I have long thought that mini-vans were more prone to more mess than smaller vehicles.  It is like up-sizing your purse – the more stuff that fits in, the more you are likely to tote.

However, since our family is currently assessing whether or not it is worth resuscitating our past-its-prime mini-van, I have been temporarily driving a sedan.  Recently I found myself thinking that the problem was that this car is just too small to stow everything, so it is a complete disaster.

Hmmmm, wait a minute.

I recognize that I can’t have it both ways – the minivan is too big, the sedan is too small. Yep, so the real problem is the passengers.  And, after reflection, perhaps the driver should take some ownership, too. So, at the risk of airing “dirty laundry”, our cars – no matter the size – have a high “yuck factor”.

The primary rule of organization, whether you are organizing your home, your office or your car, is not to let the junk get in the car in the first place.  Why is this so challenging?

As I inventory the contents of my vehicle, there are school projects, highly sought after treasures junk freebies from festivals, work papers, brochures from museum exhibits and the list goes on and on.

Further complicating matters, there is a contraindication of important stuff that is supposed to be in your vehicle and having these essentials near yucky stuff.  You can read more about sticky situations and my lollipop principle here.  And the more stuff you have in the car, yucky or otherwise, the greater probability of important stuff getting messed up by yucky stuff.

So now what?

Let’s be clear: I don’t profess to have the answers.  Although my Car Organization Board on Pinterest (you can follow me here) demonstrates that there are many good suggestions out there for organizing your car, I need to stop pinning and start doing.

Here are 4 things I commit to remember as the New Year unfolds:

1. Thoroughly clean out cars and detail.
2. Install a storage system for toys and trash (see my Pinterest Car Organization board for suggestions that might work for you).
3. Develop a habit of taking everything with us as we exit.
4. Figure out rules and post in a prominent place in the car.

I have observed clean vehicles with children’s car seats in them.

It is possible. 

If you are one of those parents, please share your secret.  And if you are not, please leave a comment listing the most disgusting artifact you have excavated from your vehicle.

Yup, we can’t find our stuff!

My daughter Dahlia and I were pretty excited about having Erin Podbielniak from theNeatNiche organize our upstairs crap room – sorry, I mean Craft Room.

At least Erin’s written assessment had indicated that my home wasn’t beyond hope. The comments were: “clean and well-kept overall despite select areas of clutter. Main exits are not blocked, and there is no obvious concern regarding fire and/or chemical hazards.” (That last part really made me wonder what kind of people Erin was normally used to dealing with!)

Erin and Dahlia decided on seven basic categories for her things: film props (one of Dahlia’s hobbies is making videos), crafts supplies, Dahlia’s art, Barbies, Legos, dress-up and stuffed toys. These were the things that could stay in the room. Anything else had to go into one of two boxes: either “not here” (different room) or “gone” (trash or charity).

Decisions, decisions…

Then Erin told Dahlia that they were going to review every single item in the room. This is when I started to get a bit concerned. First of all, there had to be at least several thousand items in the room! Secondly, I was wondering how “ADD girl” was going to hold up during the process. I was dubious about getting it all done in the three hours that we had available…

It gets worse before it gets better!

After about an hour and a half, the room was starting to look like a demilitarized zone! Seeing all that stuff spread out all over the place made me wonder if we qualified as hoarders or not. I had to remind myself that this was all part of the process. Also, Dahlia seemed to be enjoying herself, periodically exclaiming, “Oh hey! I was looking for that! Yay!”

Miraculously, after three hours it finally all came together. The room was neat and organized, and things were put away in labeled containers. (Erin even let Dahlia use her label-maker.) I must say, we were all very pleased with the end results.

And I’m happy that Dahlia can now find her stuff without my help!

Props, art, Barbies, Legos and crafts all organized!

Look at the tidy closet!

Is your life getting messy? Contact Erin at theNeatNiche to help cut through the mess and make your life easier!

 Member of NAPO, Faithful Organizers and SWAM

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