Thursday, March 24, 2011

Free Yourself From Car Clutter: Five Easy Ways To Keep Your Car Organized When Traveling:

It's a common sight: soda cans, gum wrappers, and snack bags 
strewn all over the floor; books, magazines, and carrying cases 
haphazardly placed on a seat; and miscellaneous papers and 
trinkets shoved into any nook and cranny available. What is this 
disorganized place? A college frat house, a mad scientist's 
office? No. It's the typical disorganized car--and it could 
easily belong to you or someone you know. Whether you're 
traveling for business or pleasure, the automobile is still the 
most common means of getting to your destination. In fact, for 
many people, their car has become their "home away from home," 
with extended car trips a part of daily life.

To avoid traveling in a perpetual mess, do a little pre-planning. 
Before your next road trip, take time to totally clear out your 
vehicle. Don't forget about the glove box and side door 
compartments. By the time you're done, you want your car totally 
empty--just like how you received it from the dealer. Now that 
you're car is empty, it's time to stock it and organize it for 
stress-free travel. Here are five easy tips to get you started 
and to keep your car organized when traveling:
1. Stock the glove box and side pockets with necessities. 
Contrary to popular use, your glove box is not a "catch-all 
compartment" or a trash can. It's a place to store traveling 
essentials. For day-to-day use, simply keeping important car 
documents (like your insurance and registration cards), a pen or 
pencil, a pocket-sized notepad, and a small first-aid kit is 
sufficient. For travel purposes, you'll want to beef that list up 
a bit. Include maps, directions, extra sunglasses, a camera and 
film, reading material for passengers, and a few small trash 
bags. Remember, the purpose of your glove box and side door 
compartments is to keep essentials at hand during a trip, so you 
don't have to keep pulling over to open the trunk.
2. If you're traveling with children, let each child pack a 
small backpack or travel bag. In it they should put things they 
can do on the road--a walkman and tapes, comic books, handheld 
video games, etc. Keep the bag near the child, either on the 
floor of the back seat or on the seat itself, so they can easily 
retrieve their items and put them away when done. A small bag of 
items takes up less room and produces less clutter than five or 
six individual items strewn in the back.
© Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.ProductiveEnvironment.com

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