Organize a Car Trunk

I have not driven a car with a trunk for eighteen years. So last week, when I was forced to drive a loaner while I waited for my wheels, I again became acquainted with the challenges of transporting things in a car trunk. I had forgotten how limited the space is and how the interior is so rigidly defined. There is no way to stack a little higher or move a seat further up to accommodate items that need just a silly millimeter more room. That started me thinking about when I did have a car with a trunk, two children with lots of school activities and a full time job that required having information with me while I traveled to various locations. That is not to mention beach chairs, sports equipment and my husband’s photography equipment and various scouting projects. I recall a few tricks that helped me find what I needed and keep all the members of the family on speaking terms as we shared trunk space.

First make room for things that keep you safe. A good spare tire or driving ring and a roadside emergency kit are essentials. Many cars have special compartments for these items. No matter how tempted you are to put something else in these spaces, don’t. An acquaintance, who had a band, emptied everything out of his trunk to carry his music equipment and was a bit miffed when he broke down on his way to a gig and had no way to change a tire and no tire to change. Better to arrive safe and late than not at all.

When deciding what to keep in the trunk, categorize and separate. Use large zip-lock bags, cloth bags or plastic containers to hold like things and label them so they are easily identifiable.

Keep sports equipment and gym clothes in separate containers with odor eater charcoal bags.

Keep a couple of collapsible totes for special transport of things like groceries and school projects.

When carting beach chairs or beach toys, wrap them in a large sheet or blanket. Remove the whole packet from the car when you return home and shake out the covering. This will keep sand out of the trunk.

Fitting things in a trunk is often like putting a puzzle together. The pieces only fit one way, so put things back where they came from. Easier said than done, but something to which we can aspire.

I am no longer struggling with fitting things in a trunk, but with the trend leaning to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, I might have that challenge in my future. I remember what works and I think I’m ready…. Although hauling furniture from estate sales will still be a problem.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize Your Car Interior

According to the Associated Press, 700,000 of us have new cars thanks to the “Cash for Clunkers” stimulus program. That’s really a small percentage of the sixty-two million registered cars in the United States. I wonder how neat the old cars are and how long the new models will remain in their pristine, uncluttered condition. It only takes a few hours of driving to trash the interior of a car, especially with a little help from family and friends.

If you have a new or uncluttered car, keep it that way by having a place for the things you use most frequently and a convenient place to dispose of trash.

If you have a car that could use a little cleaning up, here are some hints for organizing the interior.

Sort: Remove all the clutter from the car. Throw away the trash and then separate the contents into four piles: things I use all the time, things I use occasionally, things I use in an emergency, and things that do not belong in my car.

Identify a home for each category: Things you use all the time should be where you can easily reach them. If they are items that are frequently used by passengers, (like older children in the backseat) they should be where the passenger can access them easily without you being distracted from driving. Things that are used occasionally can be stored in the trunk or under the seat. Emergency gear requires some thought for placement. A multi-tool for slashing seatbelts and breaking glass needs to be readily accessible. Road flares and tire changing tools can reside in the trunk

Contain the items: Everything cannot fit in the glove compartment and the door pockets. Save those spaces for your maps, car information, registration and insurance documents. If you need some solutions for storing sun classes, work essentials and other items, look for containment aids at sites like www.solutions.com, www.ebags.com and www.drivingcomfort.com.

Keep non-essentials out of the car: That includes trash, so keep a receptacle for trash disposal in the front and back seat. Also keep a collapsible container or trash bag to routinely haul out those items that do not belong in the car. Once a week tidy up, empty the trash, and make sure you items are where you want them to be.

Follow these steps and your new car will stay uncluttered and your old car will look more like new.

Beverly & Kristen
www.keytransitions.net

Organizing a Winter Car Kit

We are enjoying temperatures in the sixties and seventies while Colorado and Missouri are enduring crippling ice and snow. It won’t be long before this fickle climate puts on its winter face and treats us to a little slush. It can come quickly at any time now. If you have lived in this area long enough, you have seen holidays that felt sub-tropical and holidays with snow on the ground. So now is the time to think about supplementing your car emergency kit with a few items to see you through the winter months.

