Forgetting to Declutter: Vehicles

Have you ever…

Sat down in a car as the driver is throwing and pushing as much as they can out of the way, just so that you have a place to sit? I am not talking about the person who was just stowing those items on that seat for the afternoon. I am talking about the person who has papers from a year ago, mugs from 6 months ago, and food from 6 days ago, lying all over the vehicle.

In a way, it makes sense that our vehicles can be one of the messiest places. Traveling from place to place requires us to take certain things along. The thing is, what we fail to do, is once we arrive at our location, to take everything out that does not belong in there. How often do you forget to take your coffee mug out of the cup holder after work? How often do you forget to take that stack of papers from the backseat? How often do you forget to look for food that was dropped after the kids ate in the car?

Decluttering and cleaning the car really shouldn’t take all that long. A vehicle is not THAT big and if you keep up on it, should only take you a few minutes (if that).

1. Take out everything that is on the surface – like mugs, papers, pens, extra change, wrappers, etc. Do with them what needs to be done. Put change in the change holder, throw away wrappers, etc.

2. Look under the seats – what drifted down to the floor?

3. Wipe down everything – dashboard, steering wheel, center, armrests.

4. Vacuum if needed (this may take a little more time)

5. Prevent further disasters by cleaning out your car everyday. Yes, EVERYDAY. It is simple – every time you get out of the car, take out everything you took in.

We have started to practice this rule – take everything out that you took in – and we have not had a cluttered car since. In fact, someone once made the comment that we had the cleanest car they had ever seen. I chalk it up to following this rule. Granted, we do not have children, but you can still apply this rule! Teach them to pick up after themselves! It can be done!

What does your vehicle look like on a daily basis?