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by Angela on May 8, 2012
{Photo found on Pinterest}
One way to make a big impact in keeping your car look good is to keep the trash from piling up. This is a fantastic idea to use a cereal box as a car trash can. Use a small plastic grocery sack to make emptying the trash quick and mess free. I would suggest that you try using a few strips of hook and loop on the bottom and possibly the sides to keep this baby from sliding around.
{Photo from Red Envelope}
Trunks can get out of hand quickly with a wide variety of things. Some that live in the car and some that just come along for the ride. Keep all the items from rolling around the back of your car or SUV with a car trunk organizer like the one shown above. It has dividers and includes a place for a little cooler! You can also use it to keep your grocery bags from falling over and dumping your produce across the back of your car! I hate that! The organizer pictured above is from Red Envelope, but you could also use any large bin or tote.
{Photo from Rips in My Jeans}
One thing everyone should have in their car is a mini-emergency kit. A little kit that has all those little things you might need while out and about, like: Band-aids, hand sanitizer, safety pins, hair tie, pen, paper, lip balm, hand lotion, etc. Aunna from Rips in My Jeans shows us how she recycled a baby wipe container and turned it into a car kit. Now you don’t have to feel stuck when the next mini emergency arise. You will be prepared!
{Photo from Sew Many Ways}
I love this idea from Karen at Sew Many Ways! She took a plastic cup holder and a tin can and turned it into a craft caddy! You could use this for long trips when you have a project you are working on or set one up for your kids with pens and markers! There are tons of ways you could use this! See Karen’s site for a tutorial on how to make this.
Happy car organizing!
by Angela on May 1, 2012
May is National Good Car-Keeping Month so this month I will be bringing you some tips and ideas on how to get your car organized. May is also the month of Mother’s Day so today’s post will be filled with ideas on how mom’s can keep their kiddo’s organized on the go. After all, what mother wouldn’t want a more organized car?!
(Izze Portable Car Organizer idea from Real Simple.)
This is such a great idea!!! I LOVE this! Time and time again when my kids are getting out of the car and I remind them to pick up their trash or bring in their water bottle and they say they can’t because their hands are too full. I love this idea from Real Simple because the kids can easily tote everything in and everything out. Even better, if tote gets messy you can just recycle it or toss it out.
(Shower caddy fast food holder idea from Lookie What I Did.)
Another great idea! Eating food on the go is a struggle even for many adults, so what a brilliant idea this is from Missy at Lookie What I Did. Use a plastic caddy to hold you child’s (or your) lunch without anything falling on the floor. Then you can use the paper bag the food came in as a trash bag.
(Pattern and image from tinkerfrog.)
One of the biggest car clutter problems is trash! The best way to solve this is by adding a trash bag within arms reach. You can add a super cute trash bag like Tara did in the picture above or you can be old fashion with a super simple grocery bag. Personally I like the little blue diaper sacks from Sassy. I keep a stash of those in my car and when the girls fill one up we just grab another one.
(From Martha Stewart.)
This idea from Martha Stewart is an excellent way to keep a lot of items organized, off the floor, and off the seats. If you have children under four I would be careful with this as I have found my little one’s arms cannot reach the back to the seat. This is both frustrating to her and me as I’m trying to drive. In my opinion a system like this would work best for a mom with a baby to keep extra diapers and supplies organized or for an older child.
(IKEA Flort as car organizer idea by The Odd Mom Out.)
Elizabeth from The Odd Mom Out transformed an IKEA Flort (remote control organizer) into an in car organizer for her kids! I love this because it is so much easier for the kids to reach! Big kudos Elizabeth!
There we have it five ideas to help get your organizing juices flowing and help you on your adventure to car organization!
Good luck!
by Angela on July 6, 2009
I had the chance to attend my sister-in-law’s (hey Margo!) baby shower this weekend, she’s expecting twin boys! So I was able to give her a few words of advice on what a mom must have in her car at all times to be prepared for any situation.
Here are a few of the things I suggested:
1. Wet One’s Hand Wipes. You never know what will happen, especially when you have children! But there are many times when someone’s hands are messy or someone will be eating in the car after playing at the park. These anti-bacterial hand wipes are perfect to have in each vehicle and will be used often!
2. Tissues-I know it seems like a no-brainer, but there are so many times when a simple tissue will come in handy. Especially during flu season. These are a must have in every car. I keep a small box in each car.
