am :)) The only addition I made was the small notepad.

I have zero knowledge about cars and I use this pad to take note of different services the car has gone through. I get asked a lot by my dad or mechanics about the last time this was done, or the last time this was checked. I started this so that the next time they'd ask me, I would know the answer.

A Pinterest hack I learned and am now using for the car is to use baking soda as a deodorizer. I used a small bottle of McCormick which I think is perfect for the job.

I keep the lid on when I'm driving and I take it off when I'm parked for a long time.

There are a lot of beggars and street kids here in the Metro and as much as I like to help them, I am not in favor of giving them money. Instead, I keep a stack of biscuits under the steering wheel so it's easy for me to reach when they approach my car.

There's also a little compartment for coins but I find it hard to get into so I just improvised it by putting a pouch left open. This way, it's still accessible but much more easier to get coins from.

Here in Manila, it's either super hot or it's raining, so it's always important to have an umbrella in the car. I keep a fold-able, automatic one right beside the driver's seat.

I like to keep the dashboard clutter free.

Although it usually acts as a dumping ground for receipts for toll and parking when I'm driving the whole day, but I make it a point to bring them down with me when I get home so I can encode them in my planner to track my expenses.

The seat pocket contains tissue and a fan.

The tissue box is so boxy and bulgy. I transferred the tissue to a small thin pouch so it would look more neat.

Here in the Philippines, back seat passengers are not required to wear seat belts and it always makes me cringe when I see it messed up so I tied it with a rubber band to keep it together.

I am one lamigin girl so I usually have a scarf or jacket in the car. Yes, it's hot here in the Philippines but I easily get cold when I'm in malls or restaurants, so I always keep one in the car. I just place it around the passenger seat like so.

Last but not the least is the trunk.

The parcels on top of the blue bin are stuff I need to give to friends. I keep it in the car already so that I will not have to make an excuse about forgetting them at home. I do hope these will not stay here for long.

The larger bin holds emergency items. I got the bin and most of the items here for free when I bought the car. #blessed

This isn't complete yet and I do have to buy some more to put in here.

The blue bin, I love. This is the same one I use in my room to hold craft supplies. These are sold at Ace Hardware for about P300 (I think) for a pair. I got it a discounted rate since I bought a whole lot for our school's family day!

The mesh bag at the bottom has a set of overnight clothes. This has been veeeeery useful so far. This bin is also where I keep extra biscuits, air freshener, and a pair of re-usable bags for shopping, which I also hold with a rubber band to keep it folded and for it to not open up and get messed up in the bin.

Whew. I didn't think this car would have as much elements as how it turned out but I'm happy with all the systems I set in place. Here are a few rules I set for myself:

1. Keep it to the very minimum and have a place for all of it

I realized that I have the same general rule when it comes to organized spaces - always have a place for everything. Clutter begins when you have one dumping ground for various miscellaneous pieces and a system prevents all of that from happening.

2. Always bring down items you don't need

I also see to it that I bring down items that I do not need to be in the car. I bring them down whenever I get to work or home. If you've also noticed, I don't keep a trash bin in the car for the simple reason that I don't want to keep trash in the car. I try to dispose it whenever I gas up, or upon arriving home as well.

3. Keep all systems within reach

It's also important to have these systems within the reach of the driver so that it can still work even if you're driving alone.

4. It's in the small things

Turns out, my favorite pieces in the car now are the pouches and rubber bands. I know that these are usual organizing items but I like how these made an impact in the spaces I used them in. Super simple but very efficient.

There you go. I'm pretty happy about how I keep my car clean and organized on the inside, but I do have to work my schedule out to also always have it clean on the outside :))))