11 Simple Car Organization Hacks For Clutter-Free Driving

Many of us have a messy car. With everyone’s busy day-to-day routines, the task of cleaning and organizing its interior is often left on the back burner.

However, keeping your car clutter-free is vital to your safety when driving. A messy vehicle is hazardous—particularly if the clutter gets so out of hand that you can’t properly access the steering or controls.

Need some car organization hacks that won’t break the bank? Here are some storage ideas for cars:

Use Labeled Folders to Arrange the Glove Compartment

Most glove compartments are particularly messy. It’s everyone’s go-to storage space for tickets, receipts, and other documents that you may need for your vehicle.

Instead of mindlessly stuffing everything inside the glove compartment, keep the contents organized in folders or envelopes so you can easily locate what you need in a pinch.

Tip: You may also opt to use a bill organizer if that’s what you have on hand. Just make sure to label everything.

Expand Your Storage with a Hanging Organizer

Hang a clear shoe organizer to the back of the driver’s seat, front passenger seat or both. This gives you extra compartments to store snacks, hand sanitizer, wipes, and other essentials in an organized manner.

If you travel with kids, you can use the pockets to hold toys so you can keep them entertained while on the road.

Or, if you’re handy with a sewing machine, check out the tutorial above to make your own customized car seat organizer.

Keep a Laundry Basket Handy

There are many SUV organization ideas to cut down on clutter. One very good idea is to keep a laundry basket or two in the trunk or cargo area. This will be useful for storing all the items that you would normally leave in the trunk, like roadside emergency essentials or your kids’ sports equipment.

You could even use the basket as carriers for your pet—as long as they’re safe and comfortable there, of course!

But probably the most common use for this would be for storing groceries—you won’t have to worry about your stuff rolling around in the back as you drive home. Having these baskets on hand will also save you from having to bring reusable bags (or purchase bags from the store, if you live in a state where this is common) for your grocery items.

Get a Plastic Caddy for Take-Out Food

Do you know those plastic arts and crafts caddies that are used to hold kids’ crayons and other art materials? If you have one of those, or perhaps something similar, like an unused tool caddy, you can repurpose them into a tray to securely hold drinks and containers of take-out food.

Another possible use for these is as a food tray. If you or your passengers are eating in the car, these caddies provide a mess-free way to enjoy food and drinks during long drives.

Use Silicone Cupcake Liners to Protect Your Cup Holders

We all know how difficult it can be to clean the cup holders in your car due to their shape and depth. To help prevent the accumulation of food crumbs and dirt, simply insert silicone cupcake liners into each holder to catch debris.

Then, when it gets too grimy, just take the liner out of the cup holder and wash it like you normally would. And there you go—easy cleanup!

Turn an Old Tissue Box into a Plastic Bag Dispenser

You never know when you’ll need a plastic bag on the road. You may need it for picking up spilled food, or perhaps when one of your passengers is feeling a bit car sick. If your grocery store doesn’t provide bags for your items, having some plastic bags on hand can also be very useful.

To keep your car organized, store plastic bags neatly in old tissue boxes. Follow this tutorial to learn how to properly insert them so you can easily pull one bag out at a time:

Stash Some Carabiner Clips in the Car

Carabiner clips are extremely useful. You can use them to hook items to either the roof grab handles in the back seat or the metal rods of your car’s head rests. These clips can be useful for hanging up an umbrella, grocery bags, or perhaps your handbag.

Aside from using them as hanging tools, you can also use these carabiners outside of the car. Use them to carry multiple grocery bags, clip your water bottle to your backpack, and more.

Repurpose a Cereal Container as a Trash Can

Not everyone has a dedicated trash receptacle in their vehicle—which is probably why it gets all dirty and cluttered in the first place. Most regular trash cans are typically too big for a standard car, but if you have cereal containers that you’re no longer using, these come in the perfect shape and size.

Just line the container with a plastic bag and put the lid back on to keep it in place. Stash it behind the center console so everyone in the vehicle can easily access it.

Keep Loose Change in an Empty Gum Container

Don’t throw that empty gum container just yet. You can use it to store loose change and place it in your car cup holder for easy access. This way, you won’t have to rummage through your bag for coins when you need them.

Designate a Place for Each Item

Figure out where everything should go. Make sure to put the most essential items more prominent and within reach.

Smaller items such as phone cables or perhaps a tube of lip balm are usually stashed inside the center console—but don’t just dump everything in there. Use small, lidless jars or plastic food containers to keep all of those odds and ends perfectly organized.

Put it Back

And finally, here’s a simple tip that many of us will probably have difficulty following: Put things back where you got them. Let’s say you grabbed some hand sanitizer from the center console, but now you’re too lazy to open the lid and put it back—so you end up dumping it in the cup holder.

This is how clutter starts.

Once you’ve cleaned and organized your car, train yourself to put things back. Don’t let all that hard work go to waste!

Follow these car organization ideas to enjoy the benefits of a clean interior that’s free of clutter.

How to Get New Organizers for Your Vehicle

An organizer is far from a necessity, but it can certainly make all the difference for your ride. Unless you like sitting in a messy cabin, you’ll want to invest in a good organizer. You’re less likely to lose your prized belongings, and it’ll be much easier to manage all your things too. Luckily, getting high-quality organizers is fast and easy with CarParts.com.

CarParts.com offers a wide selection of organizers that can make your ride cleaner. You can easily browse through our catalog using our vehicle selector and search filters. Just make sure to input your vehicle’s correct details. Thanks to our strategically located warehouses, CarParts.com also guarantees fast shipping. Order by 12 p.m. ET, and you can expect your package to arrive in as fast as two business days.

Don’t wait until your knickknacks start making a mess in your vehicle before getting yourself some organizers. Check out our catalog of high-quality cargo, dash, and trunk organizers at CarParts.com today!