3. Trash bags-If you have dirty tissues and a used Wet One you have to have a place to put them! It seems like your car can get filled up with trash quickly. So trash bags are a must! You can keep a small stash of plastic grocery bags or you can get something like Sassy Diaper Sacks. I love these because 50 bags come in a nice and neat bag I can keep in my car. I have found these bags at my local grocery store in the baby supply aisle or the at a large baby supply store.
4. Money-These days it seems like very few people carry real money anymore, but there are some places that only accept good old fashioned money. I recommend you keep a very small amount of money in your car. I recommend $10-20 dollars in case of a small emergency.
5. Pen and paper- Even in the days of GPS and smart phones, I am always amazed how much I rely on a pen and paper. I keep a post-it pad in my car and use it to jot down: songs I want to download, directions to someone’s house, a great thought or idea, a web-site I heard on the radio, and more. Note pads are also great for keeping children entertained on road trips!
6. Bonus Tip-Container- I use a container that sits on the floorboard of the car in the back seat. It is large enough to hold all the things I described above and a few other things I didn’t mention. One of the containers I use in my husband’s car is the small Trunk Tray from The Container Store. It has a non-skid bottom that prevents it from sliding across the back of your car.
Enjoy safe travels this summer!
Angela
Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space www.theposhspace.com.
by Angela on June 18, 2009
It’s summer, so what are the items you must have in your pool or beach bag? Here’s my list of things your pool bag should not be with out. Having a fully stocked pool bag will help you relax and enjoy your time in the sun.
1. Sun Screen- Obvious? Not so fast. It took us a while to figure out we needed to keep sun screen both at home and in the pool/beach bag. You hate getting to swim lessons without any sunscreen. It’s also a great idea to write the date that you purchased the sunscreen on the bottle with a Sharpie Marker or even better is to write the “use by date”. Each sunscreen manufacture is different, but you can find out how long each type of sunscreen is good by reading my previous article Sunscreen Guidelines.
2. Water Proof Bag- This is essential so you can keep your wallet, keys, and cell phones safe from a leaking water bottle, sunscreen, or a big splash of pool water. You can use a Gallon Size Zip Lock storage bag with the slide Lock. You can also find some great sturdy bags in the travel section of The Container Store like their Clear Zipped Envelopes.
3. Trash Bag- It never fails. You’re out and about at the pool or a picnic, you just wiped your child’s chocolate covered face with a wet wipe and there is no trash can in site. I stash a few plastic grocery bags in my pool bag. They always come in handy.
4. Wet One’s(R) Hand Wipes- After a day at the pool or beach refreshments are always a must, but even with chlorinated water it’s best to have clean hands before handling food. I keep a container of anti-bacterial hand wipes in my bag. The anti-bacterial gel is great too, but I feel like the wipes work better with sticky kid’s fingers.
5. Adventure Tote from L.L. Bean. I love this bag! It is a must have for the Summer. The large size holds a lot while the exterior pockets keep everything organized. See my previous article The Best Summer Bag.
Here’s to a fun and relaxing summer!
Enjoy,
Angela
Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space www.theposhspace.com.
by Angela on April 29, 2009
This week I am in Orlando, Florida for my Professional Organizer Conference. I traveled yesterday and used one of my favorite products while on the plane. It’s the three in one pen, highlighter, and Post-it Flags from Post-it ®. This pen is handy to have while you are traveling or to keep in your purse or briefcase on a daily basis. It saves you from having to carry multiple items when you’re on the go.
I also like to keep one in my bedside table so when I’m reading at night I can have my highlighter and flags handy.
The highlighters are available in two formats: either the highlighter and the Post –it ® flags (shown above) or the highlighter, pen and Post-it ® combo. Both are great to have depending on your needs. One less thing to carry while you travel!
Enjoy organized travels!
Angela
by Angela on August 21, 2008
I just learned about this product and wanted to pass it on to my readers who travel or who frequently use a laptop. The MoGo Mouse BT is a wireless Bluetooth® enabled mouse the size of a business card. When not in use you can store and recharge this tiny mouse inside your laptop computer’s PC card slot.
Now you will never forget your mouse again and what’s even better is that it does not take up any additional room in your laptop bag or carry on! Love this! There are two different versions of the MoGo Mouse and the price ranges from $69.00-$89.00.
Never forgetting your mouse on a business trip, how sweet it is.
Enjoy the good life,
Angela
Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space www.theposhspace.com.
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