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
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decluttering your world, and
relationships (a column just for
women). Mimi's columns are among the
most loved and respected columns in the
world.

