Declutter Your Car and Jumpstart Your Life  by Mimi Tanner

Declutter your car and jumpstart your life!

One of the easiest and best ways to declutter your life is to start with your car. This has many benefits:

¨ It makes you feel good immediately

¨ It's easy to declutter a car, compared to decluttering a home

¨ It encourages you to declutter more areas of your life

¨ It impresses other people! You'll be surprised how much!

After all, what really belongs in your car? Very, very few items belong in your car.  Driving should be a serene and safe experience - not a time to get down on yourself because of a messy car.

Decluttering your car is very habit-forming. Here's how to start.

Get a box and a trash bag. Throw out all trash, such as old receipts that you don't need, old cups and food wrappers, and any junk mail. Don't worry about vacuuming the car. That will happen later when you wash your car. Just get that trash out now.

Next, put everything that is in the car - and I do mean everything - in a box. Empty the entire car of "stuff."

Yes, the spare tire, tire changing tools, and children's car seats can stay! Those are not clutter problems but necessities!

Wash your car or take it to be washed and vacuumed, inside and out. Now it's clean and clear of all items. It looks great.

Now it's time to put back just a few special items in your car.  Here's what:

First, a flashlight, jumper cables. Then, make sure you have your car insurance information and registration papers in a safe place.

I recommend keeping these things in the car:

¨ scissors and tape! These two items can really come in handy, especially when you need to wrap a last-minute gift

¨ 2 pens and a pencil, plus 2 envelopes

¨ extra straws for drinks (if you have kids)

¨ your sunglasses!

¨ a power cord, the kind that plugs into your lighter

¨ your favorite CDs or cassettes - but no more than 5!  Change them every month or as needed.

¨ a first-aid kit

¨ and in your wallet, the phone number of a reliable 24-hour tow service for emergencies

All the items listed above can fit in your glove compartment or in a small caddy.

But wait! Are there other "must" items you need to keep in the car because of your work or family? Not to worry.

For anything extra that needs to be in your car, use a special box that you keep in your trunk or in the very back of the car. A sturdy colorful plastic box works best. This will keep the extra items "contained"! That will contain both YOUR sanity as well as your safety. Keep the box anchored so it can't fly around.

That's it!  Nothing else should be cluttering up your car. Driving should be a pleasant experience in terms of how much "stuff" is around you!

Train your school-age children to put their backpacks in the trunk when you pick them up from school. That is both a space-saving habit and a matter of safety. You don't want heavy objects flying in the car in the event of a sudden stop!

Now here's the hidden payoff.  You'll be amazed over and over again at how many people will marvel at your clean and clutter-free car when they see it.

Why is that? It's because most people allow the junk to just pile up without ever even trying to declutter. Every time they see their junky cars, it stresses them out a little more. This is so needless! Having a decluttered car feels fantastic.

You have already taken the steps to have a junk-free car by reading this email - you care! So get at it and make your car a source of pleasure for you.

If you ever need extra supplies in your car for a special purpose, such as a trip, it's no problem - just provide yourself with another special box or bin to hold the extra items - and everything will stay orderly and easy to reach.

If a bin is not a practical solution, then the secret is to make sure everything stays in the SAME AREA. Don't allow items to creep all over the car. Confine the items to one designated area, such as the trunk or the rear of the car.

What if your school age kids don't want to clean out their messes in your car? Perhaps they are leaving candy wrappers and books and "stuff" in the car and want to make it their "spare" bedroom? 

Here's a solution for that: good-naturedly say, "I'm not going to open the front door until you clean up your candy wrappers and get your CDs off the car floor!" Smile, but let them know you mean it.  They may groan, but they'll get their stuff out of your car!

Make sure children's car seats get wiped down with a damp cleaning cloth and cleaning solution at least once per week.

When you can't vacuum the car seat, use a small whisk broom to sweep out anything that shouldn't be there!

Decluttering your car will jumpstart your life - you'll be revved up to declutter in many other areas!

For some fast ways to declutter your world, check out my book "Declutter Fast - How To Get Your Home In Order."

This is an e-book that you can be reading as soon as you order it. You can save it on your computer or log in to read it any time. Go here to read more:

http://declutterfast.com

Happy reading and decluttering! Here's to getting your life in order!

With love,
Mimi Tanner
Author of Declutter Fast! How to Get Your Home In
Order Almost Immediately
http://declutterfast.com

P.S. From readers:

"I love what you write about decluttering. It super charges me. What great motivation!!!"
--S.

"Mimi - your writings speak to all of us - you are one of us. You inspire me and give me confidence. I read your writings over and over - especially when I feel in need of a little motivation. Don't change and please, keep writing."
-- Mary J.

"I'm here in Cambridge, England, on a beautiful morning with a new spring in my heart.  I couldn't wait, I was reading page after page as your book was printing.  WOW WOW WOW!  I have spent weeks coming into this room with the best of intentions - and just making more mess in here and the rest of the apartment, having downsized four years ago from a house. I am now 70 and with hope in my deepest soul. HERE I GO, I hope to surface from the clutter finally. Thank you thank you thank you."
--J.

"I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your work. This is the first time I've bought an e-book and actually had the author follow up with ideas and additional help. When I get an email from you it's a great reminder to keep going and never give up.  This one in particular was very helpful. I have your book out on the coffee table (it is NOT clutter!) but actually hearing the words was very motivating.

"I refer to your book all the time and it is helping me to look at 'things' in a new way."
--N.

"I absolutely love your new book!  I stayed up half the night reading it and getting a real sense of hope for my situation."
--S.
 
"Thanks Mimi, You give me hope!"
--B.

"Dear Mimi,
    "Your book advice has been very successful for decluttering my house. When my children were young my sister, a psychologist, would always tell me that people's houses that are in order do not have their lives in order. I bought that reasoning then, but now our children are in college so I knew I needed to resolve the clutter issue. Your ideas are simple but yet don't cause one to panic!! Job well done. Thanks."
--R.

Go to http://declutterfast.com

to get started AND motivated to Declutter your world!

Copyright © Mimi Tanner and Oak Forest Publishing. All Rights Reserved.  Used in Organized-Mom.com with permission of Mimi Tanner.

Well over 100,000 people are active subscribers to Mimi's email columns on 2 topics - decluttering your world, and relationships (a column just for women).  Mimi's columns are among the most loved and respected columns in the world.