Here are a few items we suggest:

• De-icer for windshields and locks


• A small shovel


• Kitty litter to provide traction


• Water


• A warm blanket


• Insulated gloves


• Fold-up boots


• Nonperishable snacks


• Windshield scraper


• Whisk broom
  

If you do not already have a car emergency kit add:

• Battery cables


• Tire inflater


• Roadside flares


• Heavy duty flashlight

Organize the items in a waterproof bag, ice chest or plastic tote. You will feel safer on the road because you are prepared for winter car troubles.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

An Organized Car

The local television station reported that fifty-eight million Americans will drive greater than fifty miles this Memorial Day week-end. That did not impress me much since, for many years, my round trip commute to work was greater than fifty miles. But no matter when we travel or where we go in our cars and trucks, SUVs and campers, we have ample opportunity to collect and clutter. When I was commuting seventy miles to work, one of my favorite colleagues loved candy bars and chips. I knew that whenever he picked me up, I would hear crackling sounds when I took the passenger seat. That was because his idea of cleaning the car for our road trip was to stuff all of the discarded wrappers under the seat. I gave him a car litter basket for Christmas one year and he surprised me by actually using it. He said he did not know that such a thing existed and hated trying to tack down a bag to dispose of his trash. He did not become a neat-freak but he no longer littered his front seat with wrappers.

Many of us spend a good part of our life driving to work, running errands, chauffeuring family. According to Kelly Quigley, author of Time Well Spent, The average car owner spends five hundred to one thousand hours per year behind the wheel of his car. That is a lot of time! During that time we access stuff to support our activities, we accumulate stuff as we run our errands and we discard stuff as we open and unwrap. The problem is that, in a car, we have limited space to stuff our stuff. Front seats, back seats, trunks and cargo holds can become cluttered, unsightly areas where it is hard to find what we need

This can become particularly troublesome when you embark on a road trip with a car full of family or friends. So, with summer travel just around the corner, we thought this would be a good time to share some of our favorite products for organizing your auto. There are some nifty products on the market that sell for less than twenty five dollars

To stash your trash try the Trash Stand by Case Logic. It is weighted so it won’t slide or slip, is leak proof and has a cover so you can hide the mess. With dimensions of 8"x5"x8" it fits nicely on the floor or between the seats. It even has a hidden compartment for storing valuables. The same company also makes a litter chute that hooks onto the headrest and is convenient for the back seat. It has a self-closing lid and empties from the bottom for easy trash removal. Another product is the Kids Trash Bag that hangs on the head rest, is leak proof and has an outside mesh pocket that can hold wipes and tissues.

There are also several items that will help you tame front seat clutter.

The Seat Caddy by Lewis N. Clark has an insulated cup holder, CD sleeves a zipper pocket and adjustable compartments. It closes to conceal contents and fits under the passenger seat when you want to tuck it away.

The Mobile Office sits on the seat beside you and has compartments for your cell phone, ipod, laptop, books and other paraphernalia and a hard top tray that prevents objects from rolling off and gives a surface for writing.

The Over the Seat Organizer by Creekside has compartments that hold various objects and can easily be turned to the back of the seat when you pick up a passenger.

If you fumble for your cell phone or glasses the Case Logic Catch All is a perfect size for cell phone, gas receipts and sun glasses. It has an adjustable arm that hooks into the air vent.

There are also several good back seat organizers for kids who are old enough to face forward in their car seats. These organizers also work well for older folks who want to keep things neat back there and do not need to access the items while driving.

The High Road Kid Organizer fits on the back seat and can be zipped up and carried with the attached shoulder strap. It is tall enough for kids in booster seats and has identical pockets on each side so two children can share. It buckles to the seat belt to keep it secure. The Backseat car organizer has a dozen pockets to hold small toys and games and fits over the back of the front seat to be within the child’s reach. The Car Organizer for Kids has a top sturdy enough to draw on, adjustable dividers and outside pockets.

Highroad and Case Logic both make child seat organizers for the littlest passengers. They fit securely underneath the car seat to protect from spills and mishaps and have side pockets to hold comfort items.

For the adult traveler, Lewis N. Clark Insulated Seat Back Organizer features a large insulated compartment to store hot or cold items and adjustable fasteners that double as a shoulder strap if you need to remove it from the car.

Keeping miscellaneous items stable in the trunk or cargo space is easy with a collapsible crate or tote. The Trunk/ Cargo Storage Bag measures 17"L x 10"W x 11"H and has a zip close top. This can be used for road hazard items or other necessities. The Creekside Organizer Tote opens to organize groceries or other items and folds flat when not it use and the Solutions Cargo Cooler has the additional feature of a built in water resistant cooler.

These and similar products can be found at the following web sites:
www.Solutions.com
www.ebags.com
www.DrivingComfort.com

Treat yourself to an organized automobile and enjoy the ride.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net