This week’s mission is to clean out your car.

As busy as our lives can get, it’s tough to keep the inside of our cars clean, especially with kids in tow! So, grab a trash bag, find a basket, get some cleaning supplies, and head out to the garage… it’s time for you to cancel car chaos!

Now, where do you start? Well, right here…

1. In your trash bag, collect any and all garbage from every nook and cranny of your car.
2. Gather all items that belong elsewhere (i.e., in the house, in the garage, in the yard) and put them into your basket.
3. Return all displaced items to their respective “homes” (i.e., stuffed animals to playroom, paperwork to home office, gas can to garage).
4. Vacuum all carpeted and upholstered surfaces in your car.
5. Wipe down all plastic and leather surfaces in your car.
6. Don’t forget the windows… Clean those too!
7. Wash (and dry, if you like) the exterior of your car.

That’s it! But… now comes the tough part… you must keep your car clean all week long! How? Aaaahhh… good question…

1. Place your (now empty) basket on the passenger seat of your car. Use it to collect items that belong in the house (or elsewhere) every time you get out of the car.
2. Keep a small garbage bag in your car for trash. Several options include the little bags made to hang from a knob on your car stereo, an auto organizer made specifically for this purpose, or simply a box or gift bag on the floor in the back seat. Of course, whenever your trash bag gets full, toss it and get a new bag. In fact, keep an empty paper towel roll in your car stuffed with plastic grocery bags to use as quick and easy trash bag replacements.
3. Kids along for the ride? Store some wipes in the car for quick clean-ups after take-out meals, playdates at the park, etc. And, keep a small bucket of “travel toys” for entertaining little ones on long car rides. Finally, if you’re dealing with potty training, be sure to keep a small portable potty and toilet paper roll in your trunk… just in case…

So, what about you? How do you keep your car clean and organized? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below to share your favorite tips for cleaning and organizing your car.

Courtesy of Lorie Marrero, creator of The Clutter Diet, owner of LivingOrder:

People hear that I am a Professional Organizer and they read some of my writing, and they often assume that my home and office must be “perfect.” Let me assure you, with two kids, two parakeets, a dog, a husband, and two companies, it is far from perfect—but my life works for me. And I would not want to aspire to perfection, as it is an unattainable and futile goal.

Instead we teach people to aspire to be NEATER*:

• Not perfect, but…
• Effective—your systems work well for you and your family
• Always improving—you look for how to do things smarter, faster, and better
• True to your style—you work with your own preferences, not someone else’s standards
• Efficient—your systems minimize waste of time and energy
• Ready for anything—you are well-prepared with what you need for life and work

Our definition of what it means to be organized is realistic and defined—it does not mean your house has to look like Real Simple magazine and that you have to become Martha Stewart.

So, is it possible to be TOO organized? Absolutely. Just as in business endeavors, when setting up any organizing system you want to ask yourself about the Return On Investment (ROI). Is the time, money, or energy you are investing in this process going to pay off by offering you more time, money, and energy in return? If the answer is no, you need to think very hard about whether you should bother.

One example of this that we run into fairly often: People think it might look neat to have all matching plastic containers in their pantries that all nest nicely together and present a picture-perfect shelf. But for the ROI of simply having a pretty pantry, you have to spend a lot of time transferring every new food item from its original store packaging into the containers. It’s just not worth the time (especially if your kids go through cereal like mine do! We’d hardly be able to transfer the contents to the container before it would be eaten up). This example also plays into a common myth that if something looks really neat it must be organized and must be better. Maybe not!

Another thing we see is people creating folders by vendor for their common household bills, such as the phone company, the electric company, and the cable company. What we typically recommend instead (if you even want to keep the paid bills) is to file the bills by month in an accordion folder. The time it takes to parse each bill out into the proper vendor folder rarely pays off. In the unlikely event that you need to find something, you can invest the time on the other side of that problem instead of consistently investing it up front.

We like to work on the “Good Enough” principle, meaning that the level of organization is appropriate to provide a return that is worth the investment. Is there something you could cut out today that would be “Good Enough,” and actually gain some time back in the process?

*NEATER acronym © 2005-2007, LivingOrder, Inc.

Have you ever wondered about the offspring of a professional organizer?

Just a few days ago, I was working on the computer in my home office and Amanda (who is almost 4 years old) was playing on the floor nearby with her recently-acquired bounty of dollar-store toys. Next thing I know, she is beside me, pulling all her books out of their Rubbermaid home, and tossing them into a large tumbling pile behind her.

I said to her (in standard mommy tone), “Amanda, you know you’re going to have to put all those books back…”

Her reply (in standard you-just-don’t-get-it tone): “Maw-aww-mee, I’m reorganizing them!! See? These books go over here, and these books go over here!!”

So, now you know.

What an extraordinary informal gathering of NAPO’s bloggers, hosted by the well-renowned and highly rescpected John Trosko, Lori Marrero, and Monica Ricci!

It was so exciting to finally meet, in-person and face-to-face, all the professional organizers whose blogs are on my daily reading list!

Take a gander at the plethora of organizing blogs…

Australia

• Lissanne Oliver, Sorted!

California

• Sandra Carroll, Creative Changes
• Jeri Dansky, Jeri Dansky Professional Organizer
• Margaret Lukens, New Leaf + Company
• Katherine Macey, Organize to Excel
• Claire Thompkins, Clutter Coach
• John Trosko, OrganizingLA
• Emily Wilska, The Organized Life
• Joshua Zerkel, Custom Living Solutions
• Beth Ziegler, neato

Georgia

• Allison Carter, The Professional Organizer
• Monica Ricci, Catalyst Organizing

Illinois

• Aby Garvey, simplify 101

Massachussetts

• Joan Kosmachuk, Simple Effects

Missouri

• Janine Adams, Peace of Mind Organizing

New Zealand

• Wendy Davie, Totally Organised

Oregon

• Megan Spears, Disorder2Order

Tennessee

• Julie Bestry, Best Results Organizing

Texas

• Lorie Marrero, LivingOrder

Utah

• Marilyn Bohn, Marilyn Bohn Creative Organizer

Virginia

• Lauren Halagarda, The Organization Connection

Washington

• Krista Colvin, Organize in Style
• Brandie Kajino, The Home Office Organizer