Peace of Mind Organizing

The uncluttered car

24 July 2008

I have to admit that my car usually looks pretty messy. That’s not surprising, since I’m a messy person, in general. But I did clean it out prior to my big trip to IKEA and it was very nice to have the clutter removed. Unfortunately, it’s encroaching again.

I was inspired today when I read the Unclutterer entry, Cleaning out your cluttered car and its comments.

You’d think I’d have been spurred into action by a comment a client once made—that her husband discouraged her from hiring a different organizer (one who worked for her neighbor) because that organizer’s car was cluttered. Gulp. I was thanking my lucky stars that the husband hadn’t seen my car.

What struck me about the comments made in the Unclutterer article is the notion that the my car is a place where I have total control. And it’s not large—it’s very manageable, in fact. (I drive a Honda Civic.) A tiny bit of effort to remove food wrappers, Google Map printouts, stray bits of paper, stubs from paid parking lots and my commuter mug on a regular basis will pay off in big dividends. And I’ll be able to apply that lesson to other aspects of my life.

When I first bought this car, I went to The Container Store and bought car-organizing gear. But I haven’t found that stuff to be terribly helpful. As Flylady says, “You can’t organize clutter.” I think the key to success will be getting a larger trash receptacle and putting it in a more accessible spot. I tend to toss stuff toward the little one I have and rarely hit it.

If I have the nerve, I’ll take some before-and-after pictures and post them. I’d also like to get my car detailed, but for the sake of economy I think I’ll settle for a good home vacuuming and cleaning of the dashboard. And I’ll try to build a routine of regular vacuuming and cleaning. I have a strong suspicion that keeping this up with help me feel more in control as I make my way around the world and give me peace of mind. And you know how into peace of mind I am!

Tagged with: car, decluttering, unclutterer

Comments