How to organize Your Car (Emergency &Travel Kit Ideas)

I know we all love to have a clean house, but what about a clean and organized car? It seems like nowadays we are spending more time in our cars with taking and picking kids up from school, taking them to sports practices, summer camps, and if you are anything like my family we like to take….road trips! Doesn’t it feel great to step inside to a clean and organized car? I know we love it, so today, I am going to share with you how to organize your car and create an emergency and travel kit that will keep your family safe and happy…and keep you sane!

If you have been following along over at my blog, you may have seen my post about how I can my car. We use one product to clean both the inside and outside and it goes so quickly this way, plus we save a ton of money every year by cleaning it ourselves.

So, after giving the car a good scrub down on the outside and a good wipe down in the inside {including vacuuming}, we removed everything and only put back in what was needed. This means just the necessities to make travel time organized and comfortable for everyone.
 
First off, we needed to organize the PAPERWORK:
To keep your important documents organized, I recommend using an organizing file like this….

Here is what I recommend you keep in your organizer:
*Car manual

*
CD player manual

*
Proof of insurance
License & registration

*
Road side assistance info


*Any other license/driving requirement info

If you do not have an organizer like we do, you can purchase a small to medium sized accordion organizing from Wal-Mart, Target, or Staples and label the pockets accordingling.

Next up, the GLOVE BOX:

This is where I keep our paperwork, our GPS {when it’s not in use}, umbrella, and cute bag that holds {hand lotion, body spray, DIY hand sanitizer, lint roller, chap stick, bobby pins, and hair ties. This keeps things SUPER organized for me.
 
Then, comes the CENTER CONSOLE:

Ours is small and separated into two different sections. In the top section we have:
A pad of paper, pens, and our car charger.  The bottom section holds:
 Nothing……for now.

So I am sure you are wondering…what about the kids stuff? Don’t worry I have that covered too. KIDS ORGANIZATION:

I purchased this back of the seat organizer from Target {it is Eddie Bauer and around $20}. Our car is tiny, so I needed lots of compartments to store necessary items without them overtaking the back seat. In this organizer I have…
*Baby wipes

*Diapers, books

*Toys {just a couple small ones}

*Tissues, sunscreen

*Change of clothes for baby

*An extra bib, and light jacket

My son is 10 months, so as he gets older we will change out some items for others and keep things organized. I’d eventually like to pick up a back of the seat DVD player {if it’s on sale of course}.

Lastly, is our EMERGENCY KIT:
We have lots of storage compartments in the back of our Subaru {gotta love Subaru’s} and so we have taken advantage of this space for our emergency kit items. In this section we have:

First Aid kit, four-15 minute road side flares, flashlight and extra batteries, utility knife, tire pressure gage, rags, ice scraper, foldable mini work mat with tools {pliers, wrench, and screw drivers}, bottled water, and a heavy duty nylon bag.

Underneath the area where our spare tire goes, we have compiled the following items to make it easier in the event we have a flat tire.

spare tire kit {jack and wrench}, tire pump, 12 foot jumper cables, and a can of fix a flat.  We also keep a blanket in the car for use at the park or in the event of an emergency to keep warm.

I hope you find this information helpful in getting your car organized and creating an emergency and car kit to ensure safe and happy travels.